Page 18 - NIS English 01-15 November, 2024

YEARS
OF VOCAL FOR LOCAL
COVER STORY
When the people take charge of nation-
building, no power in the world can stop
that country from moving forward.
We have seen a direct example of this
during this time of festivals. In 'Mann Ki
Baat', I emphasized Vocal For Local i.e.
buying local products. Within the last
few days, more than four lakh crore
rupees worth of business was done in
the country on Diwali, Bhaiya Dooj, and
Chhath. During this time, tremendous
enthusiasm was seen to buy products
made in India. Now even the children
of the house have started looking at
whether Made In India is written on it or
not while buying something at the shop.
- Narendra Modi, Prime Minister
(26 November 2023 Mann Ki Baat)
talk of self-reliant India, vocal for local, i.e. adopting
goods made in India has become a part of every
household. Farmers, weavers, handicraftsmen, and
Vishwakarmas are benefiting the most from this.
KHADI BECAME A SYMBOL OF NATIONAL
FASHION
Before independence, the spinning wheel and khadi
became a symbol of mass movement. But in the later
years, its use narrowed to political class only. In such
a situation, Prime Minister Modi made a call for khadi
in his first 'Mann Ki Baat' program 10 years ago and it
became a national fashion. Khadi emerged as a driver
for the 'Vocal for Local' movement. Its reach started
being seen in the country and abroad. An example of
this is Oaxaca. There is a place in Mexico, a country
on the northern border of USA. Mark Brown, a youth
of this region, saw a film on Mahatma Gandhi. Brown
was so impressed by Bapu after watching this film that
16
16 NEW INDIA SAMACHAR | November 1-15, 2024
KHADI AND VILLAGE INDUSTRIES NOW HAVE
A SALES TARGET OF RS 2 LAKH CRORE
n A special discount campaign was started on
Khadi across the country from October 2, which
will run till November 30, 2024. In this, a discount
of 20% is being given on Khadi products and 10%
on Village Industry products.
n There are about 3,000 registered Khadi
institutions across the country, which employ
about 4.98 lakh Khadi artisans. About 80 percent
of them are women. The increased wages will
make these artisans economically empowered.
n In the last decade in the country, the wages of
Khadi laborers have been increased by about
213 percent. This is a symbol of economic
empowerment in rural India through Khadi.
n PM Modi appealed to join the Tiranga Yatra
campaign in 'Mann Ki Baat'. This is a lifeline for
Khadi artisans, as while Khadi made national
flags worth Rs 6 crore were sold in the financial
year 2021-22, it reached Rs 14 crore in 2022-23
with a jump of 133 percent.
n KVIC created 10.17 lakh new jobs in rural areas
during the financial year 2023-24 in line with the
objective. This made a significant contribution to
the economy of rural India.
n Employment in the Khadi-Village Industries sector
has increased by 43.65% in the last decade. It
has increased from 1.30 crore in the financial year
2013-14 to 1.87 crore in 2023-24. 10.17 lakh new jobs
have been created in this sector.
KVIC has set a target of selling
Khadi and Village Industries
products worth Rs 2 lakh crore for
2024-25. For the first time in the
financial year 2023-24, the sale
of Khadi and Village Industries
products has crossed the figure of
Rs 1 lakh 55 thousand crore.