KVIC wants Khadi included in MNREGA

Mumbai: Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has sent a proposal to the central government, asking it to include Khadi in MNREGA not only to have more artisans under the scheme but also to make unskilled workers earn more through them. These artisans will train the 5.40 lakh unskilled workers before involving them in Khadi production, thus helping them raise their annual income from Rs 20,000 to Rs 73,000.

Vinai Kumar Saxena, chairman, KVIC confirmed that a proposal had been sent to the government to have more artisans attached to KVIC and increase employment in the country. Speaking to The Asian Age, Mr Saxena said, “Our broader perspective is to have more employment generation for people for a longer time than for a fixed hundred days under the MNREGA scheme. This will not only help unskilled workers learn skills but also help them get stability through selling their products, especially the women of rural India.”

Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary, MoS, ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises ( MSME), on his maiden visit to the central office of KVIC said, “Buying one piece of cloth will generate employment for one artisan. As of today, MSME is generating 94 per cent employment and only 4 per cent is being generated by the public sector. Not only this, 65 per cent of GDP growth is from the MSME sector.”