Modi govt declines Baba Ramdev's offer to give khadi industry 'a new life'

While Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Yogpeeth is a raging business of alternative ayurvedic products, he had expressed the desire to take over the government’s khadi sector to manage it.

However, according to reports, the government has politely declined Ramdev’s offer to take responsibility of research, marketing and quality control in the sector, saying it will only ’take his advice'.

Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) minister Kalraj Mishra told The Economic Times , “We invite suggestions but we have our systems in place. Their suggestions were valid and we are looking into them.”

Ramdev had reportedly met MSME officials recently and proposed his idea to them.

According to India TV News , “Ramdev had proposed to “take khadi out of ventilator and give it a new life”, but he refuted claims that the Yogpeeth intended to take over the sector.”

Now the ministry has signed an MoU with Rural Self Employment Training Institutes for the initiative, which will also be a part of the government’s Make in India initiative.

According to The Economic Times , “Bengaluru-based social worker Veerendra Heggade, who will monitor this effort, had earlier launched a ‘rural city plan’ in coastal Andhra Pradesh to provide opportunities to youths in villages to keep them from migrating to cities. The government has also tied up with the National Institute of Design to make khadi more contemporary and, as part of this initiative, it is set to organise a series of fashion shows in colleges, starting with one in Delhi this week.”

While Ramdev’s offer was declined, reports suggest a lot of discussion went into whether he should be given the responsibility or not.

India TV News quoted an MSME official as saying, “We had a hearty discussion with Patanjali Yogpeeth members, but we think Khadi has an identity of its own.”