Promotion of Local Markets & Leveraging Local Supply Chain will help India in becoming Aatmanirbhar Bharat

No. PR- 138 November 19, 2020 New Delhi Promotion of Local Markets & Leveraging Local Supply Chain will help India in becoming Aatmanirbhar Bharat Mahatma Gandhi had envisioned an Aatmanirbhar Bharat and our Prime Minister Sh. Narendra Modi ji has made his vision a reality, deliberated Mr. Harivansh Narayan Singh, Member of Parliament & Deputy Chair, Rajya Sabha, BJP in a webinar organized by PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) on ‘Plus Minus Atmanirbhar Bharat’. Mr. Harivansh Narayan Singh said that Self-Reliance is based on 5 pillars i.e. Economy, Infrastructure, System, Demography and Demand. He also mentioned the need to improve income and productivity of a majority of the labour force. We also need to bring in reforms in healthcare care and education sector, ease of doing business, propagate skill development and support to state governments. We need to promote swadeshi products, Make in India and strengthen local supply chain management that will overall help in strengthening the economy and increasing farmers’ income. Mr. Sanjay Seth, Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) Ranchi, BJP deliberated about the need to promote local products at ground level that will help in the upliftment of local artisans, craftsmen and farmers. He mentioned that our Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji has transformed this challenge caused due to pandemic as an opportunity to make India self-reliant and independent. Giving an example of the State of Jharkhand, he said that bamboo products are getting popular there. This increase in demand of bamboo can be utilized by the local vendors and give a boom to the bamboo industry. The Vocal for Local mantra needs to be adopted by everyone for attaining Atmanirbhar Bharat added Mr. Seth. Mr. Janardan Singh Sigriwal, Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) Maharajganj while appreciating the reforms and package announced by the government to mitigate the daunting impact of the pandemic, discussed the initiatives undertaken by the government at the local level in the production of sanitizers, masks and PPE kits to meet the demand of the public in the state of Bihar. He said that we need to work on the motto of being vocal to local to global, in order for India to become self-reliant. We need to strengthen the local supply chain and promote the usage of local products to be competitive in the global market and also make India a manufacturing hub and a favourable destination for investments. Mr. Sanjay Aggarwal, President, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry in his presidential remarks spoke about how the clarion call for AtmaNirbhar Bharat has captured people’s imagination and become a mantra for everyone. He mentioned that this pandemic has shown us the importance of local markets and local supply chains. We are on the way to adopting the mantra of ‘local’, work towards its progress and we need to create a competitive labour-intensive manufacturing sector that will cater to both domestic demand and the export market, added Mr. Aggarwal. He further deliberated that India is already moving towards building self-reliance in the fields of solar equipment, aviation, defence and medical equipment, among others. The tribal and backward areas have huge scope to produce their goods that will make them self-reliant. He also said that the government is taking bold steps at the policy level and education has a vital role in accomplishing the dream of AtmaNirbhar Bharat. Students must be skilled and trained for the job of the future so that they are trained to be job creators, not job seekers. Mr. Pradeep Multani, Sr. Vice President, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry while delivering the formal vote of thanks mentioned that PHDCCI stands in full solidarity in making India Self-Reliant. He suggested that the MSME sector in the area of ease of doing business needs help in process simplification, which will result in better time management and higher business growth and development. He also suggested mitigating inspector raj, making a simplified registration process and to give performance product linked incentives to all sector. This would also help India to be able to compete at global level. Mr. Rakesh Gupta, Chair, Parliamentary Forum, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry while moderating the interaction with the Hon’ble Members of Parliament, talked about the need for being vocal to local, which will help India strengthen its supply chain for the post-pandemic world. The session was also attended by Mr. Mukesh Gupta, Chair, Media and Entertainment Committee and was moderated by Dr. Yogesh Srivastav, Principal Director, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The session was telecasted on Sadhna Plus News and VIP News Channel and was attended by many industry stalwarts pan-India. Ends Media Division PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry