CAIT Calls Upon India Inc to Join 'Boycott China' Campaign

FDT Bureau

The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), a leading advocate for small traders and businesses in India, has been spearheading the ‘boycott China’ campaign in the aftermath of the border skirmishes between Indian Army and Chinese PLA. CAIT has called for boycott of Chinese goods, listing 450 imported items. Taking its campaign forward, the traders’ body has written to the likes of Reliance Industries chief Mukesh Ambani and 50 other captains of India Inc, including Ratan Tata, Azim Premji, Gautam Adani, Ajay Piramal, Anand Mahindra and Sunil Bharti Mittal seeking their support in its initiative to boycott Chinese goods. It has also called upon industry leaders Kumar Mangalam Birla, Vikram Kirloskar, Rahul Bajaj, Shiv Nadar, Pallonji Mistry, Uday Kotak, Nusli Wadia, Shashi Ruia, Madhukar Parekh, Harsh Mariwala, Satish Reddy and Pankaj Patel, among others to join its ‘Bhartiya Samaan-Humaara Abhimaan’ campaign. 

The campaign is centered on the firm resolve among Indians to hit back at China not only militarily but also economically.  In its letter to Reliance Industries chief Mukesh Ambani, CAIT wrote, “You and your organisation have always stood firmly in solidarity and support of the nation and this could be a great opportunity for you to show that nothing comes before nation and your support and initiative will surely encourage other industrialists of the country to follow you in order to make India a self-dependent Bharat.” The association is hopeful that Ambani would give a clarion call to promote Indian goods. ‘Your positive decision could be a big boost for the campaign and a great service to the Soldiers who have laid down their lives for their motherland,’ CAIT wrote in its letter.

Also Read: IIA Calls for Boycott of Chinese Goods & Services

According to Praveen Khandelwal, secretary general, CAIT, Ambani has been invited to join the movement as a valued partner. “It is a game-changing initiative that has the potential to reshape India's journey as a global superpower by reducing China's dominance,” said Khandelwal.  As a way forward CAIT has decided to boycott Chinese Goods in a phased manner and for the first phase it has earmarked "finished goods" from an identified list of about 450 broad categories that have more than 3,000 products which are already being manufactured in India.  

Besides calling upon industry leaders to join the ‘boycott China’ campaign, CAIT is also following up with the government to draw up a comprehensive strategy to facilitate Indian industries to manufacture goods in India. It is working with various stakeholders of the industry to come up with solutions to do away with imports from China.