PM Modi questions practice of families organising weddings abroad

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said he is troubled by the trend of some "big families" conducting weddings abroad, and urged people to hold such celebrations on Indian soil so that the country's money does not leave its shores.

In his Mann Ki Baat radio broadcast, Modi said while shopping for weddings, people should give importance to products made in India only.

“The wedding season as well has commenced now. Some trade organisations estimate that there could be a business of around Rs 5 lakh crore during this wedding season. While shopping for weddings, all of you should give importance to products made in India only,” he said.

“And yes, since the topic of marriage has come up, one thing has been troubling me off and on for a long time… and if I don't open up my heart's pain to my family members, who else do I do it with? Just ponder… these days a new milieu is being created by some families to go abroad and conduct weddings. Is this at all necessary?” Modi said.

He stressed that if people celebrate the festivities of marriages on Indian soil, amid the people of the country, the country's money will remain in the country.

The people of the country will get an opportunity to render some service or the other at such weddings, he pointed out.

“Even poor people will tell their children about you wedding. Can you expand this mission of 'Vocal for Local'? Why don't we hold such wedding ceremonies in our own country?” Modi said. “It is possible that the kind of system you want may not be there today, but if we organise such events, systems will also develop. This is a topic related to very big families. I hope this pain of mine will definitely reach those big families,” the prime minister said.

In his remarks, Modi also asserted that when the people at large take charge of nation building, no power in the world can stop that country from moving forward. Today, it is clearly visible in India that many transformations are being led by the 140 crore people of the country, he said. “We have seen a direct example of this during this festive season. Last month in 'Mann Ki Baat' I had laid emphasis on 'Vocal for Local' i.e. buying local products. Within the last few days, business worth more than Rs 4 lakh crore has been done in the country on Diwali, Bhaiya Dooj and Chhath,” he said.

And during this period, tremendous enthusiasm was seen among the people in buying products Made in India, Modi said. “Now even our children, while buying something at the shop, have started checking whether Made in India is mentioned on them or not. Not only that, nowadays, people do not forget to check the country of origin while purchasing goods online,” he said.

Modi said that just as the very success of 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan' is becoming its inspiration, the success of 'Vocal For Local' is opening the doors to a 'developed India - prosperous India'. “This campaign of 'Vocal For Local' strengthens the economy of the entire country. The Vocal For Local campaign is a guarantee of employment. This is a guarantee of development; this is the guarantee of balanced development of the country,” he said. This provides equal opportunities to both urban and rural people, he added. “This also paves the way for value addition in local products, and if ever, there are ups and downs in the global economy, the mantra of Vocal For Local also protects our economy,” Modi asserted.

It is the second consecutive year when the trend of buying some goods through cash payments on the occasion of Deepawali is gradually on the decline, he said. “That means, people are making more and more digital payments now. This is also very encouraging. You can do one more thing. Decide for yourself that for one month you will make payments only through UPI or any digital medium and not through cash,” he said. “The success of the digital revolution in India has made this absolutely possible. And when one month is over, please share your experiences and your photos with me. I wish you all the best in advance from now itself,” Modi said.

Inputs from PTI