Farmers Movement Archive

Manufacturers should ensure products meet global standards : PM Modi

With the focus on self-reliance and indigenous production, manufacturers should ensure that their products meet global standards, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday . In his monthly radio broadcast Mann Ki Baat, the PM said this is an opportune moment to work with the ethos “zero effect, zero defect”. “I urge manufacturers and industry leaders of the country…people of the country have taken a firm step…moving a bold step forward…vocal for local is reverberating in each and every household….in such a scenario, it is time to ensure that our products meet global standards. Whatever is global best; we should make it in India and prove it. For that, our entrepreneur friends have to come forward. Startups too have to come forth,” he said. To give a fillip to indigenous production in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic, the Union government has announced a Rs 20 lakh crore economic package under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan. The PM also gave the call of “vocal for local” to reduce dependence on imports. Referring to the demand for local products going up, PM Modi said a growing trend of customers demanding India made toys is a big transformation in the mindset. “A huge change has begun in the minds of our countrymen…that too within a year. It is not easy to gauge this change. Even economists would not be able to assess it on their parameters,” he said. Geographical Indication, or GI, tagging for agri products will also aid in the making of a self-reliant India, the PM said, citing the example of saffron from Kashmir. The PM said, “…After obtaining the GI tag certificate, Kashmiri Saffron was launched in a super market in Dubai. Now its exports will get a boost. This will further strengthen our efforts to build an Atmanirbhar Bharat. Farmers growing saffron will be especially benefited by this” The PM also referred to the need to preserve India’s culture and heritage and recalled how the sons of Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, sahibzade Zorawar Singh and Fateh Singh sacrificed their lives to protect the country’s “millennia old culture, civilization and traditions from the cruel misdemeanours of tyrants and tormentors”. “The tyrants wanted sahibzade to renounce their faith; abandon the teachings of the great Guru tradition. But our sahibzade showed amazing courage and determination even at that tender age. During the immurement, as stones began piling up, gradually raising the height of the wall……. Death staring into the face…..despite that, they did not budge even a bit. It was on this day itself that Guru Gobind Singh ji’s mother -Mata Gujari attained martyrdom,” he said. He also referred to his visit to Gurudwara Rakabganj last week where he paid tribute to Guru Tegh Bahadur. The visit came in the midst of the ongoing protests by a large section of farmers from Haryana and Punjab against the farm laws. These agitating farmers have been demanding a repeal of the farm laws. “During this very month, inspired by Shri Guru Gobind Singh ji, many people sleep on the floor. People reminisce, the supreme sacrifices made by family members of Shri Guru Gobind Singh ji with immense reverence,” he said. In the last radio broadcast for the year, the Prime Minister also said that the number of leopards in India has risen by more than 60% between 2014 and 2018. Dubbing this as an achievement, he said, amongst the states with the maximum population of leopards, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh are topmost in the order.

Hindustan Times

27-12-2020

India