AHMEDABAD: India can’t afford to remain stagnant and has to become self-reliant, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday while urging people to buy locally-made products.
Modi was unveiling a 108-ft statue of Lord Hanuman in Morbi, Gujarat, via video conferencing. The PM said if people consume local goods for the next 25 years, the country won’t have to face unemployment. “India cannot afford to remain stagnant today. Whether we are awake or asleep, we cannot continue to remain where we are. The global situation is such that the entire world is thinking on how to become atmanirbhar (self-reliant),” the PM said.
“We may like foreign-made goods, but these things do not have the feel of the hard work of our people, the scent of our Mother Earth,” Modi said, adding, “In the next 25 years, if we just use local products, there won’t be unemployment for our people.”
He further said our civilization and culture played a big role in keeping the country steadfast. “Our faith and the stream of our culture is of harmony, equality, and inclusion,” Modi further said.