The Hindu Business Line : KVIC deserved a better deal

In the interim, the Government has set up a Commissioner for Khadi and Village Industries "with all the powers of the Commission on the date of dissolution of the Commission and all the programmes and policies being implemented by the dissolved Commission."

In a statement to the Lok Sabha, Mr Mahabir Prasad, Minister of Small-Scale Industries & Agro and Rural Industries, says the move comes following "the steep decline in employment in the khadi sector and nearly stagnant sales of khadi over the years, the need to take effective measures to introduce modern management practices in the KVI and make the khadi products competitive in the globalised economy and to enable the Government generate more employment opportunities in the rural areas through the schemes, projects and other activities of the KVIC."

Mr Prasad, in another reply to an unstarred question in the Lok Sabha, provides some financial details, which suggest that the khadi and village industries sector is doing well.

The value of total production of village industries in the KVI sector has grown from Rs 7,140.50 crore in 2001-02 to Rs 8,126.30 crore in 2002-03 and further to Rs 9,263.98 crore in 2003-04, showing an annual average growth of 14 per cent. Similarly, the employment generation in the village industry sector has risen from 54.16 lakh jobs in 2001-02 to 57.87 lakh jobs in 2002-03 and to 62.57 lakh jobs in 2003-04.

Recently, for the "regeneration of traditional industries like coir, handloom, handicrafts, sericulture, leather, pottery and other cottage industries," the Government set up a Rs 100-crore fund.

Initially, the Government put in place a Market Development Assistance (MDA) scheme from April 1, 2004 to replace the rebate scheme on khadi sales.

But now the MDA scheme will be in place from April 1, 2005.

A 10-member Expert Committee under Mr D.M. Sukthankar has been set up with the following terms of reference:

a) to review the existing structure, functioning and performance of the KVIC since its inception;

b) to review the Khadi and Village Industries Commission Act, 1956, KVIC Rules, 1957 and the Regulations made thereunder to achieve the objectives of 1) development of Khadi and Village Industries and 2) making KVIC a professional and effective body for implementation of the existing and new KVI programmes with a view to enhancing employment and income generation in the rural areas and expanding the markets for the various products.

The Committee has been given 60 days to submit its report.

In these days of micro credit, the KVIC, despite its many weaknesses, was the first Government experiment to touch villages and village arts to provide a sure source of work for the poor.

KVIC can take some credit in caring for most forms of traditional arts and industries extending from pottery to khadi.

The Government could have continued with KVIC and revamped it on the basis of the Sukthankar report.

Instead, it has cruelly done away with KVIC.

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