New Delhi, Sep 7 (UNI) Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh on Monday said that Indian Merchants’ Chamber (IMC) role is crucial to post-COVID economy and for realising the Atma Nirbhar Bharat Mission of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Addressing 114th Foundation Day ceremony of IMC Chamber of Commerce of Industry through video conferencing, he said, being the oldest Chamber of Commerce in the country, of which Mahatma Gandhi was also a member, IMC has a glorious past and a great legacy, with equally high expectations from it for the future.
Recalling his long association with the Indian Merchants’ Chamber and his frequent visits to their Head Office at Churchgate, Mumbai, the Minister said “Self-reliant India is key to the concept of Atma Nirbhar Bharat and reputed business organizations like the IMC are expected to take a call.
Dr Jitendra Singh said that the concept of Atmanirbhar Bharat has no conflict with modernity, growth and advancement, but it is to achieve the goal of a Self-Reliant India in a peaceful, progressive and prosperous manner.
He said that care and concern for the distressed, promotion and production of local goods, moving from assembling to manufacturing are the true essence of Atmanirbhar Bharat, where one is self-reliant with esteem without depriving oneself of the fruits of development.
Dr Singh further said that the PM Modi had unveiled the Atma Nirbhar Package in the wake of Corona Pandemic to help all sectors and wheels of economy with more than Rs 20 lakh Crore, which is about 10percent of GDP. He said that the Vocal for Local mantra given by him is fast becoming a Jan Andolan in India.
Referring to several steps taken to promote Micro- Small, Medium Enterprises (MSME), Dr Jitendra Singh pointed to the government notification banning global tenders to ensure that goods and services valued less than Rs 200 crore are procured from domestic firms. He said, Atmanirbhar means, we should reduce the import of goods as much as possible and produce the same not only for India, but for the World.
He also informed that the Government has been taking measures such as amendment in the century old Forest Act and took out the home grown bamboo out of the purview of the Forest Act whereas Central Government has also banned import of finished Bamboo products and raised the import duty by 25 percent on raw bamboo items, which will help the domestic bamboo industries including Agarbatti making in a big way.
Dr Jitendra Singh also recalled the great relief work carried out by IMC in the unprecedented floods of 2014 in North India including in Jammu and Kashmir and hoped that it will continue to play a stellar role to help India overcome this crisis.
