'Daam kam, dum zyada’: PM Modi goes 'vocal for local' in I-Day address

Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Red Fort on Friday.

Addressing the nation on Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a big “Make in India” push by saying that India must focus on high-quality, affordable products.

Emphasising that "vocal for local should be the citizen mantra", PM Modi urged influencers and political parties to help him take forward the vocal mantra for local.

"The world values quality, and if we want to strengthen India's image in the global market, we must focus on producing high-quality products. We should work with the mantra: ‘Daam kam, dum zyada’ (lower cost, higher value),” said PM Modi while addressing the nation on the 79th Independence Day.

He said the need of the hour is to take a resolve for building a 'samarth Bharat (strong India)', just like the country's freedom fighters had envisioned a "free India". "We should not waste our energy in belittling others, our focus should be on strengthening ourselves," he said.

His remarks came amid ongoing trade tensions between the US and India, which escalated after Washington imposed 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.

The PM said this generation should aim for a prosperous India. “I want to ask all the influencers, all political parties to help me in taking this forward, this is not an agenda of a particular party, India is everyone's, we should together make the mantra of vocal for everyone. We should focus on indigenous products. We should only buy indigenous products," he said.

The PM said he wanted all traders and shopkeepers across the country to put up boards saying “Yaha Swadeshi maal bikta hai”. “We should take pride in Swadeshi. Hum Swadeshi majboori mein nahi, majbooti ke saath upyog karenge...,” he said.

The PM also said women’s self-help groups (SHGs) are "doing wonders" and underscored that they have moved from the margins to becoming a driving force in entrepreneurship and exports.

"Nobody paid attention to women self-help groups, but in the past 10 years, they have done wonders," he said. “I once spoke in Mann Ki Baat about toys...I had said, why should even toys come from abroad? And today, I proudly say that my country has started exporting toys.”

PM Modi announced that India is set to launch its own semiconductor chips by the end of 2025. He said the country is now working in “mission mode” to advance semiconductor manufacturing.

"We are working on semiconductors on Mission Mode...By the end of this year, Made in India semiconductor chips, made by the people in India, will hit the market," he said in his speech.

The Prime Minister also called the 21st century a “technology-driven century”, adding that nations which lead in technology will achieve greater success.