Year-long rebate on khadi textiles

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, MAY 5. Khadi buffs have some good news. The Tamil Nadu Khadi and Village Industries Board will offer a 20 per cent rebate on khadi textiles throughout this year. And the Board will come out with new cotton and polyster khadi varieties priced at affordable rates.

The 20 per cent discount which was usually offered only for 90 days during the festival seasons would now be available the whole of this year, thanks to the Rs. 9 crore subsidy from the State government, the Khadi Minister, Mr. Andiyur P. Selvarasu told the Assembly today.

Replying to the debate on demand for grants for the Khadi Department, the Minister said the Board had received a prestigious order for making footwear for the police personnel in the State. The sales of khadi products in the past four years had totted up to Rs. 103.84 crores and the sales of village industry products was a whopping Rs. 1,320.78 crore.

To further increase the Board's turnover, a range of products of State government undertakings, including Aavin, TANTEA and Tampcol would be sold through the 264 khadi outlets, the Minister said.

The Board was focussing on the export market as well. Last year, about Rs. 43 lakhs worth palm fibre had been exported and this year an export target of Rs. 2 crores had been fixed.

The annual production of palm products had touched Rs. 143.27 crore and the palm growers had been given Rs. 3 crore as subsidies.

The Board's soap factories in Karur, Kangeyam and Panrutti would be modernised at a cost of Rs. 4 lakhs and the paper units in Chennai and Nagercoil would be upgraded. A honey processing plant had been set up in Marthandam in Kanyakumari district and it would soon produce superior quality honey.

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Section  : Regional
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