New Delhi, Jul 30 (KNN)  In order to boost export of khadi and village industry (KVI) products, the Government has given deemed 'Export Promotion Council' status to Khadi Village Industry Council (KVIC) under which KVIC has already enlisted more than 900 exporters. 
 
“There is a provision of providing incentive in the form of 5 per cent FOB value of direct export of KVI products. Besides, KVIC has also been focusing on quality participation in International Exhibitions and Buyer-Seller Meets abroad to tap new/emerging markets for KVI products,” said the MSME Minister, Kalraj Mishra in the Lok Sabha today. 
 
For the holistic development and promotion of khadi and village industries in the country, the Government of India has established a statutory body named the Khadi and Village Industries Commission.   KVIC implements a number of schemes for development, promotion and growth of khadi.     
 
Under Market Development Assistance (MDA), assistance is provided at the rate of 20 per cent of value of production khadi and polyvastra to be shared among artisans, producing institutions and selling institutions in the ratio 25:30:45.
 
As for the Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI), assistance for replacement of obsolete equipment, setting up common facilities centres, product development, market promotion and other support are provided in clusters.
 
In the Scheme for Enhancing Productivity and Competitiveness of Khadi Industry and Artisans, assistance for replacement of charka, product development, design intervention and packaging etc. is provided.
 
For providing bank loans for khadi and polyvastra at subsidized rates of interest, the Interest Subsidy Eligibility Certification (ISEC) scheme is applicable.
 
There is also a scheme for strengthening infrastructure of existing weak khadi institutions and assistance for marketing infrastructure envisaging renovation of khadi sales outlets and providing assistance for strengthening infrastructure of existing weak selected institutions
 
KVIC with assistance of USD 150 million from Asian Development Bank (ADB) also implements a comprehensive reform package for the khadi sector namely Khadi Reform and Development Programme (KRDP), which includes capacity building of 300 khadi institutions and incentivizing production. ‘Khadi Mark’ has also been introduced to guarantee the genuineness and purity of khadi sold in the market. Formation of new khadi institutions are also promoted by KVIC.
 
Rural enterprises play a pivotal role in the overall industrial development of the country and the development of rural industries is primarily the responsibility of State Governments. However, the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) supplements the efforts of State Governments by implementing a number of schemes for the development of khadi, village industries and coir through Khadi and Village Industries commission (KVIC) and Coir Board.
 
These include a major credit-linked subsidy programme named Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) being implemented through banks since 2008-09 with KVIC as nodal agency at the national level for generating employment in the country by setting up of micro-enterprises in the non-farm sector.
 
Under PMEGP, general category beneficiaries can avail of margin money subsidy of 25 per cent of the project cost in rural areas and 15 per cent in urban areas.  For beneficiaries belonging to special categories such as scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, OBCs, minorities, women, ex-servicemen, physically handicapped, beneficiaries belonging to North Eastern Region, hill and border areas, etc.,  the margin money subsidy is 35 per cent in rural areas and 25 per cent in urban areas.
 
The maximum cost of project is Rs 10 lakh in the service sector. Under PMEGP, a total of 2.73 lakh micro enterprises have been assisted with a margin money subsidy of Rs 5223.87 crore providing employment to an estimated 24.06 lakh persons since its inception till June 2014.   (KNN/ES)