“The soul of India lives in its villages,” declared Mahatma Gandhi at the beginning of the Twentieth century. He insisted that hand-spinning is the central industry that must engage our attention if we are to re-establish the village home.
Ahead of the Mahatma’s 148
th birth anniversary, Indian Institute of Management Rohtak has joined the initiative to promote Khadi. On Thursday, 28 September 2017, the institute invited the Khadi Ashram secretary and his team to showcase Khadi and related items encouraging the students to adopt the fabric.
Director IIM Rohtak, Professor Dheeraj Sharma said, “For our nation to become a true superpower, we must have a strong identity. Khadi is a very important ingredient of our national identity. Hence, for us to do well economically and intellectually, in our efforts to become a superpower, we must nurture our identity by supporting our Khadi Udyog.”
The village industries produce, or Gramodyog, grew by 24% in the fiscal year 2016-17, with Khadi products sales growing by 33 percent to reach Rs. 2005 crore during the same period. The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has now set a target of more than doubling khadi sales to Rs 5,000 crore by 2018-19.
The Government has done its bit in promoting the Khadi industry. With institutions like IIM Rohtak joining the bid, it seems Khadi’s popularity is set to gain further.