Lucknow, Nov. 21 -- The Uttar Pradesh Khadi Mahotsav 2025 opened on Friday with a strong call to transform khadi from a legacy fabric into a youth-powered, innovation-driven movement.

Inaugurating the 10-day festival at Kendriya Sanskrit University, Gomti Nagar, MSME and khadi minister Rakesh Sachan urged designers, start-ups and young entrepreneurs to "experiment with design, link khadi with modern lifestyle trends, and take the fabric to national and global markets." He also announced expanded loan facilities for research and development and the distribution of toolkits to boost rural production.

Calling khadi "the soul of self-reliant India," Sachan said the Mahotsav embodies the next phase of Atmanirbhar Bharat: a fusion of innovati...