NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Modi, in his “Mann ki Baat” address on Sunday, sharpened the pitch for self-reliant India campaign by asking people to maintain an ABC or Aatmanirbhar Bharat Chart to track how many ‘Made in India‘ products they use.
In his last radio broadcast of the year, he said people have supported the ‘vocal for local’ campaign and asked manufacturers and industry leaders to ensure that world-class products are made in the country.
He said many shopkeepers have been selling products like toys with the emphasis that they are made in India and customers are also demanding them. He had urged people to buy India-made toys in an earlier episode of Mann ki Baat this year. Referring to a letter by one Abhinav Banerjee from Delhi written to him, the PM said, “Abhinav ji has mentioned in his letter that many shopkeepers are selling toys to customers emphasizing on the quality, saying those are better toys since they are Made In India... this is a big transformation in mindset.”
Citing another letter written by Venkat Murli Prasad from Visakhapatnam, Modi said, “Venkat ji has written that he is attaching for me his ABC for 2021. I could not understand what he meant by ABC. I glanced at the chart and realised what he meant by ABC…Aatmanirbhar Bharat Chart. This is very interesting.”
Modi said, “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.” Referring to the Geographical Indicator tag accorded to Kashmiri saffron in May this year, the PM said it will make it a globally popular brand.