Rohtak, Oct 3 (IANS) Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Friday said under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the country is progressing towards becoming a developed nation, and India will achieve global leadership by the centenary of its independence in 2047.

“When the centenary of India’s independence is celebrated, India will achieve global leadership, and khadi will play a vital role in it. Khadi and village industries are becoming a powerful platform for millions of weavers,” he said.

HM Shah said this while interacting with artisans at the Khadi Mahotsav held at the Maharshi Dayanand University campus here in Haryana.

The Union Minister, along with Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, distributed modern machines, toolkits, and margin money worth Rs 301 crore under the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), encouraging artisans to move towards self-reliance through Swadeshi.

The Union Minister also virtually inaugurated PMEGP units, a central wool processing plant, and khadi and village industries buildings, including the newly-constructed office and warehouse of KVIC in Panchkula.

HM Shah remarked that after independence, previous governments paid no attention to khadi and completely neglected khadi and the village industries.

He said when Prime Minister Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat, he pledged to develop khadi and worked to revive KVIC.

HM Shah said that because of the Prime Minister’s interest in khadi and his connection with the weavers, the khadi business has grown from Rs 33,000 crore to Rs 1.70 lakh crore in just 11 years.

He emphasised that the benefits of this increased turnover have gone to the weavers, not any capitalist or private industrialist.

He added that KVIC has now developed excellent packaging and marketing systems.

Speaking at the event, he expressed happiness in distributing 12 types of modern machines, including automatic charkhas, leather machines, and also margin money to the weavers.

The Union Cooperation Minister said the vision of ‘swaraj’ at the time of Independence was incomplete without ‘swadeshi’ and ‘swabhasha’.

In this direction, Prime Minister Modi has inspired 140 crore Indians to adopt indigenous products.

He said the concept of Aatmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) and the ‘swadeshi’ movement will be beneficial for every Indian.

He further informed that the Prime Minister recently reduced GST on over 395 items, giving a Diwali gift to the people.

HM Shah said khadi has an important role in strengthening the country’s economy, and that along with ‘khadi for nation’, there should also be ‘khadi for fashion’, with active participation from every Indian. He appealed to the public at the festival to adopt khadi, promote indigenous products, and make the country self-reliant.

Chief Minister Saini, while welcoming the Union Home Minister’s remarks, said, “Khadi is our heritage, and khadi products are moving rapidly from local to global”.

He said the khadi and village industries have now become a strong medium for a self-reliant India.

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, khadi has achieved unprecedented growth and is gaining recognition at the international level. He described the Khadi Mahotsav as a celebration of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, driven by the vision of Prime Minister Modi.

–IANS

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