Building on his much talked about philosophy of ‘ Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ or ‘self-reliance’, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Sunday, exhorted Indian industry leaders and entrepreneurs to ensure that the best global products are manufactured in India, even while scaling up the quality quotient of the products being made here to a level of “world class”.

Addressing the nation through his monthly radio programme ‘Mann ki Baat’, the last edition for 2020, Modi also appealed to the public to make a list of goods of daily use, and analyse which imported articles have “unconsciously become part of our lives and made us their captive." "Let us find out their Indian alternatives and resolve to use products produced in India by the hard work and sweat of Indians," he said. This should be everyone’s New Year resolution for the sake of the country, he added.

Modi's message to manufacturers

Modi also said that time is ripe for manufacturers and MSMEs to achieve ‘zero defect, zero effect’.

“I call upon manufacturers and industry leaders that when people have taken determined step forward and when the mantra of ‘vocal for local’ is resonating in every house, it is time to ensure that our products are world class”, he said.

For this, both MSMEs and start-ups must come forward and take a commitment that there will be no compromise on quality. Modi pointed out there has been a big shift in Indians approach to ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharata’ and highlighted how sellers in Delhi’s Jhandewalan market, which is famous for toys, are now selling India-made toys with great pride, instead of foreign brands. This big change in one year is noticeable, he added.

Modi said there can be nothing better than the country reaching greater heights in 2021. He highlighted that the nation developed ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharata’ during coronavirus crisis. The Prime Minister said supply chains got disrupted due to the coronavirus pandemic all across the world, “but we learnt new lessons from each crisis. The nation also developed new capabilities. We can call this capability ‘Aatmanirbhar’ or self-reliance”.

The Prime Minister also used his address to share the good news of 60 per cent increase in population of leopards in the country between 2014 and 2018.

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