The Union government’s ‘Swadeshi’ drive is set for a pan-India expansion with the paramilitary forces canteens beginning the sale of hand-made products. Home Minister Amit Shah launched the sale of Khadi products in 107 Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) canteens, and said all canteens of paramilitary forces in the country will begin selling Khadi products very soon.

“For Gandhi Ji, Khadi was a symbol of Swadeshi and it is also a tool to fulfil Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream of Atmanirbhar Bharat. I am delighted that the sale of Khadi products has begun in 107 paramilitary canteens and very soon Khadi products will be made available in all paramilitary canteens across the country,” the Home Minister said during the launch on the sidelines of the foundation laying ceremony for the Central Workshop and Stores of Border Security Force (BSF) at Tamulpur in Assam.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena, Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla and chiefs of BSF and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were present on the occasion.

Shah praised KVIC for creating sustainable rural employment and said its flagship schemes like Honey Mission, Kumhar Sashaktikaran Yojana, Leather and Carpenter Empowerment Schemes had the potential to create sustainable employment in Assam’s Bodoland.

“If KVIC starts connecting people with its self-employment activities, this will surely eradicate the problem of unemployment in Bodoland and also reconnect the Bodo youths, who had given up arms, with the development of the nation,” he said.

The Home Minister emphasised that under the leadership Prime Minister Narendra Modi, KVIC clocked a historic turnover of Rs 1.15 lakh crore in 2021-22, registering a massive growth of nearly 250 per cent.

Earlier, in a bid to push Swadeshi, the Home Minister had made it mandatory for all CAPF canteens to sell maximum ‘Swadeshi’ products through KVIC.

To begin with, 32 products including national flag, cotton towels, honey, kachi ghani mustard oil, agarbatti, daliya, papad, pickles, amla products, etc, will be supplied in the canteens located in Delhi National Capital Region, Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Assam and other states.

The development comes after KVIC’s historic agreements with paramilitary forces for the supply of mustard oil, cotton durries and woollen blankets. So far, KVIC has successfully supplied products worth nearly Rs 17 crore to different paramilitary forces. The supply includes 3,000 metric tonne of kacchi ghani mustard oil worth Rs 5.50 crore, 2.10 lakh cotton bed durries worth Rs 11 crore and woollen blankets amounting to Rs 40 lakh.

Notably, the paramilitary canteens will provide a big platform to sell Khadi products and it will directly impact the production and sales of KVIC. Modalities are being worked out for supplying a wider range of Khadi products to the paramilitary forces that will include Khadi fabric, readymade garments, cosmetics, eatables and herbal products.