Khadi Prakritik Paint: Eco-friendly, non-toxic wall paint launched by Gadkari

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways and MSME Nitin Gadkari will launch an innovative new paint developed by Khadi and Village Industries Commission on Tuesday at his residence.

According to a press statement from the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, the eco-friendly, non-toxic paint, called "Khadi Prakritik Paint" is a first-of-its-kind product, with anti-fungal, anti-bacterial properties. Based on cow dung as its main ingredient, the paint is cost-effective and odourless and has been certified by the Bureau of Indian Standards.

Khadi Prakritik Paint is available in two forms - distemper paint and plastic emulsion paint. Production of Khadi Prakritik Paint is aligned with Hon'ble Prime Minister's vision of increasing farmers' income. The project was conceptualized by Chairman KVIC in March 2020 and later developed by Kumarappa National Handmade Paper Institute, Jaipur (a KVIC unit), the press statement read.

The paint is free from heavy metals like lead, mercury, chromium, arsenic, cadmium and others. It will be a boost to local manufacturing and will create sustainable local employment through technology transfer. This technology will increase the consumption of cow dung as a raw material for eco-friendly products and will generate additional revenue to farmers and gaushalas.

This is estimated to generate an additional income of ₹30,000 (approx) per annum per animal to farmers/gaushalas. Utilization of cow dung will also clean the environment and prevent clogging of drains.

Khadi Prakritik Distemper and Emulsion Paints have been tested at 3 reputed National Laboratories. 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.