Khadi carried enormous symbolic weight from the freedom movement but had long stopped being a serious business. The Khadi and Village Industries Commission recorded sales of ₹31,154 crore in 2013-14, and the fabric was widely seen as ceremonial rather than commercial. Village industries more broadly — pottery, honey, leather, agarbatti — operated with obsolete tools and no route to market.
Vocal for Local & Khadi
Vocal for Local & Khadi
Khadi and village industries, long treated as heritage rather than business, became a growth story. Sales of khadi and village industries products rose from ₹31,154 crore in 2013-14 to ₹1.87 lakh crore in 2025-26 — nearly six-fold — and employment in the sector reached 2.04 crore. The Vocal for Local and Atmanirbhar Bharat campaigns, the One District One Product programme and a surge in GI tags pushed local products into national and export markets. The counter shows khadi and village industries sales.
₹1.87 L cr
Khadi & village industries sales (2025-26)
2.04 cr
Employed in khadi & village industry (2025-26)
800+
GI-tagged products
Khadi & village industries sales (2025-26)
| Year | Khadi & village industries sales |
|---|---|
| 2014 | 0.31 Rs lakh cr |
| 2016 | 0.42 Rs lakh cr |
| 2017 | 0.52 Rs lakh cr |
| 2020 | 0.89 Rs lakh cr |
| 2021 | 0.96 Rs lakh cr |
| 2022 | 1.15 Rs lakh cr |
| 2023 | 1.35 Rs lakh cr |
| 2024 | 1.56 Rs lakh cr |
| 2025 | 1.71 Rs lakh cr |
| 2026 | 1.87 Rs lakh cr |
| Dashed bars are years the source does not publish; the shape between published years is drawn, not measured. | |
2014
0.00Rs lakh cr
Khadi & village industries sales
20142026
Since 2014
Added
+1.56 Rs lakh cr
2014
0.31 Rs lakh cr
2026
1.87 Rs lakh cr
Dashed bars are years the source does not publish; the shape between published years is drawn, not measured.
Why it matters Village industry is the most labour-intensive rupee the economy can spend: KVIC creates a job for a fraction of the capital a factory needs, and the work stays in the village rather than pulling families to cities. GI tags do something else — they turn a regional craft into a protected brand that cannot be copied elsewhere.
- Khadi and village industries sales rose from ₹31,154 crore (2013-14) to ₹1.87 lakh crore (2025-26).
- Employment in khadi and village industries reached 2.04 crore people (2025-26).
- Over 800 products now carry registered GI tags, protecting regional crafts and produce.
- One District One Product gives every district a flagship product with marketing support.
History
Notable milestone
Khadi and village industries sales rose from ₹31,154 crore (2013-14) to ₹1.87 lakh crore (2025-26) — nearly six-fold — and employment in khadi and village industries reached 2.04 crore people. The Vocal for Local and Atmanirbhar Bharat campaigns, given prominence in successive Independence Day and Mann Ki Baat addresses, made local products a mainstream consumer choice.
How it works
Three instruments do most of the work. One District One Product gives every district a flagship product with branding, packaging and marketing support. Geographical Indication tags, now covering over 800 registered products, turn a regional craft into a protected brand that cannot be replicated elsewhere. And the PMEGP scheme finances new village enterprises, while KVIC supplies modern equipment — electric potter's wheels, honey boxes, leather tools — to replace hand methods that capped output.
Outlook
Village industry is the most labour-intensive rupee the economy can spend: KVIC creates a job for a small fraction of the capital a factory needs, and the work stays in the village rather than pulling families to cities. Khadi has also found a fashion market at home and abroad.
By the numbers
Khadi and village industries sales ₹31,154 crore (2013-14) → ₹1.87 lakh crore (2025-26) — nearly six-fold. 2.04 crore employed in khadi and village industries. 800+ GI-tagged products. One District One Product across every district. Sources: KVIC, Ministry of MSME, DPIIT, PIB.
Data current to: FY 2025-26 (provisional)
Source: Khadi and Village Industries Commission (Ministry of MSME, via PIB) — annual sales of khadi and village industries products across the sector (reported as turnover; provisional), ₹ lakh crore, by financial year: 0.31 (2013-14), 0.42 (2015-16), 0.52 (2016-17), 0.89 (2019-20), 0.96 (2020-21), 1.15 (2021-22), 1.35 (2022-23), 1.56 (2023-24), 1.71 (2024-25) and 1.87 (2025-26, linked). Employment reached 2.04 crore in 2025-26. No official total was found for 2014-15, 2017-18 or 2018-19. · link