The Uttar Pradesh government has tied up with online retailers to sell khadi products in a bid to promote the industry.

Designers from the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) will design the khadi clothes that will be sold online. The products would be first launched on e-commerce majors like Flipkart and Snapdeal.

The idea to rope in online retailers has come on the heels of the state government signing a five-year agreement with the NIFT to provide special training on designing khadi clothes to 60 students. Once trained, these students will share their knowledge with workers in various khadi centres across the state. The main motive is to improve the quality of products and ensure that new designs have a modern look.

Uttar Pradesh Khadi Board CEO Manmohan Choudhary said the government is trying to engineer a comeback for khadi. He said every khadi product purchased would contribute towards improving the economic condition of the rural poor.

The government is still in talks with Flipkart and Snapdeal to fine tune the launch of khadi products, which would initially be offered on discounts to boost sales. The government has earmarked Rs 4.5 crore as the initial budget for the exercise.

Meanwhile, Karnatakaprisons department has plans to tie up with Flipkart, Amazon and other online platforms to sell products made by prisoners at Bengaluru’s Central Jail. The made-in-prison initiative will be a first in India, although the concept is common in some western countries. Once the project takes off, the products including garments, showpieces, furniture and carpets will be sold under the label Parivartana.