 West Bengal Khadi & Village Industries Board (KVI) has recently won the national award for securing the first position from amongst state level KVI boards under the rural employment generation programme. This was due to the exceptional performance delivered by the Bengal KVI.
From 1998-99 till 2006-07, the state KVI had taken up 9,584 projects and thereby providing employment to 94,419 people, but in 2007 alone 5,917 projects were undertaken providing work to 75,344 people. In 2007 the board not only completed its targets but set off on the course to achieving targets for the current year.
The West Bengal Khadi & Village Industries Board was set up by the Government of West Bengal under W.B.Act. XIV of 1959 and took over the activities from erstwhile Advisory Board in April, 1960. Bengal has established its status under Khadi Programme for its unique art and craftsmanship.
The climatic condition and abundant local resources have widened the scope for the development of Khadi Programme in the State. The districts of Malda, Murshidabad, Nadia, Birbhum, Bankura, Hooghly, Purulia have the extensive coverage of the Khadi Programme, especially for Silk & Muslin Khadi.
The Bengal KVI unit is trying to promote and popularize muslin and silk khadi, but also a need has been felt in improving the marketing strategies to boost sales. The state produces 36.37 per cent of silk khadi and 55.25 per cent of muslin khadi of all produced by different KVIs in the country.
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