Surat, Aug 6 (IANS) As Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the nation to adopt the ‘Vocal for Local’ initiative, two thousand businessmen doing business in different sectors in Gujarat’s Surat gathered on Wednesday under the ‘Progressive Alliance’, aimed at making India the world’s third-largest economy.

The event comes amid US President Trump’s tariff threat. However, PM Modi has said that citizens also have certain responsibilities, and urged everyone to take a pledge for Swadeshi.

He defined Swadeshi as anything made with the sweat and effort of an Indian, calling upon the nation to adopt the mantra of “Vocal for Local”.

During the business event, businessmen from different cities of Gujarat, including Surat, brainstormed on how the US tariff will affect MSME and export-based industries and what should be done to deal with it.

The main objective of the event was to strengthen the local economy by giving priority to Indian products under ‘Swadeshi’ empowerment, and to establish strong networking among businessmen.

Speaking to IANS, Kamal Diora, who conducted the event, said that PM Modi’s ‘Swadeshi’ resolution will give us new strength amidst the US tariffs.

“We are supporting the Prime Minister’s ‘Vocal for Local’, and we discussed making our country’s economy the third-largest economy in the world,” he claimed.

The businessmen who attended the event also seemed determined to take the PM Modi’s initiative forward.

Ashish Sukhadia, a Diamond businessman from Surat, said, “As an Indian, I fully support ‘Vocal for Local’. We are already doing great as we are the top 4th GDP in the world. If we support this initiative, we will overcome all the challenges. We are also focusing on how we can support each other.”

Amit Koladiya, a textile businessman from Surat, said, “So, under ‘Vocal for Local’, we have discussed how we can come up with new products and whatever products we are dealing with, how we can make them in India.”

The ‘Vocal for Local’ movement, which gained traction in India in recent years, encourages citizens and businesses to prioritise locally made products over imports to promote domestic manufacturing, create jobs, and boost the local economy.

–IANS

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