The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Into-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) to supply of 1.72 lakh cotton rugs (dhurries) every year at a cost of ₹8.74 crore. The agreement has been signed for a year and will be renewed thereafter. The development follows instructions by home minister Amit Shah to paramilitary forces to encourage local products to support the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ mission.

As per the specifications, KVIC will provide blue-colour rugs of 1.98 metre length and 1.07 metre width. The cotton rugs will be produced by khadi artisans in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab. The next products in the pipeline are khadi blankets, bed sheets, pillow covers, pickles, honey, papad and cosmetics.

KVIC developed the cotton rugs as per the samples provided by ITBP. The rugs have also been certified by the Northern India Textile Research Association (NITRA), a unit of the textile ministry recognised by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research.

On July 31 last year, KVIC had signed an agreement with ITBP for supplying Kacchi Ghani mustard oil. The ITBP is the nodal agency appointed by MHA for the procurement of provisions on behalf of all paramilitary forces