Shopkeepers in Uttar Pradesh have urged the government to start making policies for 'Make in India' initiative to compete with Chinese lights and items flooding the markets ahead of Diwali.
Traders in Kanpur on Tuesday said that to compete with demand for cheap Chinese lamps and lights, the government should formulate policies.
A shopkeeper, Hanumanth Dikshit, who has been selling Chinese lights for the past 15 years, said Chinese products have a strong hold over the market.
"Presently, the scenario in India is such that Chinese products have a strong hold in the market. Chinese products are of use and throw type and they are extremely cheap. A person buys Chinese lights, uses it for two months and then throws it away. It is high time that we start 'Make in India' and the government brings changes in its policies or else the dominance of Chinese products in Indian market will continue," said Dikshit.
The 'Make in India' initiative aims to turn India into a manufacturing hub and contains proposals to get foreign companies to invest in India by focusing on 25 sectors including chemicals, information technology, automobiles, railways, renewable energy, design manufacturing, bio-technology, pharmaceuticals, mining and electronics among others.
Another shopkeeper, Atul Tiwari, said if the products, sold by Chinese, could be made in India with better quality, they would have more demand.
"If we can produce those products that are coming from China in India with better quality, definitely our products will be sold more," said Tiwari.
