Vocal for Local
It’s all about making ourselves self-reliant, while retaining the key ingredients of quality and value-for-money.
The corona pandemic has clearly demonstrated that the global market is susceptible to sudden disruptions. Over-dependence on other countries during the corona pandemic, shipping woes and logistical problems have clearly again and again highlighted the most critical aspect-that India should be self-sufficient and self-reliant, and should be able to address all its needs from within the country.
During the ensuing pandemic, many sectors fell woefully short of expectations, purely because they were heavily dependent on various exports from other countries. As international air and sea transport was curtailed, import of raw materials became a major concern for these industries, leading to slowdown of the manufacturing process, and in some cases brought the industry to a complete halt.
A case in point in favor of ‘make in India’ is the recent shortage of ventilators, PPE kits, sanitizers, masks and related products. We were completely depended of other countries for this product, and thus when the pandemic started, we were left completely high and dry. Various corporate and organizations came forward, and within 2 months, India has become an exporter of such products.
Another example was the crumbling of the ‘well-organized’ multi-outlet retail segment. It was the local kirana stores that came to the rescue of the masses, providing them basic necessities, and ensuring that people could follow the lockdown with peace.
If we are to raise demand and boost the economy, we need to manufacture and consume locally. We need to buy products that are made in India, ensuring that the wealth of the people remains within the country. Ensuring flow of money in the system will help in quick revival of the economy to an acceptable level.
The national fervor has been re-ignited. Prime Minister Modi has rightfully raised the clarion call for ‘make in India’ and ‘Go Vocal for Local’, instilling a sense of pride in using and promoting swadeshi. As a country, we have realized that we have to ensure wholesome growth of the economy – a growth that transcends every segment of the society – urban and rural, rich and poor, agricultural-manufacturing-service-business, organized and unorganized.
This is adream that many companies had seen years ago. And they lived to carve a niche for themselves, not just within the country, but in international markets as well. Many of these companies occupy a significant place in the Fortune 500 list – Reliance Industries, Indian Oil Corporation, Oil & Natural Gas Commission, State Bank of India, Tata Motors, Bharat Petroleum and Rajesh Exports. Other prominent Indian MNCs include – Tata Steel, Coal India Limited, Tata Consultancy Services, L&T, Mahindra, Vedanta, Maruti Suzuki, Infosys,… and the list goes on.
We at J. Mitra & Co. Pvt. Ltd. are proud to have played our own small part in placing India on the global manufacturing and bio-technology map. We have a 51-year legacy of swadeshi manufacturing that transcends the globe. We are a global leader in the in-vitro diagnostics segment, exporting to over 45 countries across all continents. We are also endeavoring to launch our own corona test kit and cater to both domestic and international demands.
It was our dream in 1969 to make India self-reliant in the area of diagnostics, and address the needs of the country men by providing them quality-driven cost-effective diagnostics solutions while saving precious foreign exchange. We were pioneers in this segment, and have introduced many firsts in this category-beit pregnancy tests, infectious diseases or vector borne test. Recently we have introduced POCT testing based on fluorescence-based technology, which is alsothe first in its category, catering to tier 2,3 and 4 cities. Our research and development center is recognized byDSIR, Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India since 1987, and we have over 55 patents – highest for any company in India.
Local (or Swadeshi)does not have to be low on quality. J. Mitra & Co. Pvt. Ltd. compete with manufacturers from various other countries, and our products adheres to all the stringent quality controls norms that are critical for exporting to various markets like – TUV SUD Certification, ICMED 13485, ISO9001:2015, EN ISO 13485:2016, WHO-GMP, CE.
But the road to Swadeshi and Make in India is not a smooth one. There are a number of concerns that have bogged the growth of various Indian companies in general, and IVD industry inparticular. These include – inverted tax structure, availability of raw material, availability of samples for testing, cumbersome rules and regulations. These have been compounded by lack of ease of business aspects like – infrastructure, faster government permissions and single-window clearances, and adequate financing amongst others.
The government has to work fast on these long-standing bottlenecks if we are to make India a truly reliant and developed country.