Go buy Khadi products on Gandhi Jayanti to help poor and needy: PM Modi

Delivering the 36th edition of his monthly radio broadcast programme 'Mann ki Baat', Prime Minister Modi said, "The Khadi Ashram has remained non-functional for so many years. Now as we have revived the Khadi industry, now the poor Khadi workers can look forward to a livelihood from this indigenous industry. We should take the Khadi revolution forward. This Gandhi Jayanti, let us buy a Khadi product and light the lamp of prosperity in the lives of the poor."

He further termed Khadi as a philosophy.

"Had once talked about Khadi in Mann Ki Baat, it's not just a cloth, but a philosophy. Now, there is a growing interest in Khadi. Let us support the movement for the growth of the Khadi sector," he added.

The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), is a statutory organization engaged in promoting and developing Khadi and Village Industries created by the Act of Parliament .

Khadi refers to a hand-spun and hand-woven cloth. The raw materials may be cotton, silk, or wool, which are spun into threads on a charkha, a traditional spinning implement. Khadi was launched in 1920 as a political weapon in the Swadeshi movement of Mahatma Gandhi.

Khadi is sourced from different parts of India, depending upon its raw materials - While the silk variety is sourced from West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha and North Eastern states, the cotton variety comes from Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal. Khadi poly is spun in Gujarat and Rajasthan while Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir karnataka are known for the woolen variety.

Any Industry that is located within a rural area, where the fixed capital investment per artisan (weaver) does not exceed Rs. one lakh is designated a village industry. The fixed capital investment can be changed by the Centre as and when required.

The relevance of Khadi and Village Industries is that they are both labour intensive in nature. In the wake of industrialization, and the mechanization of almost all processes, Khadi and Village industries are suited like no other to a labour surplus country like India.

Another advantage of Khadi and Village Industries is that they require little or no capital to set up, thereby making them an economically viable option for the rural poor. This is an important point with reference to India in view of its stark income, regional and rural/urban inequalities.

The Khadi and Village Industries Commission has a social objective of providing employment in rural areas; an economic objective of providing saleable articles and a wider objective of creating self-reliance amongst people and building up a strong rural community spirit through various schemes and programs.

Mann Ki Baat is an apolitical and interactive broadcast focusing on welfare and well-being of the people.