Revision as of 18:57, 15 April 2019

Eco-friendly khadi

S. Murali, In the city of saris, Khadi goes organic, August 3, 2018: The Hindu

Threads of nature:Eco-friendly khadi dress material put on display by a group of weavers in Chirala. Picture courtesy: The Hindu- Special Arrangement
From: S. Murali, In the city of saris, Khadi goes organic, August 3, 2018: The Hindu

Enterprising producers in Chirala have taken a green turn

Weavers from Chirala, which derives its name from word chira (sari), have carved a niche for themselves, making silk and cotton fabrics for men and women for centuries.

But the going has been tough in the era of global textile competition, and members of GenX from the community from across the State have been quitting the profession. Many weavers have also been hurt by the GST regime.

But a group of enterprising weavers in the handloom town want to show that some innovation can make things different. They have taken to making organic Khadi dress material for women in a big way. Even if the khadi dress material is a bit costly, they are in great demand as they are free from chemicals that harm the skin. The dress material made with natural dyes are particular favourites, say the weavers. They have been producing environment-friendly dress material in a span of just three days. What makes some dress material special is that it carries seed remnants.

Guntur cotton

The weavers first came out with eco-friendly khadi shirting material for men. “Encouraged by the good response, we now make dress material — top, salwar and dupatta — from good quality cotton produced by farmers from neighbouring Guntur district,” said Indira Abhyudaya Silk Handloom Weavers Society president B. Shyam Sundar. But saris are never out of fashion, and the target audience includes youth. “We will soon come out with khadi saris as well, anticipating a good demand from women of all ages,” adds S. Aruna, an expert at producing dress material from the Janarpeta area.

With elections round the corner, new demand is expected. We hope to bag orders from politicians as well as party workers, said B. Balashankar Rao, who takes his consignment of specially-made khadi dress material to “Neta Bazaar.”

Still mostly offline

Though these weavers had launched online marketing, the bulk of the sale happens through Neta Bazaar in Chirala.

The clothes are also popular at handloom expos organised by the Union and State Governments, according to weavers.

Year-wise statistics of production, sales

2015-16: 14% growth in sales

The Times of India, May 29 2016

Khadi units' sales soar 14% to Rs 36,425cr

Sidhartha

India Inc may be complaining of weak rural sales due to poor rains for two years in a row, but khadi and village industries, which manufactures products ranging from honey to soaps and food to handicrafts, are clocking a double-digit growth. Data available with TOI shows sales of khadi and village industries shot up by over 14% to Rs 36,425 crore during 2015-16, while India's top FMCG players reported a much lower sales growth. The only exception perhaps is Ramdev's Patanjali Ayurved, which claimed to have grown faster by more than doubling its turnover to Rs 5,000 crore last year.

Unlike FMCG firms that rely on their own plants for production, khadi and village industries products are manufactured by 7 lakh privately-owned household units. These units are funded through schemes such as PM's Employment Generation Programme.

A small part of the produce is sold through Khadi Boards and outlets owned by Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC). The majority of products, which could be henna, papad or agarbattis, is directly sold through private shops.

Unlike Patanjali, which has launched a high-decibel campaign, village industry sales have been driven by an aggressive distribution push, including to institutional buyers such as Air India and Indian Railways, said KVIC chairman VK Saxena. Air India for instance has placed a Rs 8 crore order to source khadi products for kits given to first and business class travellers.

Khadi fabric and garments sales witnessed a 29% growth and crossed Rs 1,500 crore mark for the first time. While the government is pushing khadi, there is also a change in the sales mix with readymade garments now accounting for around 45% compared to nearly 30% two years ago.

2015-17: an increase- Production (31%), sales (33%), unemployment

Radheshyam Jadhav, March 11, 2018: The Times of India

HIGHLIGHTS

A major chunk, 3.2 lakh out of the drop of 6.8 lakh jobs, was in the central zone comprising Uttarakhand, UP, Chhattisgarh and MP.

Nearly 1.2 lakh jobs were lost in the east zone that includes Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha and Andaman and Nicobar.

Are people working in khadi industries leaving their jobs in droves? The official figures seem to suggest so. Data provided by the ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises to the Lok Sabha shows that the number of people employed in the khadi sector fell from 11.6 lakh to 4.6 lakh between 2015-16 and 2016-17.

A closer look suggests that at least some of this may be just records getting cleaned up. But how much is due to this factor and how many jobs have been lost to modernisation is not clear. Interestingly, the years during which the jobs plummeted — 2015-16 to 2016-17 — the production of khadi increased by 31.6% and sales grew 33%. According to the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), the employment numbers till 2015-16 did not reflect the true picture because while new job creations were being added, the figures on people leaving the sector were not being updated.

KVIC: New model charkhas too made khadi artisans lose job

The KVIC also accepts that introduction of new model charkhas to replace the traditional single spindle ones could be the cause of some job loss.

“Most spinners were working on single spindle traditional charkhas earlier which are more employment intensive. With the adoption of new model charkhas many old artisans have exited,” states the commission’s annual report. However, neither the ministry nor the commission have spelt out how much of the drop in jobs is due to this factor.

A major chunk, 3.2 lakh out of the drop of 6.8 lakh jobs, was in the central zone comprising Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. Nearly 1.2 lakh jobs were lost in the east zone that includes Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha and Andaman and Nicobar.

Employment generation under the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) also appears to be on the decline in 2017-18. According to the data given to the Lok Sabha, about 3.2 lakh people were employed under the programme in 2015-16, which rose to 4.1 lakh in 2016-17.

However, in the first ten months of 2017-18, only 2.5 lakh people were added. The number of projects assisted under PMEGP also seem to be declining with 31,000-odd in April-January of the current financial year against nearly 53,000 in 2016-17. PMEGP is a credit linked subsidy scheme, for setting up new micro-enterprises and generate employment opportunities in rural and urban areas.

2016-17: rapid growth of sales

John Sarkar & Sidhartha, Moneyspinner: Sales of khadi village goods top Rs 50,000cr, May 1, 2017: The Times of India;;

Khadi global push: KVIC eyes exports , May 1, 2017: The Times of India

Revenue, 2016-17 data for Amul and KVIC, 2015-16 for other companies; Khadi global push: KVIC eyes exports , May 1, 2017: The Times of India

33% increase in sales

One doesn't usually associate village industries and khadi units with big bucks. But last year, the low-profile segment notched up sales of over Rs 50,000 crore for the first time. While khadi sales are being pushed hard by the government, the surprise is the bumper demand for products such as honey , soaps, cosmetics, furniture and organic food items, which are produced by village industries and many of which are run by women.

Data collated by Khadi & Village Industries Commission (KVIC) showed that during the last financial year, sales of village industries produce, or Gramodyog, grew 24% to just a shade under Rs 50,000 crore. Meanwhile, khadi products notched up sales of Rs 2,005 crore, up 33% from Rs 1,635 crore in 2015-16.

While the combined KVIC turnover makes it larger than several consumer goods companies in the country , khadi sales on a standalone basis may be closing in on Bombay Dyeing and Raymond, which are yet to disclose numbers for the previous financial year.The government body has now set a target of more than doubling khadi sales to Rs 5,000 crore by 2018-19.

Although the government may have done its bit in promoting khadi and village produce, consumers too seem to be more favourably inclined. The trend is also catchng on with consumers abroad. “Earlier, khadi was only preferred by the political class, be it the kurta or the cap,“ said brand expert Harish Bijoor. “But with consumers increasingly looking for natural products, the organisation is on a roll.“

Increasingly , this seems to be turning into an international phenomenon. During a survey in 21 overseas markets, khadi was the most recalled Indian brand, along with yoga, said Bijoor. No wonder the government organisation is now looking at exports.“Currently, we are not doing direct exports. But we will soon kick it off. It will help make khadi an international brand,“ said KVIC chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena.

Industry experts attributed the organisation's success to many domesti and international fashion desig ners preferring to work with sustainable and natural fabrics. There is also a buzz among millennial shoppers, who care about whether the clothes they wear or the products they use create jobs. Since khadi cloth is handspun and its products are mainly created by artisans in rural areas, it is said the brand invokes good vibes in consumers.

“The KVIC model is unique. They sell through government-owned stores as well as other retail outlets,“ said Arvind Singhal, founder of retail consultancy Technopak. “It is also one of the most underrated compa nies in India, which has the potential of public listing.“

While low production growth was a drag on sales in recent years, during the last fiscal year, khadi output grew by 31% to Rs 1,396 crore, while village industries saw a 23% rise to Rs 41,110 crore.

2018-19: 28% increase

Sidhartha, Khadi sales zoom 28%, KVIC eyes ₹5k cr in FY20, April 15, 2019: The Times of India

Khadi doesn’t seem to have been hit by any demand slowdown, with sales rising 28% to Rs 3,215 crore in 2018-19, making it one of the most rapid rise in recent years.

“There has been a very good response across segments be it fabric, readymade garments and even solar vastra. During the last five years, we have seen a quantum jump every year,” said Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) chairman V K Saxena. While KVIC has been complaining of production growth not keeping pace with demand, it reported a 17% jump in production to Rs 1,900 crore in 2018-19, compared to 7% a year ago.

KVIC’s revenues comes from sale of khadi as well as village industry products such as food products and cosmetics, which are many times bigger than garments. The steady growth in khadi sales has helped KVIC bridge the gap with some of the leading garment majors, which are seeing a slower pace of growth.

In 2017-18, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail, which boasts of leading garment brands in its portfolio, reported sales of Rs 7,181 crore, while Raymond’s had consolidated revenue of over Rs 6,000 crore, but both companies saw a growth of under 10%. Fabindia, which is seen to be a rival to Khadi, had sales of over Rs 1,000 crore but the growth was almost flat.

Buoyed by the spurt in demand, Saxena has set a sales target of over Rs 5,000 crore for the current financial year, which is seen to be highly ambitious, given that it will require a growth of 55%, which is unprecedented at least since 2004-05.