Black Diwali for China? Modi's exhortation and India-China trade
Narendra Modi has appealed to the people to use ‘Made in India’ products during the ongoing festive season. Starting with Ganesh Chaturthi, the festive season will last nearly two months and include Navratri, Dussehra, Diwali and Chhath. This is the time when cheap Made-in-China goods flood Indian market. PM Modi has asked people to buy not just earthen lamps. «Merely buying earthen lamps is not ‘Vocal for Local'. You should promote local products made in your area more and more. Any such product, that has been made with the sweat of an Indian artisan, that is made on Indian soil, is our pride –– we always have to lend glory to this pride,” he said.
How Indians are rejecting cheap Chinese goods
Despite complex trade relations between India and China, people have started buying more Made-in-India goods during festive season. PM Modi referred to the completion of a decade of the ‘Make in India’ initiative where all segments, from big industries to small shopkeepers have made a contribution to its success. This has started to reflect in festive sales.
On Rakhi festival this year, The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) stated that customers preferred indigenous Rakhis over Chinese ones. «For several years now, only indigenous Rakhis have been sold in the country, and this year too, there was neither demand for nor any presence of Chinese Rakhis in the market,» the CAIT said in a note.
Last Diwali, Made-in-India decorative lights gave competition to Chinese products that dominated the market for the past
