India’s Raymond Ltd. has placed procurement orders with two Bihar khadi institutions, according to State Industries Minister Jai Kumar Singh. The industries department is also speaking to companies like Arvind Limited and Fabindia for supply of khadi cloth, he said recently while inaugurating a mobile van that will travel around Patna city to sell khadi items. Raymond has placed orders of around Rs. 2 lakh each for khadi cloth to khadi institutions in Madhubani and Bhagalpur districts, but the orders are likely to rise from the next batch, Bihar State Khadi Board Chief Executive Officer BN Prasad said. The department is planning to have more such vans across Bihar, according to a report.
The cloth produced in the State has been branded ‘Bihar Khadi’, has been given a logo and is currently in the process of being patented. The department is also going to open a ‘khadi school’ at Manpur in Gaya district to train thread makers and weavers in producing khadi cloth as per market requirements. The National Institute of Fashion Technology in Patna has provided 100 new khadi designs to the State Government to make khadi attractive for the youth. The State Government is planning to come out with a khadi policy as well.
