The ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) proposes to distribute solar-powered ‘Ambar Charkhas’ to five crore women over the next decade. The ministry hopes to improve khadi production through the measure.
India’s union minister of state for MSMEs Giriraj Singh has also given in-principle clearance to a proposal forwarded by Ahmedabad Textile Industry’s Research Association (Atira) to build the spinning wheels using light-weight, high-strength, corrosion-free composites, The Times of India has reported.
The minister observed that artisans were quitting khadi production owing to low wages.
He expects the current move to increase the share of khadi in the Indian textile industry from Rs26,000 crore (1.4 percent) at present to Rs1 lakh crore in a decade.
Singh has also told ToI that the objective of the ministry was to employ one lakh women in each parliamentary constituency and to bring them under social security schemes.
According to the report, MSME has already placed an order for 200 Ambar Charkhas of the 10-spindle type and 20 more of the 24-spindle specification with Udyog Bharti in Gondal. These are to be distributed among women in Khanwa, Bihar, under the Adarsh Gram Yojna.
The solar charkhas will reduce strain in spinning cotton yarn and increase productivity to fetch the weavers up to Rs8,000 a month. The traditional spinning wheels used to fetch only Rs1,500 to Rs2,000 a month.
“To generate employment for one person at textile mill with 25,000 spindles, it costs around Rs 60 lakh, whereas it needs only Rs 60,000- Rs 70,000 in the case of a solar charkha,” Singh told ToI.
During the UPA regime, the technology had been tested at weaving clusters in Raibareli, Rajkot, Murshidabad, Karaikudi, Bassi and Dimapur.
The eight-spindle devices deployed had been developed by Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) in collaboration with Gandhi Gramodyog Urja Vikas Sanstha, Amravati.
The field trials were organized by KVIC in collaboration with Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Rural Industrialization (MGIRI), Wardha. MGIRI then reported a rise in earnings among spinners to Rs100 a day. The project did not see further expansion.
The MSME decided to revive the scheme during a recent meeting with the ministry for new and renewable energy. It was decided at the meeting that two lakh charkhas will be given to women each year at subsidies ranging from 30 to 50 percent.
Earlier, GSL an industrial unit in Ludhiana, Punjab, was reported to have started development of solar charkhas.
Ajith Kumar S