On Mahatma Gandhi’s 141st birthday, the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) unveiled a plan of introducing solar charkhas, which will help 7.46 lakh khadi spinners in the country increase efficiency and output.
To make these otherwise expensive charkhas economically viable, KVIC will seek parliamentary approval to expand the definition of khadi — currently limited to cloth that is hand-spun or hand-woven — to include solar-spun fabric.
Kumud Joshi, chairperson, KVIC, said, “The use of solar energy to spin cloth is a natural extension of Gandhi’s principle of self-reliance that underlines the philosophy of khadi.”
The prototype of the solar charkha has been developed using the technical know-how of institutions like IIT-Delhi and IIT-Kharagpur.
“The technology comprises attaching to a regular charkha a solar power pack, which includes a solar panel, a battery and a motor,” explained SK Sinha, director, khadi coordination, KVIC. Having successfully completed the lab trial, KVIC is now planning a pilot project under which 500 solar charkhas will be installed across six khadi zones across the country for an elaborate field trial.
Currently, the solar power pack costs around Rs14,000, but with subsidy offered on solar energy, this figure can be reduced by 50%.
Moreover, if solar-spun fabric is brought under the definition of khadi, the cost could fall even further, making solar charkhas more financially viable for small entrepreneurs and village industries.
“We plan to call the cloth ‘green cloth’. The pilot project will ascertain if the quality of the cloth produced is up to the mark, and its viability,” said JS Mishra, CEO, KVIC.
In KVIC’s own estimation, a solar charkha will earn a khadi spinner approximately Rs150 per day against the present Rs60. If the technology is also adopted by the spinning mill industry, the current Rs20 spent on the power required for 1kg yarn will be saved, leading to power consumption worth Rs300crore saved collectively.
However, the future of the solar charkha is uncertain, especially in light of KVIC’s earlier plan to implement the e-charkha on a mass level, which saw only 9,600 of them sold over the past three years.
