Khadi Case Study
INTRODUCTION
Khadi is a cloth woven using hand-operated loom with hand-spun yarn. The three varieties of Khadi are cotton, silk and wool. In 1925, Mahatma Gandhi established the first association of Khadi producers. In post independent India, the government of India at the federal level, and the provincial governments at the State level, set up promotional government bodies under the banner of Khadi & Village Industries Commission and Khadi & Village Industries Board respectively. One major concern of developing countries was, and still is, the generation of adequate employment opportunities and utilization of physical and human resource to the maximum advantage, particularly in rural areas where the majority of the population lives. This concern of India was reflected in the symbol of “charkha”, the spinning wheel which, next to agriculture is the most important source of income in rural India. Under the patronage of the Commission and Board, Khadi, this was hitherto a household, disorganized activity, and gradually evolved into a vibrant sector. While wooden single spindle wheel gradually developed into fabricated metal-based multi spindle “Charkha”, employment opportunity increased in manifolds, production multiplied, marketing outlets established, and consumer interest grew. From a household activity, Khadi developed into an expanding industry that could compete with products of the big industries in its own right. Khadi established itself as a marketable product. Over the years, Khadi grew substantially in value but not in net production terms. This obviously raises the question of quality value versus quantity value of the produce. End users are prepared to pay the price, if the supply of the product is at the right time, of proper quality and as per need. The growth of Khadi as discussed below specifically focuses on the issue of how the product has gained acceptance in the market, grown over the years, but is now faltering trying to keep pace with the
Khadi is a cloth woven using hand-operated loom with hand-spun yarn. The three varieties of Khadi are cotton, silk and wool. In 1925, Mahatma Gandhi established the first association of Khadi producers. In post independent India, the government of India at the federal level, and the provincial governments at the State level, set up promotional government bodies under the banner of Khadi & Village Industries Commission and Khadi & Village Industries Board respectively. One major concern of developing countries was, and still is, the generation of adequate employment opportunities and utilization of physical and human resource to the maximum advantage, particularly in rural areas where the majority of the population lives. This concern of India was reflected in the symbol of “charkha”, the spinning wheel which, next to agriculture is the most important source of income in rural India. Under the patronage of the Commission and Board, Khadi, this was hitherto a household, disorganized activity, and gradually evolved into a vibrant sector. While wooden single spindle wheel gradually developed into fabricated metal-based multi spindle “Charkha”, employment opportunity increased in manifolds, production multiplied, marketing outlets established, and consumer interest grew. From a household activity, Khadi developed into an expanding industry that could compete with products of the big industries in its own right. Khadi established itself as a marketable product. Over the years, Khadi grew substantially in value but not in net production terms. This obviously raises the question of quality value versus quantity value of the produce. End users are prepared to pay the price, if the supply of the product is at the right time, of proper quality and as per need. The growth of Khadi as discussed below specifically focuses on the issue of how the product has gained acceptance in the market, grown over the years, but is now faltering trying to keep pace with the