Khadi and Village Industries Commission has developed first-of-its-kind eco-friendly paint called “Khadi Prakritik Paint” which is India’s first paint made from cow dung. It was recently launched by Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways & MSME Nitin Gadkari. This Khadi Prakritik Paint is available in two forms- distemper paint which is priced at half the price of leading paints companies.
As per the press release shared by the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, it is a non-toxic paint with anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties. Since the main ingredient of the paint is cow dung, this paint is cost-effective, odourless and it is also certified by the Bureau of Indian Standards. It was conceived by Chairman KVIC in March 2020 and was developed by Kumarappa National Handmade Paper Institute, Jaipur (a KVIC unit).
The paint is not composed of any toxic material such as lead, mercury, chromium, arsenic cadmium etc. It will also increase the rural economy by creating sustainable employment. Since the base material is cow-dung which is an eco-friendly material, it will not only utilise the waste product but also add additional income for farmers and gaushala. This Khadi Prakritik Distemper & Emulsion Paints have been tested at National Test House, Mumbai, Shri Ram Institute for Industrial Research, New Delhi and National Test House, Ghaziabad.
Khadi Prakritik Emulsion paint meets BIS 15489:2013 standards; whereas Khadi Prakritik Distemper paint meets BIS 428:2013 standards. It takes not more than 4 hours for this paint to get dried up. It has a smooth and uniform finish on the walls and can be applied on any walls-interior or exterior. Distemper and emulsion Khadi Praktrik paints are available in a white base colour. Any colour of your choice can be created by mixing a suitable mixing colourant.
As mentioned in the press release, while launching this paint, Union Minister, Nitin Gadkari said that this initiative is aligned with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of increasing farmers income. He also mentioned that this effort will help in improving the rural economy and will help in reverse migration from cities to rural areas. He also informed that the distemper paint is priced at Rs. 120 per litre while the emulsion is priced at Rs. 225 per litre which is half the price charged by big paint companies.