Ease of Doing Business for MSMEs: Despite the pandemic, Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) on Thursday said it posted the highest-ever turnover during the financial year 2020-21. KVIC recorded a 7.71 per cent growth in gross annual turnover to Rs 95,741.74 crores from Rs 88,887 crores in FY20, the commission announced in a statement by the MSME Ministry, even as the production activities were suspended for over three months during last year’s lockdown announced on March 25. “During this period, all Khadi production units and sales outlets too remained closed that severely affected the production and sales,” the ministry said.
“There were a lot of government orders that we had received last year. While during the pandemic there was no sale but we had launched the online sale that supported our growth. Moreover, after khadi outlets were allowed to open last year, aggressive marketing was undertaken and customers had also started accepting local products,” Vinai Kumar Saxena, Chairman, KVIC had told Financial Express Online.
KVIC added that the overall production of khadi and village industry sectors in FY21 witnessed 101 per cent growth in comparison to FY16 while the gross sales during this period increased by 128.66 per cent. The commission reasoned launch of Khadi e-portal, Khadi masks, Khadi footwear, Khadi Prakritik Paint, Khadi hand sanitizers, etc., setting up of a record number of new PMEGP units, new SFURTI clusters, government’s push to Swadeshi and KVIC’s agreements with paramilitary forces for the supply of provisions for increased turnover. The village industry sector’s production had increased from Rs 65,393.40 crores in FY20 to Rs 70,329.67 crores in FY21. Likewise, sales of village industry products stood at Rs 92,214.03 crores in FY21 vis-à-vis Rs 84,675.29 crores in FY20.
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“We have added more than 527 new Khadi institutions and distributed over 50,000 new charkhas (to artisans) and around 10,000 looms that have added to the production. While the impact of second wave will be there, we will plan on growth once the lockdown lifts. Last year, over 28 lakh masks were sold while each outlet had sold 2,000-3,000 masks daily. Also, the government’s constant appeal to adopt khadi has helped in growth,” Saxena had said.
However, production and sales in the khadi sector dipped as spinning and weaving activities across the country took a major hit during the pandemic, the ministry added. While production declined to Rs 1904.49 crores from Rs 2292.44 crores in FY20, the sales contracted to Rs 3527.71 in FY21 from Rs 4211.26 crore in the preceding year. KVIC had launched its e-commerce marketplace early this year after running it in beta mode for four months with products across 58 categories including groceries, footwear, apparel, herbal medicines, spices, and more. The beta portal had served over 22,000 customers so far,” Saxena had told Financial Express Online in an earlier interaction.
