Union Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said only “made in India” products will be sold in paramilitary canteens from June 1. This came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about “Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan”, which roughly translates to “self-reliant India scheme”, while announcing an economic package to tackle the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Yesterday PM Modi appealed for the country to be self-reliant and focus on local products (made in India), which will certainly take India on the path to global leadership in the coming days,” Shah said in a tweet. He added that around 10 lakh central paramilitary armed forces, or CAPF, personnel and 50 lakh members of their families will use indigenous products.
The CAPF includes the Central Reserve Police Force, the Border Security Force, the Central Industrial Security Force, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, the Sashastra Seema Bal, the National Security Guard and the Assam Rifles.
The paramilitary canteens sell items worth around Rs 2,800 crore annually, according to NDTV.
Shah said people should use made in India products and urge others to also do so. “This is not the time to lag behind but to turn a crisis into an opportunity,” the home ministry said in a press statement. “If every Indian resolves to use only made in India products then the country will become self-reliant,” added the home ministry. This is in line with what Modi had said on Tuesday evening.
In a televised address to the nation, Modi announced a Rs 20-lakh-crore package, equivalent to 10% of India’s GDP, to help various sectors hit by the coronavirus lockdown. The prime minister said India’s self-reliance will be based on five pillars – economy, infrastructure, technology driven system, vibrant demography and demand. Making India self-reliant is the only way to make sure that the 21st century belongs to India, he had asserted.
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