A day after Prime Minister Narendra announced his mission to make India self-reliant and appealed people to buy and promote local products, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said that paramilitary canteens across the country will sell only made-in-India products. The home minister said that all the canteens of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) across the country will have only indigenous products and that nearly 50 lakh families of about 10 lakh CAPF personnel will use local products.
"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 statement released on Twitter.
"In this direction, the home ministry has decided that all Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) canteens will only sell swadeshi products. This will apply from June 1. Around 10 lakh CAPF personnel and 50 lakh members of their family will use swadeshi products," the home minister said.
Rs 2,800 crore annual sell
According to several estimates, paramilitary canteens sell products worth about Rs 2,800 crore annually. The forces that are part of CAPF are CRPF, BSF, CISF, ITBP, SSB, NSG and Assam Rifles. Home Minister Amit Shah also urged people not part of the CAPFs to use only made-in-India products to help the country become self-reliant.
"This is not the time to lag behind but to turn a crisis into an opportunity. If every Indian resolves to use only made in India products then the country will become self-reliant," he added.
While addressing the nation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, May 12, had announced Rs 20 lakh crore package, which also included RBI's measures and the previous stimulus announced by his government, to help businesses tide over the coronavirus crisis. During his address, he also stressed upon the need of becoming self-reliant and urged people to use indigenous products as the country's needs during the crisis were fulfilled by local manufacturing.
