PM Modi Pushes ‘Swadeshi’ and Self-Reliance Amid US Trade Tensions

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, September 21, urged Indians to embrace domestic production, declaring, “Whatever we can make in our country, we must.” His remarks came during a 19-minute address to the nation, where he stressed savings, local consumption, and self-reliance against the backdrop of escalating trade and visa frictions with the United States.

GST ‘Bachat Utsav’

Modi highlighted the rollout of new Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates effective September 22, which will reduce prices of hundreds of essential goods. Calling it the start of a “Bachat Utsav” or savings festival — coinciding with the first day of Navratri — he said the reforms, combined with recent income tax relief, would save Indians about ₹2.5 lakh crore annually.

Under the changes, GST has been simplified into two primary slabs, 5% and 18%, with essentials like medicines, food items, toiletries, and consumer durables seeing price cuts.

Self-Reliance vs. Tariffs

Though the government has said the GST reforms are unrelated to American trade measures, Modi’s emphasis on swadeshi was seen as a veiled response to recent U.S. actions. President Donald Trump has slapped steep tariffs on Indian exports and, just last week, imposed a $100,000 fee on H-1B visas, widely used by Indian tech professionals.

“We have no major enemy in the world. Our only real enemy is dependence on other countries… and together we must defeat this enemy of India,” Modi said at a separate event in Gujarat on Saturday.

BJP leaders argue that lower GST rates will spur domestic consumption, reducing reliance on exports.

India–US Trade Talks

Meanwhile, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal will travel to the U.S. on September 22 for the next round of trade negotiations. He has said that Indian talent returning home could “innovate and design here,” echoing Modi’s call for local pride in manufacturing and consumption.

The U.S. tariffs disproportionately affect Indian exports, though India imports far more from the U.S. Modi framed the challenge more broadly, urging citizens to take pride in swadeshi: “From the small shopkeepers to the ones buying from them, everyone should be proud to say, ‘I sell swadeshi, I buy swadeshi.’”

Political Backdrop

The opposition Congress had urged Modi to address the tariffs, the visa fee hike, and Trump’s recent claim that he prevented an India–Pakistan war earlier this year. The government has maintained that its ceasefire decision was taken independently, at Pakistan’s request, and not under U.S. mediation.