India-China standoff: CAIT calls for boycott of 500 Chinese goods; corroborates PM Modi’s ‘vocal for local’ move
CAIT, an apex body representing seven crore Indian traders, has launched a campaign to boycott 500 Chinese goods condemning the escalating tensions in the border.
The Indo-China standoff along the Line of Control (LAC) in the Galwan area of Eastern Ladakh has been rippling the country for a few weeks now. For the first time in over 45 years, a stand-off like this has happened between the two nations, which encountered a violent clash in the border that took the lives of 20 Army jawans.
The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), an apex body representing seven crore traders, on Thursday condemned the escalating tensions between the two nations in the border and launched a flagship campaign Bhartiya Samaan, Hamara Abhimaan to boycott Chinese goods.
The CAIT issued a list of 500 items to be boycotted from categories like FMCG products, consumer durables, toys, furnishing fabrics, textiles, builder hardware, footwear, apparel, and kitchen items, among others.
By calling for the boycott of these Chinese products, the objective is to reduce import of Chinese finished goods by $13 billion or about Rs one lakh crore, by December 2021, with the cooperation of traders and citizens of India, CAIT said in a statement.
“Manufacturing of these items do not require any sophisticated technology and even if they do, India is well equipped, and therefore the goods manufactured in India can be used very easily in place of the Chinese goods, which will reduce India's dependence on China,” he added.
On Thursday, CAIT issued an open letter to Indian celebrities to stop endorsing Chinese products as a mark of respect for Indian soldiers. The letter particularly requested celebrities from the film fraternity - Aamir Khan and Sara Ali Khan for endorsing Vivo; and Deepika Padukone, Siddharth Malhotra, Katrina Kaif, and Ranbir Kapoor for Oppo. It also requested Ranveer Singh for Xiaomi; and Salman Khan, Ayushman Khurana, and Shraddha Kapoor for Realme. The letter also stated the names of rapper Badshah and cricketer Virat Kohli.
This campaign by CAIT corroborates Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s move of making India self-reliant, while becoming ‘vocal for local’. While addressing the nation on May 12, the PM had said,
“We must make ‘local’ the mantra of our lives. Global brands that are there present today were once local; they became global when people started supporting them. Hence, he said, starting today, every Indian must become vocal for local.”
Edited by Megha Reddy
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