Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the turnover of Khadi Village Industry has crossed Rs 1.5 lakh crore for the first time, adding that the rising sale of Khadi and handloom were also creating a large number of new employment opportunities.

Talking about Khadi during the 112th episode of his monthly ‘Mann Ki Baat’ broadcast over All India Radio, PM Modi said: “There must be many of you who never used Khadi products before, but today wear Khadi with great pride.”

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“I am also happy to tell you that the turnover of Khadi Village Industry has crossed Rs 1.5 lakh crore for the first time. Think about one and a half lakh crore rupees and do you know how much the sale of Khadi has increased? 400 per cent. This rising sale of Khadi, handloom, is also creating a large number of new employment opportunities,” said Modi.

Mostly, women are associated with this industry, so they are the ones who are benefiting the most, the Prime Minister said.

“I urge you once more…you must have many types of clothes, and if you have not bought Khadi clothes till now, start from this year,” he said.

During the address, the Prime Minister also mentioned handlooms, saying that artisans in different parts of the country are engaged in making handlooms popular.

“Be it the Sambalpuri saree of Odisha, the Maheshwari saree of MP, the Paithani of Maharashtra or the hand block prints of Vidarbha, the Bhutiko shawls and woollen clothes of Himachal or the Kani shawls of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.

The Prime Minister said the work of handloom artisans is spread across every corner of the country.

“And you must be aware that in a few days, on the 7th of August, we will celebrate the National Handloom Day. Nowadays, the way handloom products have made their place in the hearts of people is really very successful, tremendous. Now many private companies are also promoting handloom products and sustainable fashion through AI,” he said.

The Prime Minister said Kosha AI, Handloom India, D-Junk, Novatax, Brahmaputra Fables, many such start-ups are also engaged in making handloom products popular.

“I am also happy to see that many people are engaged in making such local products popular. You too can upload your local products on social media with the name ‘Hashtag My Product My Pride,’ ” he said.

In the broadcast, the Prime Minister also lauded the participants of the International Mathematics Olympiad and also interacted with them.

“A few days ago, the Olympics also took place in the world of mathematics… the International Mathematics Olympiad. In this Olympiad, students of India have performed exceptionally well. Our team performed her best in that and won four Gold and one Silver Medal. Youth from more than a 100 countries participated in the International Mathematics Olympiad and in the overall tally, our team has been successful in reaching the top five,” he said.

During the address, PM Modi also mentioned the Paris Olympics.

“At this moment, the Paris Olympics are the flavour of the season in the whole world. The Olympics give our players a chance to hoist the tricolour on the world stage; give them a chance to do something for the country. Let us encourage our players…Cheer for Bharat!!,” the Prime Minister said.

Talking about Independence Day, the Prime Minister said the day 15th August is not far away.

“And now another campaign has been added to the 15th of August, ‘Har Ghar Tiranga Abhiyan’. For the last few years, everyone’s fervour for the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga Abhiyan’ remains high in the entire country. Be it the poor… the rich… small households, big households, everyone feels proud waving the Tricolor,” he said.

PM Modi said there is also a craze of taking selfies with the Tricolor and posting them on social media.

“You must have noticed that when the Tricolor flutters atop each house of the colony or society, within no time the Tricolor starts appearing on other houses as well. That is, ‘Har Ghar Tiranga Abhiyan’ – has become a unique festival in upholding the glory of the Tricolour. Now, various kinds of innovations related to that are also taking place. As the 15th of August approaches, various kinds of products are seen for displaying the Tricolour in homes, offices, cars. Some people even distribute the ‘Tricolour’ to their friends and neighbours. This joy, this enthusiasm with the Tricolour connects us with each other,” the Prime Minister said.

“Friends, like earlier, this year too you must upload your selfie with the Tricolour on ‘harghartiranga.com’,” the Prime Minister said.

During the address, the Prime Minister also mentioned tiger conservation. He said Tiger Day will be celebrated all over the world tomorrow.

“In India, Tigers have been an integral part of our culture. We all have grown up listening to stories of incidents related to tigers. In the villages around forests, everyone knows how to live in harmony with the tiger. In our country, there are many villages where there is no conflict between humans and tigers,” the Prime Minister said.

“But where such a situation arises, unprecedented efforts are being made for the protection of tigers there as well. One such effort of public participation is “Kulhadi Band Panchayat”. The “Kulhadi Band Panchayat” campaign that started from Ranthambore of Rajasthan is very interesting. The local communities themselves have taken an oath that they will not go to the forest with axes and will not cut trees. Due to this one decision, the forests here are becoming green once again, and a better environment is being created for the tigers,” he said.

The Prime Minister said Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve of Maharashtra is one of the main habitats of tigers.

“The local communities here, especially our brothers and sisters of Gond and Mana tribes, have taken rapid strides towards eco-tourism.They have reduced their dependence on the forest so that the activities of tigers can increase here. You will also be surprised at the efforts of the ‘Chenchu’ tribe living on the Nallamalai hills in Andhra Pradesh. As Tiger Trackers, they have gathered every bit of information on the movement of wild animals in the forest. Along with that, they also keep monitoring illegal activities in the area,” Modi said.

The Prime Minister further said similarly, the ‘Baagh Mitr Karykram’ being undertaken in Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh is also creating a buzz.

“Under this, local people are trained to work as ‘Tiger Friends’. These ‘Tiger Friends’ strictly ensure that there is no conflict between tigers and humans. Many such efforts are underway in different parts of the country,” he said.

“I have discussed only a few efforts here, but I am happy that public participation is proving very useful in tiger conservation. It is on account of such efforts that the tiger population in India is increasing every year. You will feel happy and proud to know that 70 percent of the tigers in the world are in our country. Imagine! 70 percent tigers!! – That is why there are many Tiger Sanctuaries in different parts of our country,” the Prime Minister said.