New Delhi, Sept 18 (KNN) The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has extended the benefits of various employment generation schemes to nearly 1,500 persons in 10 cities to celebrate ''Sewa Diwas'', which marks the birthday of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

From Arunachal Pradesh on the North Eastern Frontier to Bikaner on the Western Border and from Chandigarh and New Delhi in the North to Madurai and Coimbatore down South, KVIC on Thursday organized 14 programs to expand the ambit of its welfare projects to create local employment.

Minister of State for MSME, Pratap Chandra Sarangi inaugurated a SFURTI Cluster of 500 artisans for making hand-knotted carpets in Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh. Sarangi lauded the initiatives of KVIC for empowering artisans and said this would help realize the dream of resurgent India.

''Khadi is playing a big role in making India “Aatmanirbhar”, he added.

KVIC Chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena launched six different programs in Varanasi, the Parliamentary constituency of the Minister, that include the first Footwear Training cum Production Center in Varanasi for leather artisans (Mochi) in collaboration with Central Footwear Training Institute (CFTI), Agra. He also distributed 6 innovative cycle-mounted Tea/Coffee Selling units under Project DigniTEA that will enable tea-sellers to earn a respectable livelihood while selling tea/coffee hygienically.

He distributed electric pottery wheels to 300 Kumhar families under Kumhar Sashaktikaran Yojana and 200 bee boxes to 20 farmers' families under Honey Mission. Later, he also distributed 6 hand-operated Agarbatti making machines at Sewapuri Block in Varanasi under the Khadi Agarbatti Aatmanirbhar Mission while also launching the plantation of 100 saplings of Bambusa Tulda, a bamboo species used for making Agarbatti sticks. This will lead to the local availability of raw material for Agarbatti.

Notably, Sewapuri has been identified as one of the “Inspirational Districts” by Niti Aayog and several projects have already been launched at Sewpuri to provide employment to migrant workers.

In the scenic village of Chullyu in Arunachal Pradesh, Saxena inaugurated the state's first Silk Training cum Production Centre that will create local employment to artisans and increase the production of local Silk. KVIC has renovated a dilapidated government school building to develop the Silk Training cum Production Centre. Locals said no such job-oriented activity had taken place in Arunachal Pradesh in the last 50 years.

KVIC Chairman said sustainable development through local employment generation has been the key focus of KVIC which is aligned with the Prime Minister’s commitment of “Job to Every Hand” (Har Hath Me Kaam).

“It is the inspiration and appeal of the Prime Minister that has taken Khadi to a new height. We are hopeful that he will continue to lead Khadi as its biggest brand ambassador,” Saxena said.

He also distributed 6 cycle-mounted Tea and Coffee selling units to local unemployed youths each in New Delhi, Jaipur and Chandigarh.

Seeking to empower local artisans, KVIC Chairman distributed New Model Charkha in Rajasthan’s Bikaner district and Kovilpatti in Madurai district in Tamil Nadu. Similarly, to provide Khadi artisans with better marketing opportunities, KVIC inaugurated two Khadi sales outlets in Barkhedi in Bhopal and Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu respectively.