In an endeavour to generate employment in the country’s MSME sector, the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has been given the role of governing the Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) Scheme during 2010-11.

In this context, Gopal Shukla, owner of Khadi Bhandar, a small-sized unit in Varanasi which manufactures and exports khadi garments, said, “KVIC being the apex body for the cottage industries in the country, it will be able to give a facelift to sectors such as coir, khadi and handicrafts which have significant MSME-presence."

A total sum of Rs 9.06 billion has been reserved as part of the scheme of which Rs 8.36 billion will be used as margin money subsidy.

“In some south Indian and north-eastern states, cottage industries and MSMEs employ the maximum number of people. But there is still a major labour shortage in these sectors which can be addressed by government schemes such as PMEGP,” said Sakthi Lakshman, owner of Ramakrishna Khadi Bhavan, a small-sized unit in Pondicherry which manufactures and supplies khadi handloom and handicrafts products.

Meanwhile, a 3-day expo titled Indian Fashion Carnival, which is scheduled to be held at Kolkata from September 10, 2010 will be focusing on khadi in an attempt to promote the sector and its weavers. This event holds huge importance for khadi-based MSMEs, which can benefit from interaction with foreign buyers who are likely to attend the carnival.  Incidentally, buyers from the US and Dubai are expected to be present at the event.