Delhi’s Khadi stores witnesses Rs 1.2 crore sales on Dhanteras, Prime Minister Modi calls it ‘transformation’

By

Maverick Martins

Published
Oct 30, 2017

The Khadi Gramodyog Bhavan Delhi store witnessed record sales of Rs 1.2 crore (approx $185000) on the occasion of Dhanteras (Indian festival) which was celebrated across the country on October 17 with the Prime Minister of India naming it a ‘matter of satisfaction’.
 

Khadi is a hand-spun and hand-woven cloth made from cotton, silk or wool, which are spun into threads on a traditional spinning implement made famous by India’s father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi.
 
From the time Prime Minister of India launched the Khadi for fashion concept last October in the country, the fabric has got a huge fillip with the government and corporates actively promoting khadi across the globe.

The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) which operated under the Indian ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) recorded sales of Rs 2,005 crore (approx $309 million) in this financial year compared to around Rs 1,520 crore (approx $234.2 million) in the previous fiscal.
 
It has now set a sales target of Rs 5,000 crore (approx $770 million) for fiscal 2018-19 and also planning to take the fabric to international markets.
 
Leading corporates firms like Raymond, Allen Solly, Turtle, Arvind Ltd have also collaborated with KVIC to launch their own khadi brands in the country.
 
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday in his 37th 'Mann ki Baat' radio address termed such growth as a matter of satisfaction and also emphasized on the need to promote khadi as a tool for transformation.
 
"Such sale of Khadi in a single store is a matter of satisfaction and has provided additional income to the weavers and artistes. The new mantra is 'Khadi for transformation'. Khadi and handloom are transforming the lives of the poorest of the poor. Khadi has emerged as the most potent tool for transforming villages," Prime Minister Modi said, in his monthly radio address.
 
With Khadi for transformation the government intends to create five crore jobs through the khadi industry over the next five years.