Date:30/11/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/11/30/stories/2008113053130400.htm

Tamil Nadu

Centre allots Rs.700-crore grant for Khadi and Village Industries Commission

Special Correspondent

P. Chidambaram opens Karaikudi khadi cluster at Kandanur

KARAIKUDI: The Central government has allotted Rs.700 crore as grant to the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), according to Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram.

Launching the Karaikudi khadi cluster in Kandanur village near here on Saturday, he said though the Centre had received a loan for the same amount from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for helping KVIC institutions across the country, it had taken up the responsibility of repaying the loan. The gesture was not only to revive the KVIC but also to pay respect to Mahatma Gandhi, who gave much importance to village industries.

Reacting to a demand made by member of the Tamil Nadu Khadi Board K. Lakshmikantan Bharathi, the Minister said he would take necessary steps to repay the rebate subsidy to khadi institutions, which was not paid by the government for the last few years. However, they had to complete the mandatory audit immediately. They would have got the rebate subsidy had they completed the audit every now and then.

Poverty eradication

Mr. Chidambaram said the UPA government felt that a concerted multi-pronged approach was necessary to eradicate poverty in the country. The government, while giving importance to industrial sector and others, was implementing the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme to provide employment to several crore rural people.

Kumud Joshi, Chairperson, Khadi and Village Industries Commission, who presided, said when she assumed office as chairperson of the commission most of the khadi institutions were in a bad shape and defunct. She took a vow to complete the audit of them within 6 months. Now, audit of 85 per cent of the institutions had been completed. The absence of audit was one of the reasons for the non-receipt of rebate subsidy.

When she approached the Finance Minister for drawing a plan to revive the KVIC, he immediately took steps to offer a grant of Rs.700 crore.

She said that it had taken several steps such as formation of clusters, providing value addition to khadi products, creation of better marketing and modernisation of machinery. Pankaj Kumar Bansal, Collector; E.C. Halappa, Member, KVIC, South Zone; I. Jawahar, president, KVIC, Tamil Nadu, and others took part.