About KVIC

• Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) is a statutory body under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
• Established in 1956, KVIC aims to plan, promote, facilitate, organize, and assist in the establishment and development of Khadi and Village industries in the rural areas. 
• Over the years, the main thrust of KVIC activities has been to provide a larger share of employment to scheduled caste and scheduled tribes and women.

Why in News?

• The Khadi and Village Industries Commission has urged the Government to lift the “export prohibition” on bamboo charcoal for optimum utilization of raw bamboo and higher profitability in the bamboo industry. 
• One of the biggest challenges that the Indian bamboo industry faces today is the extremely high input cost owing to inadequate utilization of bamboo. However, export of bamboo charcoal would ensure complete utilization of the bamboo waste and thus make the bamboo business more profitable.
• In India, bamboo is mostly used in manufacturing of Agarbatti wherein, a maximum of 16%, i.e. the upper layers of the bamboo, is used for manufacturing of bamboo sticks while the remaining 84% of bamboo is a complete waste. 
• The Bamboo waste generated in Agarbatti and bamboo craft industries is not being utilized commercially, as a result, the Bamboo input cost for Round Bamboo Sticks is in the range of Rs 25,000 to Rs 40,000 per MT as against the average Bamboo cost of Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000 per MT. 
• Compared to this, the Bamboo price in China is Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 per MT but their input cost is Rs 12,000 to Rs 15,000 per MT owing to 100% waste utilization.

Reference:

1. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1801566