PM Modi calls on people to buy swadeshi products

"Too many foreign items have entered our daily use, with or without our knowledge," said India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his much-awaited address to the nation the day before the new GST rates take effect. "We need to get rid of them," he added.

The exhortation is significant amidst escalated trade tensions with the US, and ahead of the shopping season — headlined by discounts for online shoppers offered by the likes of American e-tail giant Amazon as well as Walmart-owned Flipkart.

The article will be updated with more details.