New Delhi, Feb 28 (IANS): Khadi and Village Industry Commission's (KVIC) footprint in the online marketing segment has found tremendous public patronage as its gross turnover has amounted to Rs 1.12 crore within just eight months of the launch of Khadi's e-portal www.khadiindia.gov.in.

Launched on July 7, 2020, Khadi e-portal has delivered more than one lakh articles and commodities to over 10,000 customers out of the 65,000 people who visited the portal to date.

Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari lauded Khadi's successful e-commerce venture and said that this has provided a wide marketing platform for various Khadi and village industry products to a larger population. He further added that efforts should be made to reach a turnover of Rs 200 crore per year.

KVIC Chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena said, "All expenses incurred on operating Khadi e-portal are borne by KVIC, while in case of other e-commerce sites, product cataloguing, packaging and dispatching are the responsibility of the respective sellers. KVIC has a policy that the Khadi institutions and PMEGP units are exempted from any such financial and logistical burden."

Saxena further added that Khadi's e-portal is a unique platform for lakhs of Khadi artisans as it saves them a lot of money.

Khadi's online sale that started with just Khadi Face Masks during Covid-19 induced lockdown has evolved into a full-fledged e-market platform with nearly 800 products including Muslin, Silk, Denim and Cotton, Unisex VicharVastra, trendy Modi Kurta & Jackets, Khadi's Signature Wrist Watch, a variety of honey, Herbal and Green Tea, Herbal Medicines and Soaps, Papad, Kacchi Ghani Mustard Oil, cow dung/cow urine soaps and a range of herbal cosmetics among many others. A number of unique products like Khadi fabric footwear, innovative Khadi Prakratik Paint from cow dung and the just-revived Heritage Monpa Handmade Paper are also being sold online.