The brands to be introduced would be in soap, honey, food, herbal products and hand-made paper, KVIC chairman Mahesh Sharma said here Friday.

"We had originally planned to launch these products in January. The process of selection of some brand names and registration is still on. We hope to introduce them in the market in April," Sharma said.

The commission would ensure quality certification for village industries products for their successful launch.

Stating that khadi and village (K & V industries) were quality and cost competitive as compared to multi-national corporations (MNCs) in production of several products including soaps and honey, Sharma admitted absence of brands and insufficient advertising were a stumbling block in marketing K & V products.

On theimpact of liberalisation on khadi and village products, he said employment had declined in sectors like cottage pottery, bee-keeping, edible oil and leather in 1997-98.

The areas affected were traditional artisan pockets in western and central zones, he added. Employment in cottage pottery industries declined from 5.66 lakh in 1996-97 to 5.27 lakh in 1997-98, bee-keeping from 2.56 lakh to 2.41 lakh, edible oil from 2.82 lakh to 2.81 lakh and leather from 5.36 to 5.16.

The decline in employment in cottage leather industries was mainly on account of pollution control measures enforced by the government, which small entrepreneurs could not afford to implement, he said.

Despite these setbacks, KVIC's turnover rose appreciably to Rs 5,065.28 crore in 1997-98 as compared to Rs 4,814 crore in 1996-97. On patenting of khadi and village industries products, Sharma said the commission was consulting the council of scientific and industrial research (CSIR) on this matter.

He disclosed new breakthroughs had beenmade in production of hand made papers from agro fibres which conformed to international standards. KVIC will participate in the six day "swadeshi mela" fair beginning here today (January 25). Organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-affiliated centre for Bhartiya marketing development, the fair would highlight the achievements and capabilities of indigenous industries apart from focussing on the competition arising out of globalisation.

KVIC chairman Sharma told newsmen that the fair would provide a platform for khadi industries to explore new market opportunities.