Reviving Khadi in India
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FUTURE OF KHADI
The saleability of any textile depends on its USP and performance. For many
years, the promotion for Khadi had been on emotional and political grounds
while its quality and variety had been ignored completely. Khadi has very
little to offer in terms of fabric performance.
It looks attractive when
starched and kept in showrooms but, it does not remain the same
after washing. Even finer counts and blends of Khadi cannot
withstand many washes and thus, cannot be used for day-to-day
purposes. It was becoming extremely difficult for Khadi to compete
with the high-tech, colour-fast, wrinkle-free, mill-made cottons and
blends available today.
According to analysts, Khadi requires
government sanction in every single activity and has therefore been
stuck in a bureaucratic swamp, unable to increase its output or
raise the quality of the fabric. In 2002, Khadi formed less than
half per cent of India's textiles. In order to grow, the production
of Khadi needs to be decentralized. |
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A research and development wing should also be established by KVIC to
experiment with new patterns and colours. Besides, weavers can also be given
grants to enable creating new designs. KVIC must allot a special advertising
budget to promote the fabric.
KVIC plans to launch an advertising campaign in India and abroad to create
awareness among people about Khadi and its uses. For this, it allocated an
advertising and promotional budget of about Rs. 0.4 billion. It also plans
to set up Khadi shops at all the international airports in India.
KVIC is also exploring the possibilities of using e-commerce to market its
products. However, Khadi, like any other craft of India, would need to face
the challenge of quality and produce contemporary designs, which suit the
tastes of the present generation.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
1. Khadi is handspun from natural fibers thus, making it eco-friendly, pure
and fully bio-degradable. This has made it popular in the overseas market.
However, Khadi is not very popular in India. Why is Khadi unable to create a
substantial market for itself in India? What are the factors that are
responsible for the declining sales of Khadi?
2. According to analysts, the Khadi sector was unable to grow because of the
loopholes present in the Indian system. What are the initiatives taken by
KVIC and the GoI to address these issues and thereby, boost the sales of
Khadi?
3. In order to revive Khadi, KVIC followed the strategy of repositioning it
as a fashion fabric and aiming it towards customers at the premium end. Do
you think following this strategy alone would suffice? What are the other
areas where KVIC can improve?
EXHIBIT I - PRODUCT RANGE OF KVIC
ADDITIONAL READINGS & REFERENCES
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