Over a dozen Union Ministries will project “Make in India” programme of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the ten-day Swadeshi Mela that Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) is organising in PM’s Lok Sabha constituency of Varanasi from February 6. SJM is the economic wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological parent of the ruling BJP.
Artisans from nearly 10 states including Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Tripura, Jharkhand, and others will also put up stalls of their products at the fair in Varanasi.
Goa Governor Mridula Sinha will inaugurate the fair in the presence of Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh and Minister of State for Culture and Tourism (Independent charge) Mahesh Sharma. Banaras Hindu University (BHU) Vice-chancellor GC Tripathi will preside over the inaugural session.
According to Swadeshi Mela convener Anand Srivastava, officials and staff of the ministries concerned will highlight their achievements. The ministries will also make the artisans as well as public aware about the schemes that the Central government is running for their welfare, economic upliftment and promotion of country-made products and handicrafts.
According to Srivastava, the Ministries participating in the fair include Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Agriculture, Rural Development, Textile, Science and Technology, Tourism, Culture, Health, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, AYUSH, Tribal Affairs, Social Justice and Empowerment and Communications and Information Technology.
Srivastava said that stalls of MUDRA and Digital India campaign will also be put up by the departments concerned.
“Along with artisans of local Varanasi, Allahabad, Bhadohi, Azamgarh and other parts of UP, artisans from different states will also have their stalls to market their products. From the stalls of different ministries, artisans will get information about schemes being run for promotion of their products,” Srivastava said. He said this is the first time the Swadeshi Mela was being organised on such a grand scale with the involvement of Government Ministries.
While the Culture Ministry will organise music and folk dance programmes, the Agriculture Ministry officials and staff of Horticulture Board will inform the farmers about the recent crop insurance scheme.
SJM’s All India Sah-Prachar Pramukh Niranjan Singh said Swadeshi Mela will be a platform for the artisans to promote their handicraft products and also for the union government to popularise their schemes for farmers, artisans and poor.
“In UP, presently we are holding this fair only in Varanasi. In SJM’s National Executive Meeting scheduled in Delhi on March 26 and 27, proposal will be discussed to hold such fairs also in other major towns of the state,” said Singh.
Source: The Indian Express
Image Courtesy: The Indian Express
