Aiming to celebrate the spirit of 'swadeshi' on International Yoga Day (IYD), various Indian Missions abroad have decided to buy as many as 15,000 khadi kits from back home for use during the occasion.
The IYD is held on June 21 globally every year and this time Lucknow has been chosen as the city where the main function would be held.
Around 150 countries are expected to participate in the mega event, with Indian Missions in those nations coordinating the activities.
Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) Chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena said the move comes following his meeting in this connection with Namrata Kumar, the Deputy Director General of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR).
"This purchase order of around Rs 2.63 crore has been given to KVIC for supplying 15,000 yoga kits (7,500 each for male and female)," he said.
Saxena said the KVIC got the order from the ICCR yesterday.
Established in 1950 by the Ministry of External Affairs, the ICCR fosters cultural relations and mutual understanding between India and other countries for promoting relations with them.
"It is the biggest order for any organisation dealing with yoga kits, he claimed. "KHADI has 'zero carbon' footprint, is environment-friendly and a swadeshi product."
"The kit includes nine items, including upper and lower for men and women, a khadi napkin, yoga mat and a bag. The napkin has been made by women of militancy-affected families of Jammu and Kashmir living near Narkota. To add to the style quotient, a unique tricolour khadi garland has been included in the kit," the KVIC chairman said.
The IDY this year will be observed at some of the major landmarks like the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Trafalgar Square in London and the Central Gardens in New York, among other countries, officials said.
The first IDY celebration was organised at Rajpath in New Delhi on June 21, 2015 in which representatives of 191 countries had participated. Last year, the main function took place in Chandigarh.
The United Nations General Assembly, heeding to a call by Prime Minister Modi, had made a declaration in December 2014 to observe June 21 as IDY every year.
"Last year, for the first time the KVIC had made yoga kits of khadi, designed by National Institute Design (NID), on the advice of Ministry of Ayush and within 10 days, we had got purchase orders worth Rs 82 lakh, consequently generating extra employment for artisans. But this year, we hope to increase it to at least Rs 5 crore though aggressive marking," Saxena said.
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