Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said initiatives such as "Khadi Prakritik Paint" will strengthen the rural economy and has the potential to become a ₹6,000-crore industry soon.
Launching the eco-friendly and non-toxic paint with antibacterial properties by Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Minister Gadkari said, initiatives such as KVIC paint could lead to 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' and arrest the exodus of rural population towards cities.
At the same time, it will strengthen the rural economy and protect cows, he said.
The "Khadi Prakritik Paint" is a first-of-its-kind product based on cow dung as its main ingredient. It is cost-effective as well as odourless and has been certified by the Bureau of Indian Standards.
"Khadi Prakritik Paint will be a ₹6,000 crore industry after branding... The paint is better than the best available paint available in the market and is priced at ₹225 a litre as compared to paints by various brands which are ₹550 a litre," Mr. Gadkari said during the launch.
On MSMEs, he said the idea was to take its contribution to GDP to 50% from the current 30% and boost exports to 60%, from 48%.
"The plan is also to take KVIC's turnover to ₹5 lakh crore in the next five years, from ₹80,000 crore at present," he said.
The Minister said with cow dung as the main ingredient behind this paint, cows will become a source of income even if they are non-milching cows.
"No villager will like to send cows to butchers... No cow will go to butchers, not by law but due to economy," he said and added that this initiative will strengthen agriculture, rural and tribal economy, besides 115 aspirational districts where GDP growth is negligible.
Khadi Prakritik Paint is available in two forms — distemper paint and plastic emulsion paint. Production of Khadi Prakritik Paint is aligned with the Prime Minister's vision of increasing farmers' income.
The paint, with antifungal and antibacterial properties, is free from heavy metals like lead, mercury, chromium, arsenic, cadmium and others. It is expected to boost local manufacturing and create sustainable local employment through technology transfer.
This will boost socially, economically and educationally backward area's development and arrest migration of rural populace to metropolises like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, and Kolkata, he said.
Mr. Gadkari said the MSMEs Ministry will support clinics in villages for production of indigenous cows through advanced scientific techniques and plans to fund 10,000 such clinics pan India besides transfer of paint technology for local production of paints.
"This technology will increase the consumption of cow dung as a raw material for eco-friendly products and will generate additional revenue to farmers and gaushalas. This is estimated to generate additional income of ₹30,000 (approx) per annum per animal to farmers/gaushalas," MSMEs Ministry has said in a statement on Monday.
