'Indian brand' Khadi set for a bigger play in foreign market

A meeting chaired by Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu with top officials from several government departments was held last week to chalk out the strategy for promoting Khadi

The government is eyeing massive international exposure for khadi by positioning it as an “Indian brand”, which only the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) is entitled to promote or claim as its own, and a bigger footprint in foreign missions and exhibitions, an official has said.

The move may throw a spanner in the works of companies, especially foreign firms that are trying to register khadi as a trademark.

A German company, named Khadi Natureprodukte GbR, had registered ‘khadi’ as a trademark with the European agency, OHIM (Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market). Spain-based OHIM is the nodal