Earlier this year, the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) signed an MoU for the annual supply of its products with the armed forces as a part of the ‘Self-Reliant’ India Initiative. So far, KVIC has received orders worth a total of ₹14 crore from the paramilitary forces. The most recent order includes one for 77,600 Khadi cotton durries (rugs) worth ₹4 Crore from the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). In August this year, KVIC also received a supply order of 1.91 lakh Khadi cotton durries worth ₹10 crore from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), a nodal agency that procures provisions on behalf of all paramilitary forces in the country.
“The repeat order for Khadi cotton durries is a testimony of the excellent quality of Khadi products which is the hallmark of Khadi. These bulk orders for Khadi products will not only encourage the use of Swadeshi products in our forces but also create large-scale additional employment for Khadi artisans,” said the Chairman of KVIC, Vinai Kumar Saxena, in a statement. The durries will be produced by KVIC institutions in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab.
Recently, KVIC also completed an order for American conscious clothing brand Patagonia worth ₹1.08 crore ($162,000). Patagonia placed the order through a tie-up between KVIC and Indian textile company Arvind Mills for 30,000 metres of Khadi denim fabric.
Image used for representational purposes only.