Government Directs CAPF Canteens To Sell Only 'Made-In-India' Products From June 1

This will be applicable to all CAPF canteens across the country from 1 June. With this, 50 lakh families of about 10 lakh CAPF personnel will use indigenously.

Indian Border Security Force (BSF) soldiers. FILE PIC/AFP.

New Delhi, May 13: In a move to encourage Make in India products and encourage domestic manufacturing, the home ministry on Wednesday asked the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) canteens to sell only indigenous products from June 1. The Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah tweeted about the new directions for the CAPF managed canteen. "In this direction, the Ministry of Home Affairs has decided that all the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) canteens will now sell only indigenous products. This will be applicable to all CAPF canteens across the country from 01 June 2020. With this, nearly 50 lakh families of about 10 lakh CAPF personnel will make use of these home grown products."

The CAPFs are also known as paramilitary forces and comprise the Central Reserve Police Force, Border Security Force, Central Industrial Security Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police and Sashastra Seema Bal. According to the new directives, the families of the paramilitary forces will have access to Indian homegrown products going forward. The directives have come a day after the Rs 20-crore stimulus package announced by Narendra Modi on Monday stressed on Make in India products encouraging domestic manufacturing. Modi has emphasised on being 'Vocal about Local' and to buy local is a message to rekindle India's manufacturing sector which has been severely hit due to Covid-19 induced lockdown. The economic sop is aimed at making Indian economy self-reliant by leveraging strengths of demographics, technological skills, and domestic demand by building infrastructure and robust supply chains which in turn will boost the Make in India programme.