The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) distributed more than one lakh bee-boxes among farmers and unemployed youths across India in less than two years under its ‘Honey Mission’ initiative. This is the first time such mass scale distribution of honey bee boxes has taken place in country.
About Honey Mission
- It was launched in August 2017 in line with PM Narendra Modi’s call for ‘Sweet Revolution’ (revolution in production of honey to increase its production) in 2016 while introducing Banas Honey project at Deesa in Gujarat.
- Under this mission KVIC provides beekeepers
- Practical training about examination of honeybee colonies.
- Acquaintance with apicultural equipments.
- Identification and management of bee enemies and diseases.
- Honey extraction and wax purification.
- Management of bee colonies in spring, summer, monsoon, autumn and winter seasons.
- So far, KVIC have created more than 10,000 new jobs and around 25,000 additional man days through fabrication of bee boxes and honey extractors.
- KVIC would provide loans for setting up processing units, packaging units and labelling units for honey.
- Importance: Production of healthy honey and wax, ands bee-keeping would open many job opportunities for unemployed youths and also for saspiring young entrepreneurs.
- Under mission till date about 246 metric tonnes of honey has been extracted through these bee-boxes valuing over Rs 4 crore.
- Earlier on 21 May 2018 on occasion of World Honey Bee Day, KVIC distributed 1,000 bee-boxes among 100 Mishing tribe in Kaziranga forest area in Assam and created a new world record of distributing maximum number of bee boxes in a single day.
About Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC)
- It is a statutory body formed under ‘Khadi and Village Industries Commission Act of 1956’ by Government of India.
- It is an apex organisation under Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME).
- It is nodal implementation agency of Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) at national level.
- PMEGP is a major credit-linked subsidy programme being implemented by MSME Ministry since 2008-09 and will Continue till 2019-20. It aims to generate employment in India’s rural and urban areas.