In a serious bid to revive the fortunes of the rural artisans, the Odisha Khadi and Village Industries Board (OK&VIB) plans to give the khadi sector a new direction and bring it back to the centre-stage. Outlining a host of new initiatives to be undertaken by the board such as developing new products, designs, more incentives to spinners and weavers, OK&VIB president Tejeswar Parida on Tuesday told reporters here that focus is now on employment generation in this sector.
Parida, who visited Karnataka recently with a mission to seek long-term cooperation from the Karnataka Khadi and Village Industries Board in terms of knowledge and technology and methods for production and marketing of cotton and silk khadi, said the OK&VIB has sought a budgetary allocation of Rs 117 crore in 2015-16 fiscal to speed up the revival process of the sector in the line of Karnataka.
As per reports, while the Karnataka Government has made a budgetary allocation of Rs135 for its Khadi and Village Industries Baord in 2014-15 fiscal, the allocation of the Odisha Government was less than Rs10 crore in the same fiscal. When asked about the facilities like banks easily giving loans to rural artisans, spinners and weavers getting good wages in Karnataka, Parida said he would soon take up the issue with the State Government.
He maintained that 125 new modern spindle machines which have been purchased by the OK&VIB would be given to different societies across the State as part of the revival bid for the sector. Stressing on opening of rural BPOs by IT professionals as is in Bangalore, Parida stated that rural masses could be imparted training on various aspects like computer training, besides spinning and weaving.
He also maintained that internationally-acclaimed Odia fashion designers and persons having a vast knowledge would be invited to promote this sector. Informing that Odisha would host a national khadi exhibition for the first time in the last week of February, Parida said more than 20 States would participate in the expo.