Explanation: Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has secured Patent registration for its innovative Plastic-mixed Handmade Paper developed to reduce plastic menace from nature.

• The patent certificate was issued to KVIC’s Kumarappa National Handmade Paper Institute (KNHPI), Jaipur, on 2nd August 2021, by the Controller of Patent, Intellectual Property of India.
• The idea of developing plastic-mixed handmade paper was invented in September 2018, and in just two months, i.e. 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 invention is aligned with the Prime Minister’s call for fighting the menace of single-use plastic.

Source: https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1742710