New Delhi: Artisans in different parts of the country are engaged in making handloom popular, be it woollen clothes of Himachal or the Kani shawls of Jammu & Kashmir, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday.
He said Khadi Gramodyog’s business has crossed Rs 1.5 lakh crore for the first time and asserted that the rising sales of Khadi and handloom were creating new job opportunities in large numbers.
In his Mann Ki Baat monthly radio broadcast, Modi said many people who would not be using Khadi products earlier now wear them with great pride. “The Khadi Gramodyog’s business has crossed Rs 1.5 lakh crore for the first time. Do you know how much sales of Khadi have gone up, ‘400 per cent’. The rising sales of Khadi and handloom are creating new job opportunities in large numbers,” he said.
“Mostly women are associated with this industry so they are benefiting the most,” he added. “You must be having different types of clothes, and till now if you have not bought khadi clothes then start buying them,” Modi said.
“Friends, like these women of Rohtak, artisans in different parts of the country are engaged in making handloom 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 & Kashmir.”
With the start of the Paris Olympics, the prime minister said the games give our athletes a chance to hoist the national flag at the international level. He urged people to encourage them and ‘Cheer for Bharat’.
During the broadcast, he also interacted with Indian students who performed very well in the recently held Mathematics Olympiad. “A few days ago, an Olympics took place in the world of mathematics also: the International Mathematics Olympiad. Indian students have performed very well in this Olympiad. Our team won four gold medals and one silver medal,” Modi said.
The prime minister also hailed the inclusion of the ‘ Moidams’ in Assam in the UNESCO world heritage list and said it is a matter of immense joy for every Indian. He also recalled unveiling the tallest statue of the great Ahom warrior Lachit Borphukan, a symbol of indomitable courage and bravery.

Agencies