Mann ki Baat: Narendra Modi claims khadi sales have increased 90%, says product has transformed lives of poor

New Delhi: Khadi has become a means of transformation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday while highlighting that the sales of khadi products had recorded a 90 percent increase during this Diwali season. In his monthly radio programme ‘Mann Ki Baat’, he said khadi has transformed the lives of the poor and is emerging as a powerful means of empowering them. [caption id=“attachment_4181883” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Reuters[/caption] The sale of khadi and handloom witnessed 90 percent increase during this Diwali against the previous year’s figure, the prime minister said. He said that khadi sale at just one outlet in Delhi on the last ‘Dhanteras’ festival on 17 October was a record Rs 1.2 crore. “Earlier, it was ‘khadi for nation’ and we talked about ‘khadi for fashion’. But lately we realised that ‘khadi for transformation’ is taking the place of ‘khadi for nation’ and ‘khadi for fashion’,” he said. “The ‘Mann Ki Baat’ (programme) is praised and sometimes it is criticised. But when I see the impact of ‘Mann Ki Baat’, my belief becomes a conviction that the programme has forged an unbreakable bonding with the people,” Modi said. He said that the sale of khadi and handloom also shows the impact of “Mann Ki Baat”, since he had been advocating strongly about it through the programme. “During Diwali, khadi gift coupon sales recorded an overwhelming 680 percent rise. Compared to last year, the total sales of khadi and village industries products have risen almost by 90 percent. One can clearly see that today, the youth, the elderly and women of every age group are taking to khadi,” the prime minister said. “Khadi and handloom have transformed the lives of the poorest of the poor and are emerging as a powerful means of empowering them. It is playing a very important role for gramodaya,” he said. Khadi and Village Industrict Commission (KVIC) Chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena, while expressing gratitude, said the prime minister has always some innovative ideas about khadi. With the prime minister mentioning about the record sales, it smashes the claims made by some people that the purchasing power of people has gone down due to demonetization and implementation of GST, he added. Saxena, who recently completed two years of his chairmanship, said the prime minister’s immense love for khadi has given a boost to the handlooom’s popularity. Minister of State for MSME (Independent Charge) Giriraj Singh said the KVIC had done a commendable job in fulfilling Modi’s dream. “I am sure that this bumper sale would silence the critics of our government’s economic policies,” he said.