Jobs created through KVIC programmes jump nearly 4% in FY21; 97% jobs generated by village industries

Skill, Labour, Talent for MSMEs: Out of 1.58 crore jobs in FY21, nearly 97 per cent jobs – 1.53 crore were generated/sustained by village industries while remaining 4.97 lakh jobs were created/sustained by the Khadi programme.

Skill, Labour, Talent for MSMEs: The estimated employment generated through Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) in FY21 stood at 1.58 crore – up 3.8 per cent from 1.52 crore in FY20 and 7.9 per cent from 1.46 crore in FY19, according to the data shared by MSME Minister Narayan Rane in Lok Sabha on Thursday. Out of 1.58 crore jobs in FY21, nearly 97 per cent jobs – 1.53 crore were generated/sustained by village industries while remaining 4.97 lakh jobs were created/sustained by the Khadi programme. The minister noted that implementation of schemes such as Credit-linked subsidy programme PMEGP and others under Gramodyog Vikas Yojana including Honey Mission, Kumbhar Sashaktikaran Programme, Leather craft Artisans Empowerment Programm, Khadi Vikas Yojana, and Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries helped boost employment under KVIC.

For instance, under PMEGP around 7 lakh micro enterprises were assisted in providing employment to an estimated 57 lakh persons since its inception in FY09 till June 30, 2021. The programme aimed at generating employment by setting up micro-enterprises in the non-farm sector by offering credit up to Rs 25 lakh in the manufacturing sector and Rs 10 lakh in the service sector, with margin money subsidy of 15 per cent to 35 per cent for different categories.

Despite Covid, KVIC had in June this year reported its highest-ever turnover during FY21 as it saw a 7.71 per cent growth in gross annual turnover to Rs 95,741.74 crores from Rs 88,887 crores in FY20, the commission had said in a statement by the MSME Ministry. According to KVIC, the overall production of khadi and village industry sectors in FY21 witnessed 101 per cent growth in comparison to FY16 while the gross sales during this period increased by 128.66 per cent. The commission said the growth was due to the launch of Khadi e-portal, Khadi masks, Khadi footwear, Khadi Prakritik Paint, Khadi hand sanitizers, etc., setting up of a record number of new PMEGP units, new SFURTI clusters, government’s push to Swadeshi and KVIC’s agreements with paramilitary forces for the supply of provisions.

Meanwhile, to protect the word mark and brand ‘khadi’ globally, KVIC last month said it has secured ‘khadi’ trademark registrations in three more countries – Bhutan, UAE, and Mexico. According to the MSME Ministry, applications for similar trademarks have been pending in 40 other countries including the USA, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Japan, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Brazil, etc. The total number of countries where the Khadi trademark has been secured has gone up from six viz., Germany, the UK, Australia, Russia, China, and EU to nine now.