Mann Ki Baat: The target of Rs 30 lakh crore in exports was met, and the PM credited farmers and MSMEs
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today in his 87th episode of Mann Ki Baat that India will meet its $400 billion export target, and that this will only be possible because of the hard work of farmers, artisans, weavers, engineers, small entrepreneurs, and the MSME sector.
“India has met its $400 billion export target, or Rs 30 lakh crore… India’s exports were once valued at $100 billion, $150 billion, and even $200 billion… India’s GDP has now surpassed $400 billion. In some ways, this indicates that global demand for Indian-made goods is increasing. Another interpretation is that India’s supply chain is becoming stronger by the day,” said the Prime Minister.
He said that the export of leather products from Hailakandi in Assam, handloom products from Osmanabad, fruits and vegetables from Bijapur, and black rice from Chandauli is increasing, and that a variety of new products are being sent to new countries.
“In Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the first consignment of millets was exported to Denmark. Mangoes from the Krishna and Chittoor districts of Andhra Pradesh were exported to South Korea as Bainganapalli and Subarnarekha. Fresh jackfruits from Tripura were flown to London, and King Chilli from Nagaland was sent to London for the first time. Similarly, Gujarat’s first consignment of Bhalia wheat was shipped to Kenya and Sri Lanka,” Modi said.
Modi mentioned the government e-market (GeM portal) and said that even small businesses were participating in procurement through the portal. He claimed that the government had spent more than Rs 1 lakh crore on items through the portal in the previous year. Modi said he was astounded by the agility of 126-year-old Padma awardee Baba Sivanand, a monk from Varanasi, on World Health Day, April 7.
Modi claimed that yoga and Ayurveda were becoming more popular around the world, and that the Ayush industry’s market had grown from Rs 22,000 crore six years ago to Rs 1,40,000 crore today.
The PM also praised the efforts of swachhagrahis (cleanliness warriors) such as Nashik’s Chandrakishore Patil, who cleans trash from the banks of the Godavari, and Puri’s Rahul Maharana, who collects plastic waste from pilgrimage sites in the city. Mupattam Sri Narayanan of Kerala, who started the “Pots for Water of Life” project, which distributes earthen pots so that animals and birds do not run out of water during the summer, was also mentioned in today’s Mann ki Baat.
He emphasised the importance of water conservation and recycling, and suggested that children could lead the way by becoming “water warriors.”
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