(a) whether the Government has established any mechanism to ensure that the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) products are not of poor quality;
(b) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; and
(c) the corrective steps taken by the Government in this regard?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF
MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES
(SHRI GIRIRAJ SINGH)
(a) to (c): In order to ensure that Khadi & Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has, under the Khadi Mark Regulations, 2013, notified in the Gazette of India on 19.07.2013, introduced “Khadi Mark” which is a “Quality Assurance Mark” that signifies genuineness of Khadi and Khadi products. The main objective of Khadi Mark is to establish a unique identity for Khadi and to guarantee standards of genuine Khadi.
Further to ensure the quality of Khadi products, KVIC has established 6 Central Sliver Plants (CSPs) at Bihar (Hajipur), Karnataka (Chitradurga), Madhya Pradesh (Sehore), Kerala (Kuttur), Uttar Pradesh (Raebareli and Etah) and they are provided with testing facilities to ensure quality of Sliver roving supplied to various Khadi Institutions.
Village Industries products are also covered under mandatory manufacturing licensing system viz. Food products under Food Safety and Standard Act (FSSAI), soaps and cosmetics are covered under Drugs and Cosmetics Act and other products of BIS Standard etc., which all concerned manufacturers of Village Industries have to follow the same in order to ensure their quality.
In addition to this, under in House Testing Laboratory Scheme KVIC has extended financial assistance to establish 107 In House Testing Laboratories to ensure quality products in KVI sector.
KVIC also provides financial support to Khadi Institutions and entrepreneurs for obtaining ISO Certification.
KVIC had established a tie-up arrangement with the Textile Committee (TC), a Govt. of India organization, which has its network of laboratories which is open to KVI Sector to get the Khadi products tested from them.