The union government is establishing a Centre of Excellence for Khadi (CoEK) through the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) at the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), New Delhi (Hub Centre) and its four spokes at Gandhinagar, Kolkata, Shillong and Bengaluru.

These centres will be set up with the technical support of NIFT New Delhi to help Khadi Institutions to effectively design, produce and market high-quality differentiated Khadi products in the Indian and global market, Swarajya reported.

According to the report, the ministry has sanctioned an amount of Rs 20 crore for establishing the Centre of Excellence for Khadi, out of which Rs 15 crore has been released.

This information was provided by the Minister of State for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

Under the project, CoEK has created a Knowledge Portal for Khadi in which designs and specifications with sketches are uploaded for viewing by Khadi Institutions for replication.

The objectives of the project are:

• Creation of new fabrics/ products based on season-wise colour forecast/fashion trends.
• Disseminate quality standards for Khadi fabrics and clothing for a high-end domestic and global market.
• Branding and publicity by creating interesting narratives around the new Khadi fabrics and products.
• Create visual merchandising and packaging for new Khadi products.
• Increase the global reach of Khadi by organising or participating in Khadi Fashion shows and exhibitions.

The government has been taking several steps to strengthen Khadi institutions working across the country, said the response. Some of these measures that have been executed under the Centre of Excellence, as per the reply are:

• Visited more than 20 Khadi Institutions to understand their processes of spinning, weaving, processing, value addition, sales, marketing etc. The gaps were identified and the unique selling proposition, as well as the potential of the KIs was understood.
• Designed eight collections comprising 48 Ensembles, four collections of home fashion (36 Products), 91 designs for yardages and 24 Sarees in six months duration.
• Participated in Fashion Shows organised at the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), New Moti Bagh and CAG office to showcase the designs and get feedback on the collections.
• An Influencer meet was organised by the Ministry of Culture in collaboration with NIFT, in which renowned industry stakeholders such as content creators, designers and stylists were invited.
• CoEK organised a hand spinning workshop and demonstration for the participants, an impromptu runway walk to give an experience of Khadi. A panel discussion titled ‘Khadi- A fabric that weaved India’s Independence’ was moderated by the Director-CoEK, in which designers took part.
• Introduced ‘Svadha’ wellness collection in Khadi for pan-generation consumers to showcase the versatility of Khadi on International Yoga Day on 21 June 2022.
• Created a Knowledge Portal for Khadi which was launched on 14 July, in which design directions and forecast for colours, trends, silhouettes, print, weave and embroidery ideas have been presented for Khadi Institutions. The Size charts are also shared on the portal for viewing by stakeholders, for replication.

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