In his last address to the nation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked citizens to be 'vocal for local' encouraging them to use and produce more local products which can be helpful to revive the country's economy in the current crisis. Talking about it, several locals shared what 'vocal for local' means to them. While most of them opined that it is important to stop using Chinese products including digital applications and support local businesses, some said that production of quality products is also necessary to ensure the long-term business of locals.
According to a post graduate student Nirav Tyagi, it is not feasible to stop using Chinese products at once but the least a citizen can do is to uninstall the Chinese apps like Tiktok, UC Browser and gaming apps like PUBG. These apps earn millions of dollars for China from Indian users. "The coronavirus pandemic is tragic but it has also given several opportunities to produce and manufacture products like electronic items, toys, spare parts of machineries etc.
The government is also providing cheap loans to start small businesses to promote local products. Any person with a business idea can utilise this time to start his own start-up. I am also thinking about my own start up with my friend. At least, we can try. But, everyone should delete the Chinese applications from their mobile phones irrespective of their take on 'vocal for local' and avoid buying all the Chinese products you can because such products snatch the livelihood and opportunities from so many Indians ," said a local engineer Sanju Rai.
“The purpose of 'vocal for local' is same as 'Made in India' campaign. It is nothing new but it is easier said than done. One cannot purchase a product just because it is local.
A buyer should have options to try out and select the best products manufactured in the local market. I am not going to buy a trash product just because it is native. The production of quality products is the key to make customers vocal for the local products," said Ekta Dwivedy, a local teacher.0