Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC)

Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) is a statutory body of the Indian Constitution. It comes under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. It was established by Khadi and Village Industries Act, 1956. It has been amended twice, in 1965 and 2006. It is one among the important constitutional, statutory and quasi-judicial bodies of India.

This article will provide you with the relevant facts about the KVIC for the IAS Exam preparation.

Objectives of KVIC

The broad objectives of the Khadi Village and Industries Commission encompassing self-reliance and sustainability are:

1. To boost employment in the country.
2. To promote the promotion and sale of Khadi articles
3. To cater to the self-reliance doctrine of the country by empowering underprivileged and rural sections of the society.

Rural Development-related articles can be found in the links below.

Functions of KVIC

The following are the functions of Khadi Village and Industries Commission:

1. It plans, promotes, organizes, and implements programmes for the development of Khadi and Village Industries (KVI).
2. It coordinates with multiple agencies that are engaged in rural development for several initiatives w.r.t khadi and village industries in rural areas.
3. It maintains a reserve of raw materials that can be further promoted in the supply-chain.
4. It aids in creating common service facilities that help in processing of raw materials.
5. It aids the marketing of KVI products through artisans and other avenues.
6. It creates linkages with multiple marketing agencies for the promotion and sale of KVI products.
7. It encourages and promotes research and development in the KVI sector.
8. It brings solutions to the problems associated with the KVI products by promoting research study and enhancing competitive capacity.
9. It also helps in providing financial assistance to the individuals and institutions related to the khadi and village industries.
10. It enforces guidelines to comply with the product standards to eliminate the production of ingenuine products.
11. It is empowered to bring projects, programmes, schemes in relation to khadi and village industries’ development.

Aspirants can complement the information about KVIC with the reading of Gist of Yojana on Handicrafts and Textiles of India in the linked article.

Progress of KVIC

The development of Khadi and Village Industries can be asked in the form of Essay in UPSC Mains. Hence, aspirants can take help from the latest report of KVIC, ‘Two Years’ Progress Report (2016-2018)’ for important facts.

Some important highlights taken from the KVIC report regarding the Khadi and Village industries and the commission are:

1. The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi quotes, “Earlier it was Khadi for the nation, Khadi for fashion, now it is becoming Khadi for transformation.”
2. The Mission Solar Charkha has empowered women by bringing self-esteem and self-reliance among them.
3. The significant transformation both in Khadi production and Khadi sales are mentioned from the figures below:
   • The average Khadi production has grown from 6.52 percent in 2004-14 to 26.43 percent in 2015-18.
   • The average Khadi sales grew from 6.62 percent in 2004-14 to 31 percent in 2015-18.
   • The number of Khadi sales outlets funded for modernization stands at 728 between 2015-2018. There were no outlets reported between 2004-2014.
   • 400 computers, hardware and software have been supplied to Khadi institutions for digitalization between 2015 and 2018.
4. Khaadi Haat was set up for the first time in 2018 in New Delhi.
5. Digital India Pavilion was established by KVIC in the India International Trade Fair.
6. A larger steel charkha at East Champaran was inaugurated in April 2018 to commemorate the visit of Mahatma Gandhi.
7. KVIC gifted Gandhi Charkha to Uganda which was unveiled on the international day of non-violence. (Read about important national and international dates for UPSC from the linked article.)
8. KVIC envisages an artisan-centric vision for the transformation in Khadi and Village industries.
9. The five organs of the KVIC are mentioned in the report:
   • Organization
   • Community
   • Village Industry
   • Market
   • Heritage
10. It has brought KVIC e-portal for Khadi institutions that help artisans promote and sell their KVI products across India.
11. KVIC is the nodal agency to develop clusters for Khadi production under Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI).

KVIC is also the nodal agency for the implementation of the Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP).

Mission of the Organs of KVIC

There are five organs of KVIC as mentioned above. The mission of each organ is given in brief below:

1. Organization: KVIC aims to take responsibility to develop KVI and unburden the government.
2. Community: To enable the rural community through promoting security for life.
3. Village Industry – To increase productivity in KVI sectors.
4. Market – To aid the sales and marketing of KVI products.
5. Heritage – To protect the socio-cultural value as a national asset.

UPSC Preparation: