KVIC to revamp scheme to revive older industries

In an effort to organise traditional industries and artisans into clusters to make them competitive and provide support for their long-term sustainability and economies of scale, the Khadi and Village Industry Commission (KVIC) proposes to revamp the Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI) during the XII plan.

The commission wants to develop khadi clusters across the country under the SFURTI project of the ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises, according to a post on the website of the Federation of Indian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

"Planning Commission's working group on XII Plan has recommended continuation of SFURTI with its existing components like replacement of equipment, setting up of common facilities, support for development of new products, designs, packaging, market promotion and capacity building activities," said an official notification.

Towards this, KVIC is inviting bids from non-governmental organisations, institutions of Central and state governments, semi-government institutions, field functionaries of state and Central governments and panchayat raj institutions. Despite the success of the SFURTI scheme, an independent evaluation of the SFURTI clusters has highlighted the need to improve the sustainability and competitiveness of these clusters.

The recommendations include an enhanced allocation per cluster, increased responsibilities for technical agencies, critical financial appraisal and development of robust business plans, and convergence of programmes at the cluster level.