Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal promotes swadeshi goods for economic growth

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Jan 28, 2020

Minister for Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, urged businesses to pursue a “swadeshi” approach by producing and consuming Indian-made products and stated that this will serve to boost the domestic economy. 

 
"If traders start using swadeshi goods, sell swadeshi products and promote those items, the economic growth will boom...no one can stop us from growing at 7, 8, and 9% and double digits," Goyal told members of the Confederation of All India Traders in New Delhi on January 27, ET Bureau reported.
 
In order to aid the government in responding to traders’ demands, Goyal asked members of CAIT to create a database of businesses and employees relating to swadeshi goods. The government plans to create schemes for employee welfare and Goyal stated that the government needs data in order to implement such schemes.

Swadeshi goods tie in to the government’s “Make in India” initiative, which aims to increase domestic production, reduce imports, and increase exports. The scheme has a strong focus on handloom textiles including Khadi, which the government has made exempt from goods and services tax, promoted through a series of international fashion shows, and championed as a heritage weave.

The idea of swadeshi has also proved a successful marketing tool for brands such as Ayurvedic fast moving consumer goods brand Patanjali which saw swift growth in its early years marketed as a swadeshi brand.