KVIC Chairman Reviews Progress of Khadi & Village Industries Development Scheme in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam

Manoj Kumar, the Chairman of KVIC, undertook a trip to Assam and Arunachal Pradesh as part of an initiative to extend Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Self-reliant India (Atmanirbhar Bharat)" and "Local to Global" campaigns to the remote villages of the North Eastern States.

During his visit, he met with beneficiaries of the Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) and reviewed activities related to the ongoing Khadi and Village Industries Development Scheme in Arunachal Pradesh, where he inspired people to join the Prime Minister's self-reliance campaign.

On Friday, a PMEGP awareness camp was also held in Tawang in order to provide work prospects to as many young people as possible. During his speech, the KVIC Chairman announced the opening of a sub-office of KVIC, Itanagar, in Tawang City. Tawang residents have made a long-standing request for the establishment of an office here. It takes around 48 hours, or two days, to travel from the KVIC Itanagar office to Tawang. The opening of the KVIC sub-office in Tawang would provide maximal employment possibilities and needs for the city's young.

On his trip to Tawang from Guwahati, Chairman also inspected numerous industrial units established under the PMEGP at Bomdila in West Kameng district on May 9. Addressing the young entrepreneurs present, the Chairman stated that India is rapidly progressing towards becoming a world leader under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership. KVIC's indigenous local products are quickly gaining global recognition. He urged Arunachal Pradesh's young entrepreneurs to create such high-quality local items that their demand grows globally.

Manoj Kumar attended a Gramodyog Vikas Yojana and Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) awareness programme at Lohu, Arunachal Pradesh, on May 10th, where a huge number of youngsters and beneficiaries attended. In his address to the gathering, he stated that today he has brought the Prime Minister's vision among the youngsters of Arunachal, in which he has called to the youths of the country to become employment providers rather than job seekers.

On the occasion, the Chairman also paid a visit to the Khadi Eri Silk Training and Production Centre in Lohu. It is worth noting that last year, KVIC established the Khadi Eri Silk Training and Production Centre in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh, bordering China and Bhutan, in a historic move to revive the silk industry in Arunachal Pradesh and generate local employment in a sustainable manner. The center was established with the help of the Buddhist Culture Protection Society, Bomdila, and is stationed atop the snow-clad Himalayan peaks at an altitude of roughly 14,000 feet. The Silk Center's facility was supplied by the Society, and the KVIC provided the essential equipment such as handlooms, charkhas, silk reeling machines, warping drums, etc.

It directly employs 20 women artisans from Tawang and West Kameng districts. The chairman told the craftsmen that a branch of the Khadi Eri Silk Training and Production Centre will also be established in Tawang town. He went on to say that after 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's resolute objectives worked to breathe fresh life into the Khadi business. Khadi has gone worldwide from local, and the turnover of KVI products has surpassed the amount of 1,08,000 crores in the fiscal year 2022-23.

Manoj Kumar also visited the Monpa Handmade Paper Making Unit in Tawang and met the artists who work there.  Notably, due to the persistent efforts of KVIC, the 1000-year-old traditional art of Arunachal Pradesh, Monpa Handmade Paper Industry, which had lately become extinct, has now come back to life. The Monpa Handmade Paper Making Art began over 1000 years ago and progressively became an intrinsic component of Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh's native customs and cultures. This handmade paper industry has practically vanished over the last 100 years, but it will be operational again in 2020 thanks to KVIC.

Kumar praised the craftsmen of the Monpa Handmade Paper Industry and promised that 50 artisans will be sent to the Kumarappa National Handmade Paper Institute of KVIC, Jaipur, for training in order to make Monpa handmade paper a world-class paper product. He also stated that there is a high demand for traditional handmade Monpa papers in foreign markets and that KVIC will work to bring prominence to Arunachal Pradesh's Monpa handmade paper in the worldwide market, hence creating more and more jobs.

(Source: PIB)