PM Modi Calls for Buying Local, Selling Local Ahead of Festive Season

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday urged Indians to buy and sell only indigenous products, linking the upcoming festival season to a renewed push for self-reliance.

“Businessmen should proudly display boards saying they sell only ‘swadeshi’ goods,” Modi said at an event in Ahmedabad, adding that festivals such as Navratri, Dussehra and Diwali should also be “celebrations of self-reliance.”

The Prime Minister, who has long championed “Vocal for Local” and “Make in India,” stressed that avoiding imported goods could play a “significant role” in advancing the nation’s progress.

His remarks come days before a fresh 25% US tariff on Indian goods takes effect, in addition to an existing 25%, which Washington has linked to New Delhi’s continued purchase of Russian oil. India has rejected the measure as unjustified, underscoring its sovereign trade choices.

Modi’s renewed ‘swadeshi’ pitch also aligns with a broader political narrative. BJP leaders, including Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, have tied the boycott of foreign goods to nationalism and security concerns, with Adityanath alleging that profits of overseas firms fund terrorism and religious conversions.