Varanasi has emerged as a hub of Khadi: Union minister Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma

VARANASI: Union minister of State for MSME, Shri Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma said that Varanasi has emerged as the hub of Khadi activities in the past few years.
After inaugurating a 15-day exhibition of Khadi products organized by Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) at Rudraksh international convention centre, Verma was addressing a convention of artisans from 12 districts of east UP on Sunday.
Lauding KVIC for organizing the exhibition and holding convention of artisans he said, “Varanasi, in the past few years, has emerged as a hub of various Khadi activities. Almost all rural and traditional arts like spinning, weaving, beekeeping and pottery have been promoted on a large scale here.”
These initiatives are creating self-employment for the artisans and making them 'atmanirbhar' (self-reliant), said Verma adding, this Khadi exhibition will also provide a big platform to the artisans to market their products and enhance their income.
In his address KVIC Chairman VK Saxena said that the state level Khadi exhibition at Varanasi was a manifestation of Khadi artisans’ commitment for Atmanirbhar Bharat.
“KVIC has set up a large number of Khadi Institutions, PM Employment Generation Program units and Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI) clusters to strengthen the traditional arts and empower the local artisans.
This exhibition is a unique platform where people in Varanasi and adjoining areas can buy handmade khadi products from states like J&K, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Punjab, Uttarakhand and others. This will be a big boost for the ‘vocal for local’ initiative and also promote khadi,” Saxena said.
Varanasi, which is also the parliamentary constituency of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has rolled out a number of activities to promote khadi and support the artisans, he said, adding that as any as 134 Khadi Institutions are currently working in Varanasi where women comprise nearly 80% of the total workforce.
According to Saxena, the artisans convention was aimed at enabling them to exchange views on their products and benefits they are availing with the schemes of KVIC in order to work for popularizing them more.
A state of the art Khadi exhibition is displaying the exquisite handcrafted products from 20 Indian states including UP, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Leh-Ladakh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Bihar, West Bengal and others at 105 stalls.
A number of Khadi institutions, PMEGP units and several SFURTI clusters from various states have also set up their stalls, said Saxena.
A range of exquisite Khadi products including the premium high altitude honey from J&K, a wide variety of Kashmiri and Rajasthani woollen shawls, Muslin fabric from West Bengal, a variety of silk fabric from West Bengal and Bihar, Koti Shawls from Punjab, leather products from Kanpur, terracotta pottery from Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, the widely acclaimed hand-knotted carpets of Mirzapur and Prayagraj are the biggest attractions in the exhibition.
This is the second such exhibition organized by KVIC in Varanasi since the Covid-19 lockdown.