PM Narendra Modi hails Operation Sindoor for boosting sentiments for domestic manufacturing

New Delhi: Operation Sindoor, India’s military action against terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on 7 May, has boosted the sentiment of domestic manufacturing in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his in his monthly radio address ‘Mann Ki Baat’ on Sunday.

Operation Sindoor has lent a new confidence and enthusiasm to the fight against terrorism across the world, he said.

“...our soldiers destroyed terror bases; it was their indomitable courage, along with the power of weapons, equipment and technology made in India. It also included the resolve of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’. The sweat of our engineers, our technicians, in fact, that of everyone… is involved in this victory,” Modi said.

“After this campaign, a renewed energy is visible in the whole country regarding ‘Vocal for Local’,” he added.

Operation Sindoor was launched in retaliation to Pakistan-sponsored terror attack in Kashmir's Pahalgam on 22 April that killed 26 tourists.

He also remarked that he had spoken to parents who had vowed to purchase only locally manufactured toys, and families who had pledged to take their next vacation at an Indian destination. Some people had also planned to give only such gifts that were made by Indian artisans, he said.

Modi also urged all citizens to take a pledge for prioritizing domestically manufactured products wherever possible. “I urge all of you too… come, let us take a pledge on this occasion–wherever possible in our lives, we will accord priority to products made in the country,” he said.

He also spoke about other local movements that took shape in parts of the country in the wake of the anti-terrorism action.

“In many a city, a large number of youth came together to become Civil Defence Volunteers… and we saw that the videos from Chandigarh went viral,” he said. 

“Poems were being written on social media, songs of resolve were being sung. Little children were creating paintings that carried great messages hidden in them,” he added.

In Katihar in Bihar, Kushinagar in UP, and many other cities, children born during that period have been named ‘Sindoor’, the prime minister said.

PM Modi also mentioned local artisanal businesses in the north-eastern region which had garnered a global brand identity, and commended the presence of women in agricultural technology with examples of women who use drones to spray fertilizers in their fields. 

Reflecting on the transformative impact of technology on the lives of women in Sangareddy district of Telangana, Modi said, “Women who had to depend on others till some time ago… today those very women are completing the work of spraying pesticides on 50 acres of land with the help of drones. Three hours in the morning, two hours in the evening and the work is done.”

He also lauded startups and other group initiatives that promoted sanitation and recycling.

India’s efforts to promote indigenous medicine such as Ayurveda have also borne fruit on the global front. “Just yesterday, i.e. on 24th May, an MoU was signed in the presence of WHO Director General and my friend Tulsi Bhai. Along with this agreement, work has started on a dedicated traditional medicine module under the International Classification of Health Interventions. This initiative will help in making AYUSH reach maximum number of people across the world in a scientific manner,” he said. 

“Tulsi Bhai” refers to the nickname given to World Health Organization (WHO) director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus by Modi during the Global AYUSH Investment and Innovation Summit in 2022.

PM Modi also lauded anti-naxal efforts in Gadchiroli, Maharashtra, where a bus reached a remote village for the first time after Maoist threats were neutralized. He also commended the efforts for a lion census in Gir, Gujarat, which showed that the lion population had risen to 891 from 674 in the past five years.