Solar Charkha Mission Yojana

In order to promote the production of Khadi, the Indian Government has launched a scheme called as Solar Charkha Mission Yojana under Solar Spindle Mission. The scheme supports Khadi production by offering five crore employment opportunities. Solar Charkha Mission Yojana was launched by Ram Nath Kovind, President of India on June 2018 on the event of Udyam Sanham on World Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Day.

Objectives

• To create awareness about Khadi by bringing up the sales from Rs. 26,000 crores to Rs. 1 lakh crores.
• To have an eco-friendly environment.
• To revitalize the cotton industry.
• To extend self-employment in rural and urban areas.
• To make cotton generation a reliable and profitable business.

Purpose of the Scheme

Maharastra is the leading state of cotton production in the country, as many regions of the state cultivate cotton. Due to low wages, many cotton producing mills are closed and this has made many employees migrate to other locales, resulting in low productivity of cotton. Therefore, the scheme was launched to cherish the natural wealth of the state and at the same time to provide employment opportunities to its citizens.

Features of the Scheme

• An innovative way of cotton production by using solar energy thereby saving the electricity.
• Over 5 crore jobs will be given exclusively to women.
• In addition to this, the scheme provides 1,100 jobs to every panchayat.
• The government plans to develop agro cluster in rural areas and industrial cluster in urban areas.
• 20% of procurement is required by the government agencies from MSMEs.
• The scheme consists of 500 solar spindles and its cluster comprises of 4000 spindles.
• An investment of Rs. 40,000 crores in every Lok Sabha constituency has been proposed.
• 1 lakh women will be employed in every parliament constituency through the Social Security Scheme.

Eligibility

Only small-scale business applicants holding an MSME certificate can be a part of this scheme.

How to Apply

The applicant can register to this scheme, using the online portal. The application can be downloaded from the Udyam Sakhi portal link.

Starting Solar Charkha Business

An individual willing to start a Solar Charkha Cloth Production Unit has to install solar-powered looms. To avail this, the individual has to apply to the respective authority and necessary materials and help will be offered at low rates under the Prime Minister Employment Generation Program (PMEGP).

Modus Operandi

People who start the solar-powered cloth production unit can sell their products to the Central Government and to the State Government.  This is done by the Khadi Commission by selling it directly to the government departments. It produces good quality of cloth leading to the manufacture of bed sheets, pillow covers, towels, duster cloths and also garments. The businessmen have an additional choice where they can sign contracts with the companies and supply it to them.