Lok Sabha Question No. 3465 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-03-24
Subject: Fake Khadi Products
Ministry: MICRO,SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES
Asked by: Omprakash Bhupalsinh alias Pawan Rajenimbalkar, Dhanush M Kumar, Manjulata Mandal, Ganesan Selvam, Gajanan Chandrakant Kirtikar, Amol Ramsing Kolhe, C.N. Annadurai, Sunil Dattatray Tatkare, Gautham Sigamani Pon, DNV Senthilkumar. S., Kuldeep Rai Sharma

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3465

TO BE ANSWERED ON 24.03.2022

## FAKE KHADI PRODUCTS

## 3465. SHRI OMPRAKASH BHUPALSINH alias PAWAN RAJENIMBALKAR:

SHRI DHANUSH M. KUMAR:

SHRIMATI MANJULATA MANDAL:

SHRI SELVAM G.:

SHRI GAJANAN KIRTIKAR:

DR. AMOL RAMSING KOLHE:

SHRI C.N. ANNADURAI:

SHRI SUNIL DATTATRAY TATKARE:

SHRI GAUTHAM SIGAMANI PON:

DR. DNV SENTHILKUMAR. S.:

SHRI KULDEEP RAI SHARMA:

Will the Minister of MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  attention  has  been  drawn  to  selling  of  spurious/non-Khadi products by some Khadi outlets recently;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the action taken by Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) against such Khadi outlets;
- (c) whether the Government has conducted any study regarding impact of manufacturing and sale of fake Khadi products in the market;
- (d) if so, the details thereof along with the number of cases registered in this regard during the last three years and current year, State/UT-wise;
- (e) the corrective steps taken by the Government to check manufacturing and sale of fake khadi products;
- (f) the total domestic market of Khadi Products in the country during the last three years and the current year; and
- (g) the steps taken to boost the sale of traditional Khadi products in the country?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES (SHRI BHANU PRATAP SINGH VERMA)

- (a): Khadi  and  Village  Industries  Commission  (KVIC)  is  viewing  the  sale  of  spurious/nonKhadi products by some unauthorized outlets selling products in the name of Khadi very seriously and is closely and constantly searching for such entities, to take stern actions against them.
- (b): Upto January 2022, KVIC had issued 2172 notices to entities engaged in the unauthorized sale of products in the name of Khadi. Nearly, 500 entities have apologized for unknowingly using the Khadi Trade Mark, and have removed them from their products and websites.
- (c): KVIC has not undertaken any study so far regarding impact of manufacturing and sale of fake Khadi products in the market.

- (d): KVIC has so far filed 9 suits against different entities for infringement of Trade Mark and in most of the cases got interim injunction against the infringes.  Details, of court cases filed against misuse of Khadi, are as under:
1.  Suit filed in Delhi High Court against:
-  Khadi Essentials, Delhi
-  Iwearkhadi, Uttar Pradesh
-  Khadi Design Council of India, Uttar Pradesh
-  JBMR Enterprises-Khadi Prakritik Paint, Uttar Pradesh
-  Girdhar Khadi, Haryana
-  Khadi by Heritage, Delhi
2.  Suit filed in Mumbai High Court against:
-  Fabindia, Mumbai, Maharashtra
-  India Khadi Fashion, Maharashtra
-  Khadi Store, Pehnava, Maharashtra and Rajasthan
- (e): KVIC has taken the following steps to check manufacture and sale of fake Khadi products:
1. KVIC has obtained Trade Mark Registration for the wordmark 'KHADI', under most of the classes including classes-24 & 25 (textiles and textile products).
2. KVIC has appointed  7  Trade  Mark  Consultants,  who  are  actively  watching  the  Trade Mark infringements by third parties and issuing legal notices to the unauthorized users.
3. KVIC is also removing the links regarding the online sale of fake Khadi products from ecommerce  platforms  and  social  media  on  a  continuous  basis.    So  far,  KVIC  already removed 2487 links from Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, WhatsApp, YouTube etc.
4. KVIC is constantly opposing the  applications for  registration  of  Trade  Marks  filed  by third parties with the word 'KHADI' as part of their Trade Mark.  So far, KVIC filed 162 oppositions.
5. KVIC  is  also  filing  rectification  applications  before  the  Trade  Mark  Authorities  for cancellation of the Trade Marks of the third parties already registered, which contains the word 'KHADI' as part of its Trade Mark. So far, KVIC already filed  43 rectification applications.
- (f): Khadi Institutions promoted/assisted by KVIC are engaged in production and sales activities of Khadi  products and providing employment  opportunities to Khadi Artisans and other Karyakartas. Production and sales of Khadi products during the last three years and current year are as follows:

(Rs. in crore)

| Year             |   2018-19 |   2019-20 |   2020-21 |   2021-22 (as on 31.12.2021) Provisional |
|------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|------------------------------------------|
| Khadi Production |   1963.3  |   2324.24 |   1904.49 |                                  1809.86 |
| Khadi Sales      |   3215.13 |   4211.26 |   3527.71 |                                  3030    |

- (g): Steps/initiatives  taken/being  taken  by  the  KVIC  to  boost  the  sale  of  traditional  Khadi products in the country are annexed.

* * * * *

## Annexure referred to in reply to part (g) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No.3465 for answer on 24.03.2022

Steps/initiatives  taken/being  taken  by  the  KVIC  to  boost  the  sale  of  traditional  Khadi  products/ Khadi sector, in the country:

1. To promote the Khadi Sector, KVIC is establishing Centre of Excellence for Khadi (CoEK) with  the  technical  support  of  NIFT,  New  Delhi  at  NIFT  Delhi  (Hub  Centre)  and  its  four spokes at Gandhinagar, Kolkata, Shilong, Bangalore to help Khadi Institutions to effectively design,  produce  and  market  high  quality  differentiated  Khadi  products  in  the  Indian  and global market.
2. Domestic  exhibitions,  special  exhibitions  are  regularly  conducted  for  promoting  sales  of Khadi as well as inventions of Khadi Institutions. KVIC is providing financial support to KIs through various schemes for renovation of their sales outlets not only to improve the face lifting of the outlets but also to improve their sales performance.
3. KVIC  has  obtained  registration  of  the  Trade  Mark  'KHADI'  in  17  countries  namely; Germany, U.K. Australia,  Russia,  China,  Bahrain,  Oman,  Kuwait,  Saudi  Arabia,  Mexico, Maldives, Myanmar, Singapore, Austria, Sweden, UAE and Bhutan.  Decision has also been taken to register the Trade Mark 'KHADI' and 'Khadi India logo' in major countries of the world including Gulf countries.
4. KVIC popularize the Khadi and Village  Industries (KVI) products through exhibitions to make them accessible in the domestic and international markets.
5. Government of India has issued HS code bracket to KVIC to categorize 11 Khadi & Village Industries (KVI) products in export.
6. KVIC under International Cooperation (IC) Scheme of Ministry of  MSME takes its KVI units for participation in international exhibitions/trade fairs etc.  organized through ITPO, FIEO, TEXPROCIL and other Govt. bodies in different countries. The Exhibition provides an opportunity and strong platform to showcase quality of KVI products.
7. Under Interest Subsidy Eligibility Certificate (ISEC) scheme, credit at the concessional rate of interest of 4% per annum is given for capital expenditure as well as for working capital as per the requirement of Khadi Institutions.
8. Modified Market Development Assistance (MMDA) scheme, aims at market segmentation of  Khadi  products  for  effective  pricing,  strengthening  marketing  network  to  participate/ organized domestic/international exhibitions,  creation of market  demand quality  products, extending incentives to the artisans/karyakartas infrastructure development etc.
9. 'Workshed  Scheme  for  Khadi  Artisans'  scheme  aims  to  provide  sufficient  space  and congenial environment for smooth and fatigue free working to the Khadi artisans in which KVIC is providing an amount of Rs. 60,000 and Rs. 40,000 per artisan for construction of individual and group Worksheds, respectively.
10. KVIC  is  providing  funds  for  the  implementation  of  various  projects  for  technology  up gradation under 'S&T programme'.
11. KVIC  has  entered  into  agreement  since  last  few  years  with  bulk  buyers  of  Govt. Departments such as Railways, Health & Family Welfare, Paramilitary Forces, Ministry of Tribal  Affairs  and  other  Central  &  State  Govt.  Ministries  to  increase  the  sale  of  Khadi products.
12. KVIC through its Kumarappa National Handmade Paper Institute (KNHPI), Rajasthan has developed  the  technology  for  manufacturing  of  Khadi  Prakritik  Paint  and  providing technical training to interested entrepreneurs.
13. KVIC started selling of all KVI products through online sales platforms e-khadiindia.com and  khadiindia.gov.in  in  which  more  than  3,300  products  have  been  on-boarded  on  the portal.
14. Bamboo Bottles, Sanitary Napkin, Cow Dung Soap have been launched for sale at Khadi India.
15. Introduced  'Khadi  Designer  Shoes'  and  available  in  the  flagship  showroom  of  KVIC  at Connaught Place, New Delhi.
16. KVIC introduced Gift Coupons, Gift Boxes and Special discounts on various occasions/festivals,  to  attract  the  customers  and  boost  the  sales  of  Khadi  and  Village Industries products.
17. To introduce new designs in Khadi, KVIC has organized a design competition for designers inviting online applications, presentations & sketches of the designs.
18. KVIC joined hands with corporates like Raymonds, Arvind Mills and Aditya Birla Group to boost  the  production  of  Khadi  and  introduce  trendy  designs  in  the  Khadi  readymade garments.
19. KVIC launched National Flag Sales Counters at 6 Passport Sewa Kendras at New Delhi, Ghaziabad, Patna, Jaipur, Guwahati and Ernakulum in November 2021.