Mann Ki Baat: Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed concern on Sunday about the trend of "some big families" organising weddings abroad and urged people to host such celebrations on Indian soil so that the country's money will remain within the country.
In his monthly radio programme Mann Ki Baat, PM Modi said while shopping for weddings, people should give importance to products made in India only. "The wedding season as well has commenced now. Some trade organizations estimate that there could be a business of around Rs 5 lakh crore during this wedding season. While shopping for weddings, all of you should give importance to products made in India only," he said.
PM Modi on organising weddings abroad
Prime Minister Modi emphasized that hosting wedding celebrations on Indian soil, among the people of the country, would ensure that the country's money stays within the nation. "And yes, since the topic of marriage has come up, one thing has been troubling me off and on for a long time and if I don't open up my heart's pain to my family members, who else do I do it with? Just ponder, these days a new milieu is being created by some families to go abroad and conduct weddings. Is this at all necessary? said the Prime Minister.
He further said that the people of the country will get an opportunity to render some service or the other at your wedding. "Even poor people will tell their children about that occasion. Can you extrapolate on this mission of ‘Vocal for Local’? Why don't we hold such wedding ceremonies in our own country?" he said.
“It is possible that the kind of system you want may not be there today, but if we organise such events, systems will also develop. This is a topic related to very big families. I hope this pain of mine will definitely reach those big families,” he added.
PM Modi on ‘Vocal for Local’
PM Modi also asserted that when the people at large take charge of nation-building, no power in the world can stop that country from moving forward. Today, it is clearly visible in India that many transformations are being led by the 140 crore people of the country, he said.
"Within the last few days, business worth more than Rs. 4 lakh crore has been done in the country on Diwali, Bhaiya Dooj and Chhath. During this period, tremendous enthusiasm was seen among the people to buy products Made in India. Now even our children, while buying something at the shop, have started checking whether Made in India is mentioned on them or not. Not only that, but nowadays, people do not forget to check the country of origin while purchasing goods online," said PM Modi.
Modi said that just as the very success of 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan' is becoming its inspiration, the success of 'Vocal For Local' is opening the doors to a 'developed India - prosperous India'.
“This campaign of 'Vocal For Local' strengthens the economy of the entire country. The Vocal For Local campaign is a guarantee of employment. This is a guarantee of development; this is the guarantee of balanced development of the country,” he said. This provides equal opportunities to both urban and rural people, he added.
“This also paves the way for value addition in local products, and if ever, there are ups and downs in the global economy, the mantra of Vocal For Local also protects our economy,” Modi asserted.
PM on digital payments
Prime Minister Modi also urged people to make payments only through UPI or any digital medium and not use cash for a month. He also urged people to share their experiences and photos after one month.
He said it is the second consecutive year when the trend of buying some goods through cash payments on the occasion of Deepawali is gradually on the decline. "That means people are making more and more digital payments now. This is also very encouraging. You can do one more thing. Decide for yourself that for one month you will make payments only through UPI or any digital medium and not through cash. The success of the digital revolution in India has made this absolutely possible. And when one month is over, please share your experiences and your photos with me. I wish you all the best in advance from now itself," he said.
Also Read: Mann Ki Baat: PM Modi urges people to make only digital payments for one month
