- Why in news
- On 13 October 2026, PIB issued a backgrounder on KVIC and village industries. It reports record Khadi and village industry sales of ₹1.87 lakh crore in 2025-26 and describes KVIC's support schemes.
- What it is
- The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) is a statutory body set up under the KVIC Act, 1956. It plans, promotes, organises and assists khadi and village industries in rural areas. It works under the Ministry of MSME and implements schemes such as PMEGP.
- Legal basis
- KVIC is a statutory body created by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission Act, 1956.
- Mandate
- The Act directs KVIC to plan, promote, facilitate, organise and assist village industries, covering training, raw materials, marketing, research and quality.
- PMEGP
- Since March 2008, PMEGP has given employment to about 97.95 lakh people through KVIC.
- Interest subsidy
- Under the Interest Subsidy Eligibility Certificate Scheme, eligible Khadi institutions get credit at 4% a year.
- Ministry
- KVIC functions under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
- Khadi vs handloom
- Hand spinning is what separates Khadi from handloom.
- Employment schemes
- Khadi Vikas Yojana, Gramodyog Vikas Yojana and PMEGP support jobs in the sector.
- Women artisans
- About 80 per cent of the roughly half a million Khadi artisans are women.
- GI tag
- Ponduru Khadi has received a GI tag to improve value realisation.
- Income impact
- An EDII, Ahmedabad study found over 75 per cent of artisans saw income rise.
Don’t confuse with KVIC vs Khadi institutions: KVIC is the statutory apex body. Khadi institutions are the registered producer bodies it assists through schemes, such as the 1,097 funded under Khadi Vikas Yojana in 2024-25.
Don’t confuse with Khadi Vikas Yojana vs Gramodyog Vikas Yojana: Khadi Vikas Yojana helps Khadi institutions with products and market assistance. Gramodyog Vikas Yojana gives artisans machines, toolkits and equipment.
Don’t confuse with Khadi vs handloom: Khadi is hand-spun and hand-woven. Handloom fabric is hand-woven but may use mill-spun yarn.
Don’t confuse with KVIC vs PMEGP: KVIC is the statutory body. PMEGP is a credit-linked subsidy scheme that KVIC implements as the nodal agency.
Schemes: 52 Prelims questions since 2013, 10 in Prelims 2026 alone. They test features, the period and who funds it. In Mains, 33 news-triggered questions, mostly GS3.
Why it matters
- Provides rural, non-farm jobs, with women forming over 80% of khadi artisans.
- Supports Vocal for Local and Atmanirbhar Bharat by linking village skills to markets.
- Khadi gives decentralised, low-capital rural jobs, mostly to women.
- It supports SDG goals on poverty, decent work and responsible production.
Problems
- Competition from mill and power-loom cloth and cheap imitations.
- Low artisan earnings, even after the rise to ₹15 per hank, and dependence on subsidy support.
- Artisan earnings are low and the sector depends on government support and rebates.
- Competition from mill-made and powerloom fabric, and the spread of fake khadi, hurt the sector.
Way forward
- Strengthen design, quality, branding and online sales channels.
- Link artisans to finance, technology and export markets while keeping the benefits with the artisans.
- Continue wage enhancement, tool upgrades and technology in sliver plants and common facility centres.
- Expand GI tagging, branding and exports to raise value realisation.
Put in your answer
Women's role: Women are over 80% of about five lakh khadi artisans.
Artisan pay: Pay per hank rose from ₹4 in 2013-14 to ₹15 now.
Women's share: About 80 per cent of Khadi artisans are women, an example for women's empowerment answers.
Impact evaluation: EDII study: over 75 per cent of artisans reported higher income after scheme support.
Green technology: The modernised Chittadurga sliver plant meets 50 per cent of its energy needs from solar power.
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UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
No practice question for this one; the card may still help an answer. Why: KVIC is a statutory body under the 1956 Act, already on file; statutory bodies drew only 7 Prelims questions, so a card without a question.
Worth revising until Prelims 2028: most news questions come within two years of the event.