Assam Khadi Board cannot afford to make flags for Rs. 18

The Assam Khadi and Village Industries Board said that the Assam Government had to order 30 lakh National Flags from outside, as the Board could not afford to sell at the cheap price offered by the government.

The Assam Government is proposing to hoist 80 lakh flags in the state under the Har Ghar Tiranga campaign. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma has informed that the state will be procuring over 30 lakh National flags from the Textile Ministry.

Chairperson of the Assam Khadi and Village Industries Board, Dr. Kamala Kanta Kalita informed that the Board could have easily met the requirement but the low government pricings would have incurred them a major loss. "The Assam Government discussed with us before placing the order. But the government is placing the minimum price at Rs. 18 to make it affordable for all. Our minimum price is Rs. 50 the Khadi material is expensive and hand weaved. The entire process is by hand and the Board couldn't afford that loss," he added.

Khadi Board produces over 30,000 Tricolors for Har Ghar Tiranga campaign.

The Assam Khadi and Village Industries Board have produced over 30,000 National Flags for the Har Ghar Tiranga campaign. Chairperson of the Board informed that the Board has tailored a total of 30,950 Tricolors, amounting to a total value of Rs. 90,15,250 till August 1, 2022.

Dr. Kalita said that following the Har Ghar Tiranga campaign of the  Indian Government, the Board is prepared to produce over 1 lakh flags.

"We are prepared and have even deployed additional manpower who are working hard round the clock to meet the demands. About 36 people- both permanent employees and contractual workers are working with the Khadi Board to meet the needs," said the Chairperson.

The flags have been mostly procured by the government and semi-government departments along with OIL, IOCL, Numaligarh, and Noonmati refineries amongst others. "The district administrations are also gradually placing the order and the number will rise till August 13," added the Vice Chairperson of the Khadi Board, Haren Deori.

The Assam Khadi and Village Industries Board urged the people of the state to procure the authentic Khadi product made by the Board rather than opt for the non-Khali low-priced National flag.
"As everybody cannot afford a Khadi flag due to its high price the government is allowing flags made of other material. But we request the affluent people to at least buy from us as this will support the weavers directly," he added.

Rakhi Choudhury, Manager of the Tailoring Section of the Khadi Board said that 10 workers,  mostly women, have been tailoring over 500 flags daily of varied sizes, from morning 9 am to 7 pm to meet the requirements for the campaign. 

Additionally, five others are deployed in the printing of the Ashok Chakra on the Tricolor, which has been traditionally done in the block printing methods. over 600 flags are printed daily. 

"Due to the sudden rise in demand for the campaign this year, we were offered a screen printing method where mass production could have been done. But the printing of the Ashok Chakra on both sides without spreading by the screen-printing method would have been difficult. So we choose to go the traditional way. The process is slow but the final product is perfect; a perfect National Tricolor," said another employee.

The state of Arunachal Pradesh has also placed an order for 2000 flags with the Assam Khadi Board.