India Inches Towards Self- Reliance As Khadi Industries Expand On National & Global Front

The Micro Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) sector makes key contributions to the Indian economy, and one of the important products sold under this sector is the local Khadi fabric. The Khadi industry is known to have generated employment opportunities among many rural households and constitutes a good share of our local and global market.

In recent years, the Khadi Village Industries Commission has reported a turnover of over ₹1.15 lakh crores in the industry. It was for the first time that such huge scale of sales were reported both from within the country as well as outside.

The success of the same has been often attributed to the way the Prime Minister has portrayed the indigenous industries and advocated to "buy local".

Crores Of Turnover Recorded As A First

The khadi fabric, apart from its characteristic qualities, owes a lot of its popularity to the patriotic fervour attached to it. A report released earlier this year suggested that the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) clocked in a turnover of ₹1.15 lakh crore in 2021-22, which is much higher than any FMCG company in the country. The turnover grew by 20.54 per cent more than the previous year.

In comparison to 2014-15, the overall production registered a growth of 172 per cent, along with a positive sales graph that peaked by over 248 per cent. With the increased production and sales seen in the past eight years, it gave an impetus to the employment of local artisans and more than 1.75 crore jobs were created through the same. These numbers remained constant even during the partial lockdown in the country during the Covid-19 pandemic.

With people opting for the locally crafted facemasks and so on, the production chain kept running and people continued with stability even within the local industry. This benefitted a huge proportion of the rural Indian community from spiralling down in financial insecurity. Added along with this was the nudge given to people by the government to become "self-sufficient" and realise the country's ambitions toward self-reliance.

According to a report by LiveMint, KVIC chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena attributed the phenomenal growth in the industry to government support. The appeal to achieve self-reliance and constant promotion of the 'Swadeshi' movement made the Khadi industry stand ahead of all FMCG companies in the country.

The unprecedented growth has also been traced back to the high global demand for khadi and its products. Apart from the local purchases, the industry also saw a growing market abroad and recorded more than four times growth in sales in the last eight years.

Growing Popularity For Locally Sourced Products

A report by The Statesman highlighted that the sales of Khadi had peaked around October 2nd after the government had promoted Mahatma Gandhi's message along with the Prime Minister's 'Atma Nirbhar' ideas. The Khadi outlet at Connaught Place in New Delhi had marked record sales of ₹1.34 crore within a single day. This was the case of a single outlet, and the combined numbers from across the country go way beyond.

Several media reports also suggested that a record growth in the sales of khadi products was recorded from countries abroad, such as the United States, United Arab Emirates, Germany, Italy, and multiple other European and West Asian countries.

The MSME had stated that the Khadi movement was established for economic, cultural, and social reasons that remain personal to India as a country, and today it has become an industry that helps the country grow through contributions to the employment and GDP rates.

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