MINISTER FOR MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES
(SHRI MAHABIR PRASAD)
(a): The details of the assistance provided through the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) under its various schemes to promote marketing of khadi and village industry (KVI) products, both in domestic market and abroad, are given below:
(i) Financial assistance is provided to implementing agencies for opening sales outlets in order to promote sales of KVI products.
(ii) Financial assistance for organizing exhibitions at various levels like district, State, Zonal and national level is also provided by KVIC from its budgetary sources at the following rates;
Sr. No. Level of Exhibition Assistance by KVIC (per event)(Rs. in lakh)
1. National Level Exhibition 40.00
2. Zonal Level Exhibition 25.00
3. State Level Exhibition 10.00
4. District Level Exhibition 2.50 During 2006-07, 106 exhibitions were organized.
(iii) KVIC is running 12 departmental sales outlets at various locations in the country.
(iv) Under Rural Employment Generation Programme (REGP), financial assistance for backward and forward linkages is being extended to the entrepreneurs, which includes financial assistance for organizing district level exhibitions, in order to promote the sale of products of REGP units.
(v) For exploring international market, a scheme to conduct exhibitions/participate in trade fairs, etc. abroad, is in vogue, under which the khadi institutions/village industry units are provided with the following incentives:
# 75 per cent of the Air Fare Travel by economy class or train fare, as the case may be to one representative each of the participating units promoted by persons belonging to the general category while 100 per cent of such airfare is to be provided to one representative each of the participating units belonging to women entrepreneurs, SC/ST entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs from North Eastern Region, etc.
# up to 50% of the space rent actually paid is reimbursed. In case of women entrepreneurs, SC/ST entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs from North Eastern Region, etc., 100% of space rent paid is reimbursed.
# Assistance for space rent and travel expenses for each participating entrepreneur/unit would be limited to Rs. 1.25 lakh.
During 2006–07, KVIC participated in 5 international exhibitions/trade fairs organised in various countries.
(b) & (c): Setting up of Agri-Clinics and Agri-Business Centres, is not within the purview of the Government (in the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises)/KVIC. The Government (in the Ministry of Agriculture, Department of Agriculture and Cooperation) is concerned with the subject. The State and Union Territory-wise number of Agri-Clinics and Agri-Business Centres set up during 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07 as furnished by the Ministry of Agriculture, are given at Annex. Each established Agri-Clinic and Agri-Business Centre provided self employment to at least one unemployed graduate of Agriculture and allied subjects. Accordingly, the employment generated through the Agri-Clinics and Agri-Business Centres, during 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07 is approximately equal to or more than the number of the above units set up during the corresponding years .
