The KVIC outleton Main Road in Ranchi. Picture by Hardeep Singh

Ranchi, May 6: Give brands a break and shop for village products at a one-stop exclusive mall instead!

The retail rush has caught on with khadi products and soon Khadi Plaza, a project by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), would sell herbal cosmetics, tested organic food and clothes.

The mall would be given a “modern look” at an investment of Rs 2.5 crore by KVIC. Although the commission would run the venture, the state government would arrange for the land.

“We are looking at a suitable plot in Kokar or Namkum for the plaza,” said Jainandu, the chairperson of Jharkhand State Khadi Gram Udyog.

KVIC plans to built such malls in all state capitals at an investment of Rs 34 crore. In fact, the commission has finalised land in several states. A team from its Mumbai office is expected to visit Ranchi to finalise building plans soon.

The plaza would directly compete with retail malls. “We want to place khadi village industry products on a par with commercial products,” Jainandu pointed out.

The traditional hand-spun fabric has been more popular among the older generation. And as the new initiative is targeted towards the youth, it has to be “reinvented”. Thus, premier fashion design institutes National Institute of Design (Ahmedabad) and National Institute of Fashion Technology (Delhi) would be roped into the project to give products a contemporary look.

Besides clothes, the organic food items produced by the khadi village industry, would be targeted at the “quality conscious” middle income group.

Jainandu agreed marketing would be the key to selling these products to the intended group. In fact, KVIC has been trying to reinvent itself for quite sometime now.

Recently the state government procured 100 electronic charkhas from Ahmedabad. “These charkhas have better quality strings and could help villagers produce the raw material faster. The electronic charkha generates electricity and hums the favourite tune of Mahatma Gandhi when spun,” said Jainandu.