Khadi sales have jumped after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call last October advocating the need for use of such products, micro small and medium enterprises (MSME) minister Kalraj Mishra has said, according to media reports.
"Khadi sales have doubled (after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal)," he told reporters in New Delhi.
"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.
But a year-on-year comparison of the April-June quarter showed that retail sales of Khadi increased by 30.37 per cent.
Mishra's comments came at the inauguration of an exclusive exhibition cum sale of products from Jammu and 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.
Earlier on July 23, Mishra's deputy Giriraj Singh in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha said the government, in order to boost export of khadi products, has given deemed 'Export Promotion Council' status to e Khadi and Village Industries Commission i (KVIC) under which KVIC has already enlisted more than 900 exporters.
There is a provision of providing incentive in the form of 5 per cent FOB value of direct export of khadi products. Besides, KVIC has also been focusing on quality participation in International Exhibitions and Buyer-Seller Meets abroad to tap new/emerging markets for khadi products.
