The unique Khadi Prakritik Paint developed by Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) using cow dung as raw material has been adopted by the state governments of Chhattisgarh and Haryana as a model of sustainable employment. A total of 31 Prakritik Paint manufacturing units – 25 in Chhattisgarh and 6 in Haryana – will be set up by the respective state governments soon, for which technology transfer agreements have been signed with KVIC. Chhattisgarh government signed the MoU with KVIC on 21st November 2021, in presence of Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, Shri Bhupesh Baghel. The MoU with the Haryana Government was signed on 12th November 2021.
The first Prakritik Paint unit in Haryana has been set up at Pinjore near Chandigarh where over 6000 liters of Prakritik Paint has already been produced. Another 5 paint manufacturing units will be set up by March 2022. The Chhattisgarh government, in addition to the 25 paint manufacturing units, will also set up 75 units for manufacturing Carboxy Methyl Cellulose (CMC), which is a major component of the Prakritik Paint.
These new paint manufacturing units will have a capacity of producing 500 liters of paint every day. The 31 new Prakritik Paint units in the two states will produce approx. 50 lakh liters of paint annually while creating nearly 500 direct employments supporting several other allied sectors. KVIC’s Kumarappa National Handmade Paper Institute (KNHPI), Jaipur, which has developed the Prakritik Paint, will provide training to the skilled workers from these states in making the cow dung Paint.
KVIC Chairman Shri Vinai Kumar Saxena said Khadi Prakritik Paint is an effective model of sustainable employment and that Chhattisgarh and Haryana will set examples for other states to set up cow dung based Prakritik Paint units. “Khadi Prakritik Paint is an eco-friendly and cost-effective product with great potential of creating sustainable employment and increasing the income of farmers, which is the dream of Prime Minister. The prime objective of developing cow-dung paint is employment generation which is the basic premise of Khadi. The cow dung purchased from farmers and cow sheds for manufacturing of Prakritik Paint will create additional income of nearly Rs 30,000 per animal per year,” Saxena said.
Khadi Prakritik Paint was launched on 12th January 2021. Apart from being waterproof and washable, the paint contains the natural benefits of cow dung like anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and natural thermal insulation properties. This paint is eco-friendly, non-toxic, odorless and cost-effective.