Let us hope this won’t spark another ‘intolerance’ debate or divide our society on ‘nationalistic’ lines, but if the Government accepts a plea from the Khadi & Village Industries Commission (KVIC), government employees could be wearing khadi to work once in a week.
The KVIC thinks such a move will boost sales because around 47 lakh people work in central government jobs.
Khadi has not witnessed any significant rise in sales despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to the people to wear more khadi.
I had urged you all to buy some Khadi and I am happy the sales have increased so much. This is realisation of Jan Shakti: PM @narendramodi
Advertisement— PMO India (@PMOIndia) September 20, 2015
Data from the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises reveals that there was only a marginal rise in sales of khadi in 2014-15 from 2013-14.
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
To ensure that they are able to compete in the market like any other industry, KVIC is looking for tie ups with Fabindia and Raymond. The KVIC is also hopeful that offices switch to khadi uniforms.
Many government employees do wear khadi occasionally thanks to Fabindia’s push into this segment and celebrities such as Salman Khan endorsing khadi.
Even if the government accepts KVIC’s proposal, it would not be compulsory for employees to wear khadi to office, but there will surely be a new wave of sanskar.
