New Delhi, July 25 (KNN) With increase in sale of Khadi Industries products during the last 2 years, honey has been on the top list of exports among other khadi products.

This was informed by Minister of State (I/C) for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Giriraj Singh in a written reply to Rajya Sabha.

He said honey has been the highest exports grosser with Rs. 13349.03 and 13627.15 lakh in 2016-17 & 2017-18.

He informed the members of Rajya Sabha that the sale of Khadi and Village Industries (KVI) products has increased during the last two years registering the sale of Rs. 52138.21 crore in 2016-17 and Rs. 59098.04 crore in 2017-18. 

The Minister said Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) is engaged in promoting and developing Khadi and Village Industries through Khadi and Village Industries Institutions, State Khadi and Village Industries Boards (KVIBs) and District Industries Centre (DIC) in the country.

The KVIC does not export khadi products directly, rather the products being exported by Khadi and Village Industries units or through merchants exporters, Singh informed the members.

 He said seventeen items worth Rs. 26,938.74 lakh were exported by KVI units in 2016-17 and Rs. 27,500 Lakh in 2017-18.

These products are exported to European, Asian and North American countries, Singh pointed.

Besides, Minister informed the House that assistance is provided under the Market Promotion and Development Assistance (MPDA) scheme to the eligible KVI Institutions for participation in international exhibitions and trade fairs held abroad.

He said they are provided space rent upto Rs 1.25 Lakh and air fare upto Rs.1.00 lakh and also given monetary incentives for participation in domestic & international exhibitions at State and National levels.

Financial assistance is also provided to exporters participating in International Trade Fairs held in India like India International Trade Fair (IITF), New Delhi, where stall rentals are subsidized for exporting institutions, Minister added.

Further he highlighted the other initiatives for the promotion of exports globally which includes the tie up with premier export institutions like Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Federation of Indian Export Organization (FIEO), CII and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), World Trade Centre (WTC) and Trade Promotion Council of India.

Also, a MoU was signed between KVIC and Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail Ltd., Raymond and Arvind Mills for sale of Khadi fabric in the country and abroad, said Singh.

In a landmark step, KVIC has applied for registration of “Khadi” as a Word mark and “Khadi India” as a Trade Mark in the IPR Act at the National Level.

It has also filed an online application for registering “Khadi” as a trade mark under International bureau in European Union and other countries, Singh added.