Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned, not once but twice, during his monthly Mann ki Baat radio address recently how his appeal last year, in 2014, urging people to buy khadi resulted in doubling of khadi sales.


However, year-on-year official data regarding khadi sales does not corroborate the prime minister’s claim.

Khadi sales during 2014-'15 increased only by 5.91% compared to 2013-'14 while sales had increased 5.82% during 2013-'14 compared to 2012-'13.


Source: Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises; 2014-'15 figures are provisional.


The production and sales figures for the past three years,  state-wise, are as follows:



Source: Lok Sabha; * including Daman & Diu; ** including Dadra & Nagar Haveli; 2014-15 figures are provisional.


An official release by the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises earlier this year claimed a “60% jump in Khadi sales”.

A closer look reveals that the increased sales relates to the period April 13 to April 28, 2015, (compared to corresponding period of the previous year) for only one KVIC signature store – Khadi Gramodyog Bhawan in New Delhi's Connaught Place.

This article was originally published on FactChecker.in.