The Law Ministry is examining a proposal to launch a 'Khadi mark' which will be a quality benchmark for all type of fabrics sold at more than 7,000 outlets run by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission.
The proposal is being piloted by the nodal ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises which wants to ensure that all the KVIC products enjoy credibility.
Initially all fabric-made products will bear the 'Khadi mark'.
It will be later extended to all KVIC products, a MSME Ministry official said.
"The process is in the approval stage in the Ministry of Law and Justice," he said.
There will be specialised accreditation agencies, which will decide the quality benchmark.
They will give the accreditation based on at least 20
parameters relating to quality.
These will include welfare of the artisans.
"The parameters include whether artisans designing the products are getting timely wages and have bank accounts and insurance," he said.
The mark will help customers identify the difference between real khadi and 'spurious khadi', he said.
"It will lead to increase in sales. There are institutions which sell khadi woven from mill spun yarn instead of hand spun yarn," he said.
KVIC, a statutory body formed after the Act of Parliament, markets khadi and related products through a string of stores named 'Khadi Gram Udyog'.
The annual sales of khadi from the outlets is around Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion).
