He said there was no need for people to buy goods from the hostile neighbour.New Delhi: The government will soon announce regulations to block imports of cheap, sub-standard goods from China and other countries, while people should themselves boycott products shipped in from the hostile neighbour, food and consumer affairs minister Ram Vilas Paswan said.
People should boycott goods from China because they must not take its aggression and hostility lightly and they should remember that George Fernandes, former defence minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, had clearly named China as India’s enemy No 1, Paswan told ET in an interview.
He said there was no need for people to buy goods from the hostile neighbour. “If China has made such an attack, and our soldiers have been martyred, then at the diplomatic level there are talks, but we can at least boycott their goods. Why should it be that Ganeshji is worshipped in Indian homes, but Ganeshji travels to India from China,” he said.
The minister said the government had strengthened the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).
New rules and regulations are being finalised to make sure that imported products abide by Indian norms for quality, he said. This will eliminate cheap, low-quality imports that are often clandestinely shipped in, he said.
“In our Consumer Affairs Department, there is BIS which makes standards for 25,000 products. Now we have a new law. Its rules and regulations are in the last stage. When our goods reach abroad, they are checked. Our Basmati rice exports can get rejected, but when their goods come to India, there is no strict quality control. Once the regulations are strictly implemented, sub-standard goods will stop coming in,” Paswan said.
He said the new rules and regulations on quality were “almost ready” but other sections of the government were also involved.
Apart from the minister, the Confederation of All India Traders has also called for a boycott of Chinese goods, while Indian entrepreneurs are investing in sectors dependent on Chinese imports. Industrialist Gautam Adani recently told ET in an interview that after his group’s investment in local solar equipment manufacturing, Chinese imports, which have an overwhelming dominance in the sector, will be virtually eliminated in a few years.
Paswan said that apart from boycotting Chinese products, Indian entrepreneurs also need to ensure that locally made products are priced competitively and meet quality standards. Asked about the impact of a boycott on small businessmen who thrive on Chinese imports, the minister said: “The nation comes first, organisations come next and individual interests come after that.
On the broader strategy towards trade with China, Paswan said other wings of the government such as the ministries of finance and commerce would take a call. “I can’t say if under WTO rules we can stop imports or restrict the quantity of imports, but when there is an awakening among the people, nobody can force people to buy imported products. In my own department, I don’t want Chinese goods to be purchased.”
“In the current situation, the China issue should not be taken lightly…In many cases, there may be Chinese money invested, but I think the regular things we buy from the market, one should certainly make sure that we avoid Chinese products.”
He said the prime minister’s message for ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ and make-in-India campaign had the same message: “Unless it is something absolutely essential, avoid imported goods.”
Every time they attack, capture some land, their confidence is increasing. They have to be reined in. What is the way, I can’t say but they can’t be given a free hand.”
Source: indiatimes.com