Khadi flag production centre in Hubballi fears polyester onslaught

The government recently announced GST exemption for national flags. This development took place after the National Flag Code was amended to allow polyester flags; earlier, the flag was to be made of handspun and hand woven wool/cotton/silk khadi bunting. 

This has posed a threat to the federation in Hubballi that links thousands of khadi weavers producing the national flags in all sizes with BIS certification. It is the sole unit in the country producing khadi flags. The government action coincides with the Har Ghar Tiranga (‘a flag in each house’) initiative under the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, celebrating 75 years of Independence.

The National Flag Code was amended in December 2021 to state: “The National Flag shall be made of hand-spun and hand-woven or machine-made cotton, polyester, wool, silk khadi bunting.” 

“It was known to us in February 2022 and we started protesting. Now the GST exemption will severely impact khadi national flag production,” said SS Matapathi, Secretary of the Karnataka Khadi Gramodyoga Samyukta Sangha (Federation).

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The Union government chose to give a GST exemption for flags to ensure every Indian everywhere hoisted the national flag at home, said Matapathi. “Instead, if they promoted khadi, it could have helped around 10,000 such khadi production centres across India,” he added.

Hand-woven, hand-spun national flags made of cotton, silk, wool or khadi are already exempt from GST. Recently, the Finance Ministry said the sale of the national flag, irrespective of whether machine-made or polyester, is exempt from GST. This will again help only the polyester textile industry.

“The decision of the Finance Ministry on GST exemption is a worrying factor for the khadi industry,” agreed NK Kaginelli, Secretary of the Dharwad Taluka Seva Sangha.

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Matapathi said there are around 10,000 khadi gramodyog units in India. Now, the GST exemption to polyester flags will only help textile industrialists and demolish hopes for khadi units. It will affect the only national flag producing centre in the country, in Karnataka, said Matapathi.

He added that the federation was to produce around Rs 4.5-5 crore worth of national flags around Azadi ki Amrit Mahotsav. But, at the end of June, it achieved just Rs 70 lakh. “This is a sign of the blow to the khadi industry with the arrival of polyester flags.  We are now expecting around Rs 1.5 crore worth of business to the federation, but it may come down,” he said.

Matapathi further said that it will come down again next year and may force the federation to close several units.  “More than 45,000 employees are involved in this from all over Karnataka. Around 1,200 women are involved in the Hubballi unit and around 800 women in spinning. Around 400 women are working in the Bengaluru unit,” he said.

“The employment of this huge number will take a hit. Also, the dependents of those employees will be affected drastically. We have already written letters to the Prime Minister and Union Home Minister, but did not receive any response,” he added.

“The national flag made of khadi is the pride of the nation. Mahatma Gandhi produced khadi from the charkha and weaved it. Khadi was the symbol of our freedom struggle and grama swarajya. Now, the very noble cause is being spoiled,” he said.

Textile lobby at work?

Encouraging polyester flags with GST exemption is seen to weaken the khadi sector. It will only be helpful for the textile lobbies, it is feared.

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Kaginelli of the Dharwad Taluka Seva Sangha said that the amendment will allow the textile owners, mainly in Gujarat and some other states, to produce the national flag and other related products in polyester. This will ruin the khadi industry, he lamented.

Plastic and polyester flags were being sold everywhere though it was banned. Now polyester flags are allowed officially and it will demoralise the khadi industry, he said.  According to him, around 80,000 weavers are connected to this from all over Karnataka, especially north Karnataka.

The Sangha background

The Karnataka Khadi Gramodyoga Samyukta Sangha (Federation), the sole centre for the production of national flags in India, came into existence at Bengeri, Hubballi, on November 1, 1957 under the leadership of Gandhian VT Magadi. 

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The federation supplies the flags to various government agencies, ministries and armed forces. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has set some standards for the design and construction of national flags, to which the federation strictly adheres. 

As per the BIS standards, it should be made of hand-spun and hand-woven cotton khadi bunting. The Khadi and Village Industries Commission accorded permission to KKGSS to produce the tri-colour and supply them to the entire nation.