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Rajya Sabha
The agro and rural industries, as well as other industries, in the country are facing greater market competition as a result of globalization of the economy. To enable the agro and rural industries to face this competition, Government has taken several steps in the recent past.
In order to strengthen the process of rural industrialization and improve the competitiveness of these industries, the scope of the Rural Employment Generation Programme (REGP) was expanded and the maximum project cost eligible for margin money assistance was raised from Rs. 10 lakh to Rs. 25 lakh in case of individuals. This change was brought about in 2001. Following this, budgetary support for the REGP has also been enhanced for generating 2.5 million jobs during the Tenth Plan period (2002-07) as against 1.4 million jobs generated during the Ninth Plan period (1997-2002).
A Confederation for Promotion of Khadi and Village Industries (CPKVI) has been set up in 2003 to strengthen the marketing network of Khadi and Village Industries products. The Product Development Design Intervention and Packaging (PRODIP) Scheme has been started during 2003 in order to assist Khadi and Village Industry Commission (KVIC) units with improved designs and packaging.
Further, in 2003, the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has also established interfaces with reputed technical institutes like the Indian Institutes of Technology and the National Institutes of Technology (formerly known as Regional Engineering College) to support rural entrepreneurs by making use of research and development infrastructure available with such institutes and thereby helping them in improving the quality of their products. The KVIC has also established tie-up arrangements with other agencies like the national Institute of Fashion Technology, National Institute of Design and Textiles Committee for introducing better quality design input in this sector. Efforts have also been made and continue to renovate and modernize the sales outlets managed by the KVIC itself as well as those run by its aided institutions.
All these measures have the objective of making these industries competitive in today’s market and help their sustainability and growth.
This information was given by Shri Mahabir Prasad, Minister of Small Scale Industries & Agro and Rural Industries, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.
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