Kolkata: Insisting that the COVID-19 crisis should be turned into an opportunity to create an ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Thursday that this is the time to make bold decisions and investments. He was addressing the 95th annual plenary session of the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) here through video conference. Narendra Modi said, steps have to be taken to ensure that products imported from abroad are manufactured in the country and exported.
“In the last five-six years, India’s goal of self-reliance has been paramount in the policy and practice of the government. The COVID-19 crisis gave us lessons on how to speed up efforts in that direction. It is from this lesson – Aatmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) campaign has started,” Modi said.
“It is time for bold decisions and investments and not for conservative approaches. This also is the time to move from command and control economy to plug-and-play and to build a competitive global supply chain,” Modi added.
The prime minister said everybody must work towards making India an exporter of all products which it is currently forced to import.
Appreciating the efforts of small traders, Modi pointed out that when we buy local produce from them, we are not just paying them for their goods and services, but are rewarding their contributions.
While noting that people-centric, people-driven and planet-friendly development has become part of the BJP-led central government’s way of governance, the prime minister said recent decisions by the Centre had freed the farmers and rural economy from years of ‘slavery’ as they now have the freedom to sell their produce anywhere in the country.
“India is fighting multiple challenges along with COVID-19, including floods, locust attack, earthquakes…We have to turn crises into opportunity for creating an ‘Atmanirbhar’ and take steps to ensure that products which we import from elsewhere are manufactured in India,” Modi said. “Now is the time to make each village, each district of the country self-reliant,” he added.
Lauding the resolve of the countrymen to turn disaster into opportunity, the prime minister said the pandemic ‘will be a turning point for the country’.
“We have to make it a big turning point…..a turning point for creating a self-reliant India,” he asserted.