KVIC’s Unique Plastic-mixed handmade paper

• Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has secured Patent registration for its innovative Plastic-mixed Handmade Paper.
• The patent certificate was issued to KVIC’s Kumarappa National Handmade Paper Institute (KNHPI), Jaipur, by the Controller of Patent, Intellectual Property of India.
• Granting this patent is a big recognition of KVIC’s unique innovation which is unprecedented in the world.

Key features:

• The plastic-mixed handmade paper was developed in November 2018, the project was executed by the team of scientists at KNHPI.
• The plastic-mixed handmade paper was developed under Project REPLAN (REducing PLAstic from Nature).
• This is the first of its kind project in India, where plastic waste is de-structured, degraded, diluted and used with paper pulp while making handmade paper and thus reduces plastic waste from nature.
• The technology developed by KVIC uses both high & low-density waste polythene that not only adds extra strength to the paper
• The invention is aligned with the Prime Minister’s call for fighting the menace of single-use plastic.

The production of waste-plastic mixed handmade paper is likely to serve the twin objectives:

1. protecting the environment
2. creating sustainable employment.

Advantages:

• Nearly 2640 handmade paper making units in the country under KVIC and State Khadi Boards have the potential of clearing approx 3000 MT of waste plastic from nature every year.
• It can also create thousands of new jobs like collection of waste plastic, cleaning and processing.
• It will reduce the cost by up to 34%.
• KVIC has developed products such as carry bags, envelopes, files/folders, etc. using plastic mixed handmade paper.

Patent:

• A patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention, which is a product or a process that provides, in general, a new way of doing something, or offers a new technical solution to a problem.
• To get a patent, technical information about the invention must be disclosed to the public in a patent application.
• The protection is granted for a limited period, generally, 20 years from the filing date of the application
• The patent owner has the exclusive right to prevent or stop others from commercially exploiting the patented invention.
• The exclusive rights are only applicable in the country or region in which a patent has been filed and granted, in accordance with the law of that country or region.
• The patent system in India is governed by the Patents Act, 1970 as amended by the Patents (Amendment) Act, 2005 and the Patents Rules, 2003.

The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC)

• It is a statutory body established by an Act of Parliament.
• The Khadi and Village Industries Act, 1956 has been amended twice, in 1965 and 2006.
• In April 1957, it took over the work of former All India Khadi and Village Industries Board.

Objectives that the KVIC :

• The social objective of providing employment.
• The economic objective of producing saleable articles.
• The wider objective of creating self-reliance amongst the poor and building up of a strong rural community spirit.