From Buy-From-India To Weddings-In-India: PM Modi Repeats 'Spend In India' Pitch

Prime

Minister Narendra Modi, on Monday, drew a parallel between the Covid situation and the current crisis in the world arising due to the conflict in the West Asia and repeated his pitch to buy from India, spend in India, curtail the use of energy resources such as petrol-diesel, shift to Work From Home, stop destination weddings among other activities. PM Modi said that if "we can overcome the challenge of COVID together, we will surely get through this crisis as well," adding that the government is also continuously making efforts to ensure that its impact on the people of the country is minimal.

Need To Come Together To Save Country's Resources: PM Modi

Speaking at an event in Gujarat, the Prime Minister said, "Today, too, there is a need for all of us to come together and fulfill our responsibility to reduce the burden on the country's resources. India spends lakhs of crores of rupees in foreign exchange to import many products from abroad. At the same time, the prices of imported goods are soaring, and global supply chains have also been severely disrupted. Just as every drop fills a pot, every small and big effort matters. We must reduce the use of products that come from abroad and avoid unnecessary dependence on imported goods in our daily lives, and also avoid such personal activities that involve spending foreign exchange..."

PM Modi Urges Again To Shift To EVs, Reduce Fuel Usage

The Prime Minister urged the nation to give priority to public transport wherever feasible, make greater use of electric vehicles, use carpooling, shift to virtual meetings and WFH, in order to reduce dependence on energy resources."I appeal to every citizen of my country to reduce the use of petrol-diesel as much as possible. Use the metro, make greater use of electric buses and public transport, and promote carpooling. Those who have a car should take more people along in one vehicle," he said.Pitching citizens to once again switch to virtual meetings and Work From Home, PM Modi said, "Digital technology has now made so many things easy that technology's assistance will also be very beneficial for us. It is essential that priority be given to virtual meetings and work from home in both government and private offices..."

Save Foreign Exchange, Don't Buy Gold, PM Modi Says It Again

Mentioning that a huge amount of the country's money also goes abroad on gold imports, PM Modi said, "I would urge all of you, my fellow countrymen, to postpone the purchase of gold until the situation returns to normal. Today, the need of the hour is that we turn “Vocal for Local” into a people’s movement. Instead of foreign goods, adopt local products. Empower the entrepreneurs of your village, your city, your country."

Go Domestic For Vacations, Avoid Destination Weddings: PM Modi

Reiterating people to choose domestic locations over foreign destinations to spend vacations, PM Modi said, "The moment the holidays begin, children are handed tickets to go abroad. The trend nowadays is to travel overseas - often for destination weddings. There are many people here who do not send me invitations anymore, they used to send them in the past because they would hold their weddings abroad, but now they are stopping that practice. This trend of destination weddings abroad is growing rapidly.""However, consider the fact that this entails a significant expenditure of foreign currency. Ask yourselves: are there no places within India where we can spend our vacations, where we can teach our children about our history, where we can take pride in our own local sites? It is essential that we celebrate our vacations right here in India; furthermore - even when it comes to weddings - I do not believe there could be any place more beautiful or sacred for us than our own India…,” the Prime Minister said.Adding further, the Prime Minister said, "When a wedding is held here in India, the very soil of our ancestors bestows its blessings upon us. For weddings, too, India offers numerous magnificent venues; we should choose from among them. In Gujarat, I would say this: you should now make it a point to hold your weddings right at the Statue of Unity. At every single one of your weddings held there, Sardar Sahab himself will be present to shower you with his abundant blessings. I urge you to establish a dedicated venue for weddings right there at the Statue of Unity…"