- Why in news
- On 12 March 2026, the MoS for MSMEs told the Lok Sabha that KVIC, which runs the Khadi Gramodyog Vikas Yojana, raised spinning and weaving wages and signed an MoU with NSIC in September 2025.
- What it is
- The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) is a statutory body under the Ministry of MSME. It was set up under the Khadi and Village Industries Commission Act, 1956. It promotes and develops khadi and village industries in rural areas and builds employment there.
- Legal status
- KVIC is a statutory body under the Ministry of MSME.
- Parent Act
- KVIC was established under the KVIC Act, 1956, which replaced the earlier Khadi and Village Industries Board.
- Beneficiaries
- About 4.32 lakh spinners and weavers benefit from the wage increase.
- NSIC MoU
- KVIC signed an MoU with NSIC in September 2025 to improve market access for MSME units under both bodies' schemes.
Don’t confuse with KVIC vs NSIC: KVIC is a statutory body for khadi and village industries. NSIC is a government company under the MSME Ministry that supports small enterprises with marketing, credit and technology.
Laws, judgments and statutory bodies: 30 Prelims questions since 2013 (what the law says, who chairs, legal basis). In Mains, 44 news-triggered questions, most in GS2, asking for provisions and challenges.
Why it matters
- Higher wages raise the incomes of rural artisans, many of them women.
- Khadi and village industries give non-farm rural jobs and slow distress migration.
Problems
- Competition from mill-made and powerloom cloth squeezes khadi demand.
- Wage rises depend on sales and subsidy support, which raises sustainability concerns.
Way forward
- Strengthen market access through NSIC platforms, e-commerce and design upgrades.
- Link wage rises to productivity, better tools and skill training.
Put in your answer
Artisans benefited: About 4.32 lakh spinners and weavers benefit from the wage increase.
- 2019Mains GS1 · Q6Whether regional resource-based manufacturing can promote employment in India.
- 2023Mains GS3 · Q1Government policies for MSME manufacturing share in GDP, and their effectiveness.
- 2016Prelims Q73MUDRA Yojana's aim: formalising small entrepreneurs' financing.
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, 7 of 327 news-linked Prelims questions concern such bodies; this release is mostly wage data, so no question.
Worth revising until Prelims 2027: most news questions come within two years of the event.