Charkha weaving course to start in UP as part of skill development program

The Uttar Pradesh Rajarshi Tandon Open University (UPRTOU) will start a new certificate course on weaving through charkha aimed at developing the skills of those who do not have any educational qualifications. It will be a six-month certificate course on weaving using charkha.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has always focused on skill development, hence the decision was taken to start charkha weaving course from January next year. UPRTOU will be the only university to run this course.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 9 November 2016.

The UPRTOU is a state open university with its head office in Allahabad. Therefore, the regional offices will only provide study material.
There is a charkha laboratory in Allahabad where students can attend classes from Monday to Saturday for practical lessons. The laboratory is equipped with 40 charkhas on which students can learn on how to run and weave on the spinning wheel. Teachers come from Uttar Pradesh Khadi and Gram Udyog.
While no educational qualification is needed to pursue this course and there is no age bar, it will benefit students belonging to rural areas. On completion of the course, students can get many employment opportunities since the demand for khadi clothes is increasing.


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Odisha showcases its khadi products and handicrafts on the occasion of Rath Yatra

Odisha is taking advantage of the Rath Yatra festival to promote khadi products. Therefore, the Odisha Khadi and Village Industries Board is hosting a fair in Puri where it is endorsing merchandise made by rural artisans of the state. The venue is the beach at Mochi Sahi Square and the fair is labeled as "Khadi Haat". It aims to promote the traditional crafts and fabrics of the state among tourists who have gathered in the holy city for the annual festival.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 8 July 2016.

The exhibition has around 50 kiosks that showcase khadi apparel, fabrics and saris apart from cottage-industry products which include a wide repertoire of stylish garments made from traditional fabrics of the state such as ikkat and kotpad. Weavers and craftsmen from Mayurbhanj, Kalahandi, and Koraput have taken part in the fair to promote their art forms.
The fair has provided people an opportunity to buy khadi items and village products that are not available easily available outside Odisha. Moreover, various tribal jewellery as well as home décor items, including dokra craft and items made of lacquer and bamboo, are attracting tourists. There are also handicraft items made from horns, straws, brass and wood - these are also a hit with buyers.


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KVIC brings out Yogasutra, clothes made of khadi for yoga exercises

The Khadi & Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has launched Yogasutra which is a range of clothes and mats made from Khadi to be used while performing yoga exercises. It has been launched first in Gujarat and has been introduced by an Ahmedabad-based company that manufactures eco-friendly and trendy garments in Khadi. The collection includes unisex yoga wear tops and bottoms apart from a gamchha napkin and a mat. This has been reported in thestatesman.com dated 18 June 2016.

It is the coming together of two things purely Indian - the khadi and yoga. As the director of KVIC Gujarat has sumed it up - "KVIC is always keen to promote Khadi through its innovative usages. Yoga wear is the need of the hour. With growing awareness about the benefits of yoga and a special interest shown by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it was only natural that we introduce yoga wear." In his opinion, yoga was perhaps the only stream that did not have customised clothes to suit the modern practitioner and creating the Yoga wear collection was a step in the proper direction. With khadi clothes, Yoga exercises would be much more comfortable and meaningful. It was KVIC's contribution in the success of the International Yoga Day on June 21.


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Friday to soon become Khadi day in government offices

There are indications that Khadi could soon become a way of life as well as the Friday dress code in government offices. Khadi could have a new meaning for government employees. This is because the government is considering a plea from the Khadi & Village Industries Commission to increase the market for this indigenous dress material. The government would appeal to employees to wear clothes made from the hand-spun fabric at least once a week and, thus, boost khadi production and benefit small weavers across the country.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 9 March 2016.

Sources in the government has indicated that the entire exercise would be voluntary and the idea is to increase sales. The inbuilt logic is that even if everyone buys one khadi garment, the increase in sales would be worth the trouble. The strength of central government is nearly 35 lakh employees, excluding the railways and defense personnel.
As one officer has remarked - many officers were already wearing Fabindia shirts and will probably need to add one from Khadi to their wardrobe. KVIC is reportedly entering into tie ups with companies like Fabindia and Raymond to retail high-end khadi at some of its outlets.
Incidentally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emerged as a brand ambassador of sorts for khadi urging people to buy the same and this has boosted sales. KVIC is trying to promote khadi for uniform in government schools, defense forces, railways and Air India.
KVIC has already bagged a Rs 40 crore tender from the railways and some private companies like JK Cement has decided to completely shift to khadi uniforms.


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