Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Madhya Pradesh is miles behind other states in the production and sale of Khadi - the handwoven and handspun textile which formed the axis of Mahatma Gandhi’s Swadeshi Movement. The production of Khadi under the aegis of the Madhya Pradesh Khadi and Village Industries Board fell from Rs 6.29 crore in 2016-17 to Rs 2.45 crore in 2023-24.
The Board runs 18 emporiums all over the state, which together sold Khadi products worth just Rs 12.96 crore in 2022-23. The figure fell further to Rs 10.55 crore in 2023-24. The Board gives work to 1,074 artisans, of which 292 are weavers and 755, spinners.
Officials at the Board said that hospitals, prisons and government-run hostels are their main buyers. The government also buys Khadi cloth from them for stitching uniforms for peons in government departments. It means that the government is the main buyer.
At the State office of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) of the Government of India, deputy director Vineet Kumar Verma said that they are not authorised to share data on production and sale of Khadi in the state. However, the annual report of the KVIC for the year 2022-23 shows that the state’s performance has been dismal.
According to the report, the total production of Khadi in the country in 2022-23 was 1,830 lakh square metres, of which Madhya Pradesh accounted for just 12 lakh sq metres i.e. only 0.65%. The total sales of Khadi in the country in that year was Rs 5,943 crore. The corresponding figure for Madhya Pradesh was Rs 37 crore i.e. 0.62%.
Compare this with Uttar Pradesh, where the total sales of Khadi was Rs 1,556 crore. Even Uttarakhand (Rs 75 crore), Chhattisgarh (Rs 71 crore) and Jharkhand (Rs 46 crore) were ahead of MP.
As far as employment generation by the Khadi sector goes, of the total 4.98 lakh artisans in India, just 3,707 (0.74%) are in the state, of which 2,450 are women. On the other hand, Khadi gives employment to 1.37 lakh artisans in Uttar Pradesh.
