Khadi sales have doubled after PM Modi's appeal: Mishra

Khadi sales have jumped after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's clarion call last October advocating the need for use of such products, Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Minister Kalraj Mishra said today.
"Khadi sales have doubled (after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal)," he told reporters here.
"People have been drawn towards Khadi after Prime Minister's clarion call to adopt the fabric...We want the supply to match the rising demand. We are looking for ways to increase Khadi production," he added.
However, a year-on-year comparison of the April-June quarter showed that retail sales of Khadi increased by 30.37 per cent.
Mishra was here to launch an exclusive exhibition cum sale of products from Jammu & Kashmir and Khadi T Shirts.

An analysis of the data revealed that during the April-June quarter, retail sales of readymade Khadi rose 50.68 per cent as against the same period last year. Similarly, woolen khadi sales rose 68.10 per cent, silk khadi sales increased by 33.75 per cent, polyvastra khadi sales rose 59.51 per cent, while handicraft sales rose 3.03 per cent.

While talking about more use of Khadi in his Mann ki Baat radio address in October, Modi had said, "If you buy Khadi, you light the lamp of prosperity in the house of a poor person".
Besides, asked whether he expects the Bill to amend the MSMED Act to be cleared by Parliament during the ongoing monsoon session, Mishra replied: "It has gone to the Standing Committee. The Standing Committee will present its report during the current session."

The amendments to the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (MSMED) Act are aimed at enhancing the investment limits for MSMEs.
The investment limits in plant and machinery for the micro enterprises is proposed to be raised to Rs 50 lakh, of small enterprise to Rs 10 crore and medium enterprise to Rs 30 crore. The existing limit are Rs 25 lakh, Rs 5 and Rs 10 crore respectively.