Latest news with #SwadeshiJagaranManch
Hans India
7 days ago
- Politics
- Hans India
SJM unveils ‘Swadeshi–Videshi Product Index' to boost locally-made goods
Hyderabad: Marking the birth anniversary of freedom fighter Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, the Swadeshi Jagaran Manch (SJM) released its 'Swadeshi–Videshi Product Index' during the inauguration of the Bhagyanagar Ganesh Utsav Samiti Office, reinforcing calls to support indigenous products. The index was jointly unveiled on Wednesday by Ravinuthala Shashidhar, Secretary of Bhagyanagar Ganesh Utsav Samiti, A. Keshava Raju, National Leader, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, and Keshav Soni, Pranth Prachar Pramukh, SJM Telangana. The initiative encourages widespread use of locally manufactured products during this year's Ganesh festivities. Organizers from various Ganesh Mandaps received copies of the index, which lists Indian-made alternatives to commonly used foreign goods. SJM announced awareness drives at every Mandap to educate citizens on the economic and cultural value of swadeshi products. Leaders emphasized that Ganesh Utsav should serve as a platform for cultural resurgence and nationalistic values—transforming each Mandap into a center of Swadeshi activism. Key members of Bhagyanagar Ganesh Utsav Samiti, including K. Mahender and Sriram Vyas, attended the event in support of the campaign.
Indian Express
30-06-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Indian negotiators extend US stay in attempt to seal an interim trade deal
With the US reciprocal tariffs pause set to run out on July 9, Indian trade negotiators are learnt to have extended their visit to Washington in a bid to resolve differences, particularly over sensitive issues such as agriculture, and to finalise negotiations for an interim trade deal. The ongoing round of talks assumes significance as the US has announced the conclusion of talks with China that had begun much later than those with India but have resulted in a significant easing of tensions between the two countries. Indian businesses had begun benefitting from the steeper duties imposed on Chinese products compared to those on Indian goods. While India is seeking the elimination of reciprocal tariffs and additional duties such as those on steel, aluminium, and auto components — along with assurances that no future tariffs will be imposed — the US is seeking a broad-based opening of Indian sectors, from automobiles and whisky to agricultural items such as apples, corn and soya among others. Sources aware of the talks said trade officials discussed rules of origin in the textile trade during the last round in India, where India is seeking lower tariffs in the US similar to those offered to other FTA partners. Labour-intensive sectors such as textiles and footwear are among India's top demands. Tense discussions on agricultural items come amid strong US demands to open the Indian market to genetically modified (GM) products and to remove regulations that require dairy products intended for food to be derived from animals not fed with internal blood meal. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in an interview to The Financial Express which was also published in The Indian Express Monday, said that agriculture and dairy were among the 'very big red lines,' where a high degree of caution had been exercised in the talks with the US. 'Yes, we would love to have an agreement, a big, good, beautiful one; why not?' Sitharaman said. Last week, President Donald Trump said the US and India 'may' sign a 'very big' trade deal, under which India would 'open up'. Meanwhile, Ashwani Mahajan, National Co-Convener of the Swadeshi Jagaran Manch (SJM), in a social media post Monday, said India's 'agriculture and small industries' cannot be sacrificed for US interests. 'No matter what US President Donald Trump says, there cannot be a trade deal with the US, because India cannot give what America is asking for. How can India accept that America's GM and other agricultural products be allowed to enter the country? That India should allow non-veg milk and dairy? How can the country's agriculture and small industries be sacrificed at the altar of America's stubbornness?' Mahajan said. Indian officials have indicated that diversifying oil and defence procurement is in the country's strategic interest, and that sourcing more from the US could significantly help bridge the goods trade gap. The Indian Express had reported earlier that India's oil imports from the US jumped over 270 per cent year-on-year in the first four months of 2025, underscoring Delhi's strategy of boosting American imports amid trade pact negotiations and diversifying crude oil sources in a volatile geopolitical and geo-economic environment. Ravi Dutta Mishra is a Principal Correspondent with The Indian Express, covering policy issues related to trade, commerce, and banking. He has over five years of experience and has previously worked with Mint, CNBC-TV18, and other news outlets. ... Read More
Indian Express
31-05-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
RSS affiliate rues surge in Chinese imports, calls for boycotting foreign goods
Swadeshi Jagaran Manch (SJM), the economic wing of the RSS, on Friday conceded that despite a call for boycott of Chinese goods in the past, imports from the country have increased. 'It is true that despite the patriotic public boycotting China and other foreign goods, imports from China have increased in the last few years,' SJM's convener Ashwani Mahajan said. The outfit blamed this trend on e-commerce platforms and foreign brands violating rules, apart from 'poor confidence' of India's business community in the country's manufacturing capabilities. Mahajan announced a nationwide campaign for promoting indigenous goods, which he sought to link with national security in the backdrop of Operation Sindoor. He said the campaign was inspired by PM Narendra Modi's call in Gandhinagar earlier this week that traders must take a pledge to not sell foreign goods. On Tuesday, Modi had made a veiled attack on imported goods by pointing out how 'small-eyed' Ganesh idols were coming from abroad. 'We must encourage village traders to pledge that no matter how much profit they make, they will not sell foreign goods,' he had said. Suggesting that this statement was in context of Chinese products, the SJM said, 'Our forceful retaliation to Pakistan's misadventure has also brought to light our friends and foes. It is a welcome decision to snap or reduce trade relations with those countries which have helped our enemy in this recent war.' India's imports from China have surged significantly in the past five years, with a cumulative trade deficit exceeding $387 billion from 2018-19 to 2023-24. India's imports from China have grown from around $70 billion in 2018-19 to over $101 billion in 2023-24, while exports have been relatively stagnant around $16 billion annually. 'The reason for this (surge) is that Chinese goods are also sold in India in a disguised manner; sometimes by removing the Chinese label and putting the Made in India label, sometimes by e-commerce companies and foreign brands violating the rule of origin and sometimes by importing from China in the form of intermediate goods,' Mahajan said.
The Hindu
18-05-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Watch: Swadeshi Jagaran Manch (SJM) on US Tariff war and India
In this episode, we are going to talk about a war of a different nature altogether — the tariff war started by the United States, tariff negotiations, and what it means for world trade. Today, for the first time on this show, I'll be doing an interview. We will be speaking to Dr. Ashwani Mahajan, the co-convener of the Swadeshi Jagaran Manch, the economic wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Dr. Mahajan has been an influential voice in shaping India's economic and trade policies. He sheds light on India's decision to exit RCEP and more. Script & Presentation: Nistula Hebbar Production: Shibu Narayan
Hans India
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
SJM calls for economic sanctions, tourism boycott of Turkey
Hyderabad: The Swadeshi Jagaran Manch (SJM) condemns Turkey's military support to Pakistan and calls for economic sanctions, flight ban, and tourism boycott. It said that Turkey, a NATO member and a supposed secular republic, has increasingly aligned itself with radical Islamist regimes and military establishments hostile to Bharat's sovereignty. In recent years, Turkey's strategic defence partnership with Pakistan has grown at an alarming pace, with the Turkish government supplying critical military hardware, technological platforms, and training to Pakistan's armed forces.
