Being Vocal About Local - Prime Minister's Message To Nation

As rightly said by our respected Prime Minister, the coronavirus pandemic has clearly shown us how important the local Indian market is for us. When nothing could be ordered from the online platforms, it was the corner 'Kirana' store that gave you the supply of your necessities. So this little example clearly shows how important local is. Talking on a country level now, we have to agree that India has the capacity to be self-sufficient. We have the most diverse geography and demography. India is known as a subcontinent, clearly stating it contains all geographic features that a continent can have.We have the mountains , we have the oceans, we have desserts and fertile plains , we have all seasons balancing our climate .We thus have every component that nature can give us and that we need to survive. 

Coming to technological updates, we have been growing and though we are not self-sufficient right now for some little thing, the development of testing kits in such a short time span clearly shows we have the capacity to create anything and everything we want if we pledge to unite and make India self-sufficient. It may need a little time but India is an economy that can lead the global supply chain. 

There are 3 reasons we buy imported stuff:

1. Because they are cheap

2. We believe local goods are not of optimum quality

3. We want to show off our 'imported' purchases.

So for the first point. Goods are cheaper when the scale of production increases. If we increase our demand for local products, by eliminating the demand for imported cheap goods from other countries( not mentioning a name), the goods can be produced at a larger scale making the cost of production lower and thus eventually the prices would also come down. It may become lower than the imported goods too by eliminating a few middlemen that the other country had. Also, the quality of the product would be maintained better keeping in mind the products can be traced back to the manufacturer and every manufacturer would want to have a good reputation.

Secondly, the local goods may or may not be of great quality, but that risk exists everywhere. Also, buying local does not mean you buy from the street only. It simply means to avoid imported products. There are a variety of Indian brands that would give you a product of the same, in fact, sometimes better quality, if you can just remove the colored glass of a brand from your eyes. If you can give them a chance you will find out how good our local products can be. I was a big fan of 'The Body Shop ' products and I had been using a particular product for more than 3 years. Around 4 months ago I decided to give 'Khadi ' a try and I realized the product was much better than the one I had been using and a little cheaper too.

Now for the third point, which I myself find baseless, but I 'll still talk about it, as for many it holds great importance. India has its own luxury brands that you can show off if you desire so. So instead of showing off a product from Estee Lauder pick up a product from Forest Essentials to show off. Well, that's just one example that popped up on my mind, I am sure there are many more. This is if you really want to show off. 

Our economy, our country, our world is going through one of the darkest phases, and the only thing that can take us forward is support and compassion. We need to stand together, help each other rise. if out smaller Indian brands would not be in demand, they would not be able to survive. In the struggle of survival, they would cut their expenses which would result in a lot of job losses. This scenario would worsen our economy and the hope of reviving from the coronavirus crisis efficiently. 

We not only have to use our local products but popularise it spread their fame on a global level, making them International brands. Do not forget, the international brands that you buy today were one day local too. They became what they are because their people had faith in them and supported them in their journey to become International from Local.

In the end, I would just like to say

Together We Can