By — Dilip Guha

Khadi, long regarded as a symbol of India’s freedom movement and self-reliance, took centre stage on Thursday as the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Government of India, launched “Seva Sankalp, Khadi Mahotsav 2026” at the KVIC campus at Gandhi Darshan, Rajghat, New Delhi.

The nationwide month-long campaign, being observed from September 17 to October 17, 2026, seeks to bring together Khadi, village industries, artisans, entrepreneurs and citizens through a series of activities centred on service, Swadeshi, employment, cleanliness and public participation.

Shri Manoj Goyal, Chairman, KVIC, inaugurated the programme in the presence of former Delhi Mayor Shri Jai Prakash, representatives of Khadi institutions, artisans, PMEGP beneficiaries, trainees, and KVIC officials and employees. Artisans and participants from different parts of the country also joined the programme online.

A symbolic moment at the inaugural ceremony came when artisans cut a cake carrying #AshirwadKaDiya and lit 25 lamps under the theme “Sankalp Se Siddhi”, representing 25 years of public service, good governance and public participation associated with Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s public life.

Khadi as a Living Tradition

Addressing the gathering, Shri Goyal underlined the broader meaning of Khadi, describing it as much more than a fabric. For him, Khadi represents self-respect, livelihoods, rural economic activity and the spirit of Swadeshi.

He said that the principles of service, good governance and public participation have remained central to the Prime Minister’s public life and that KVIC would seek to carry this spirit forward through the Khadi Mahotsav.

Campaigns such as “Vocal for Local”, “Atmanirbhar Bharat” and “Local to Global”, he said, have helped place renewed emphasis on local products and rural entrepreneurship.

The Mahotsav, therefore, is being positioned not merely as a celebration of Khadi but as an effort to connect traditional skills and village industries with contemporary aspirations of enterprise, employment and self-reliance.

From Tools to Opportunities

One of the significant highlights of the inaugural programme was the distribution of machines and toolkits to artisans from Delhi and the North-East. Shri Goyal described the equipment as more than tools of production, saying they represented new opportunities for employment, self-reliance and dignity for artisans.

The programme also saw the disbursement of ₹289 crore in margin-money subsidy under the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP). According to the figures shared at the event, the assistance is expected to support 3,366 new projects across the country and create employment opportunities for approximately 37,026 people. Bank loans amounting to around ₹873 crore have been provided for these projects.

In addition, 5,000 new PMEGP units were launched online during the programme.

The emphasis, Shri Goyal said, was on creating an entrepreneurial ecosystem in which young people, women and rural entrepreneurs could move beyond seeking employment to creating employment opportunities for others.

Taking Khadi into the Digital Age

The Mahotsav also reflected KVIC’s efforts to expand its digital presence and make its services more accessible.

Several digital initiatives were launched during the programme, including the E-Commerce Portal, PMEGP Online EDP Portal, PMEGP Online EDP Mobile App, Hindi Vaibhav Portal and KVIC Digital 2.0.

Alongside the digital launches, 760 individual and group workshops and renovated stores were inaugurated online across the country.

At the Delhi venue, visitors were offered a glimpse into the traditional and contemporary dimensions of the Khadi and village industries sector through an exhibition, a live charkha-spinning demonstration, a selfie point, and the “Swadeshi Sankalp” campaign. Certificates were also distributed to candidates who had completed various skill-development courses.

The emphasis on self-reliance was complemented by a message of environmental responsibility. Cleanliness activities were conducted at the KVIC office complex at Gandhi Darshan, while Shri Goyal planted a sapling, linking the Mahotsav’s larger message of service with environmental protection and a clean campus.

A Month of Public Participation

The inaugural programme is only the beginning of a nationwide calendar of activities planned until October 17.

Cleanliness drives, tree plantations, Khadi Yatras, Swadeshi Sankalp pledges, awareness programmes, artisan dialogues and training initiatives will be organised across the country. Schools, villages, towns and Khadi institutions are expected to participate in the campaign.

Shri Goyal emphasised that the Mahotsav should extend beyond the framework of a departmental programme and evolve into a broader people’s campaign.

His message was to take the conversation around Khadi beyond exhibitions and institutions—to schools, villages and marketplaces, making Swadeshi and village industries part of everyday public discourse.

Linking Khadi with Swachhata

The “Seva Sankalp, Khadi Mahotsav 2026” will also be linked with the “Swachhata Hi Seva 2026” campaign, being observed from September 17 to October 17. This year’s theme is “Participation in Cleanliness, Clean India, Developed India.”

The connection between the two campaigns brings together two strands of the Mahotsav’s message: the promotion of indigenous enterprise and the cultivation of civic responsibility.

“Cleanliness is service, Swadeshi is service, providing employment is service, and respecting artisans is service,” Shri Goyal said, calling upon artisans, Khadi institutions, PMEGP beneficiaries, young people and the KVIC family across the country to participate actively in the campaign.

Khadi’s Expanding Economic Footprint

The programme also highlighted the expanding economic dimensions of the Khadi and Village Industries sector.

According to the figures shared on the occasion, the sector’s turnover exceeded ₹1.87 lakh crore in the financial year 2025–26, while the sector was said to employ more than 20.4 million people. Shri Goyal expressed confidence that the sector would move towards a turnover target of ₹2.51 lakh crore in the coming years.

Yet, behind these large numbers lies the human story of millions of artisans, weavers, rural entrepreneurs and small producers whose livelihoods are connected to village industries.

For them, Khadi is not simply a traditional textile. It represents a continuing relationship between craft and livelihood, heritage and enterprise, tradition and innovation.

As “Seva Sankalp, Khadi Mahotsav 2026” unfolds across the country, its larger message is therefore woven around an idea that has long been associated with Khadi: that self-reliance can begin with something as simple as supporting a local artisan, valuing indigenous skills and recognising the dignity embedded in work.

From the charkha to the digital marketplace, from village workshops to new entrepreneurial ventures, the Mahotsav seeks to present Khadi as a living tradition—one that carries its heritage into a changing India while keeping artisans and rural livelihoods at its centre.