Bihar's Khadi and Village Industries Board to sell handloom textiles across India under "Bihar Khadi" brand name

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Dec 21, 2018

On Dec. 20, the Khadi and Village Industries Board in Bihar state signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a private textile business to retail the region’s handloom textiles under the brand “Bihar Khadi”.

Soon, Bihar Khadi brand textiles will be rolled out across India following a partnership between Bihar’s KVIB and a private textile business. The MoU was signed on Thursday between KVIB’s CEO B N Prasad and the category head of the private business Pramod Pradhan. The MoU was witnessed by the State Minister of Industry Jai Kumar Singh in Patna.

The MoU pledges that the two parties will work together to sell Bihar-made Khadi fabrics across India in a variety of retail outlets. The textile business will procure the Khadi textiles from weaver’s organisations in the state and pay above the base cost (manufacturing and labour) then sell them through its network of 20,000 retail outlets pan-India. The business will also give design, manufacturing, and marketing guidance to the weaver’s organisations, of which the state has 84.

“The initiative will help weaver organizations in manufacturing products according to latest fashion,” said Singh at the signing event, as reported by TNN. Singh also stated that the MoU will help to modernise Bihar’s textile industry and help workers to earn a living wage and that his ministry would also provide financial assistance to weavers.

Prasad stated that the MoU “will lead to better market penetration for our products. The plan is expected to be finalized within the next six months.”

Bihar Emporiums will also open in cities including Kochi, Ludhiana, and Mumbai to sell the textiles. Prasad stated that the MoU is valid for one year and could be extended based on the results.