Patna, May 31 (KNN) To promote khadi and khadi made products, Bihar industries department has decided to set up Khadi School at Manpur in Gaya.

Talking about starting a khadi school in Bihar, Industries Department's Principal Secretary S Sidharth said, “We are thinking of starting a batch consisting of 100 students from July or August this year.”

He said the minimum qualification required for admission will be either 10^th or 12^th certificate adding to this, he stated that the students will be trained as trainers and will be used as foot soldiers to promote khadi.

Meanwhile, Bihar Industries Minister Jai Kumar Singh on Wednesday flagged off a marketing support mobile van that would run in the secretariat area between different government department buildings promoting and selling khadi products.

Making Khadi a centre point, department is also working on constituting ‘Bihar Khadi Niti’ to promote sale of Khadi in the state.

A sale target of Rs 35 crore has been set for the next 3 years. The policy would work towards thread and khadi fabric production, the sale of khadi and provide fixed and technical assistance to khadi societies.

Also to promote e-marketing of Khadi, the department has planned to set up Bihar Khadi Management Information system.

Khadi producers would be given 20% grant of the total production cost as a token of encouragement to involve in Khadi. Besides, the quality of khadi would be tested by a national-level organization.

The state would also take efforts to construct bank for supporting silk, cocoon and wool.

For the availability of better quality products, design and production centres would also be set up. The department has decided to provide 90% grant to the weavers for modern spindle and looms.

 The department has also roped in Jeevika workers, who would be segregated into producer groups and taught thread-making.

Apart from taking above mentioned steps for promoting and encouraging Khadi production, the department has also roped in advisory company, Grant Thornton India LLP (Gurgaon), which on behalf of the department has tied up with private garment brands to utilize these weavers as outsourced manufacturers.

The raw material for the weavers would be procured by the department from the open market for the same.

Taking every possible measure to bring Khadi back in fashion, government is renovating old Khadi Showroon in Patna.

For which funds to the tune of Rs7.40 crore has been approved. The new showroom will be thrice the size of the old showroom with different sections for cotton, silk and woollen cloths as well as a separate section for village industries products.

Adding one more product to the basket, the industries department has decided to provide Rs8 lakh to the khadi societies to set up plants to produce soaps.

Twenty-five trainees from eight khadi societies have been sent to Mumbai to receive a month long training in soap manufacturing.