National
‘Make in India’ to curtail smuggling: Shatrughan Sinha
New Delhi, Oct 12 (IANS) Praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his Make in India initiative, actor and senior BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha on Thursday said the move will help in curtailing the influx of counterfeit and smuggled products in India, which had given rise to the black economy.
He urged the stakeholders to take this agenda to the global platform and engage NRIs in the movement against illicit trade.
“It was high time and the right time for promotion, protection and projection of India’s goods and to fight against smuggling, counterfeiting and illicit trade,” Sinha said in his address at Ficci CASCADE event ‘MASCRADE’ (Movement Against Smuggling and Counterfeit Trade), adding that under the leadership of Modi and Make in India programme, this has been made possible.
According to Sinha, who is the MP from Patna Sahib, much more is needed to be done to change the general mindset with respect to the use of smuggled and illicit goods.
The Committee Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Destroying the Economy (CASCADE) said terrorist organisations are manufacturing counterfeit goods and smuggling them across borders to finance their crime operations.
“In India gold, tobacco and narcotic drugs accounts for the major smuggled goods. Also 4.2 to 5.4 million jobs to be lost globally by 2022 due to counterfeiting and piracy worldwide,” it said.
The theme of this year’s conference was “Protect Your Brand Globally: Fight Counterfeiting, Smuggling and Piracy”.
The conference was organised with the aim to ensure that national and international stakeholders can talk with policy makers to identify opportunities for joint action between governments and the private sector to combat illicit cross-border trade.
As part of the inaugural programme, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu, in a video message, said that India was moving towards becoming a knowledge economy and this meant respecting and protecting the knowledge and intellectual property of its creators.
Anil Rajput, Chairman, Ficci CASCADE, said that proceeds from illicit trade are increasingly becoming the main source of terror funding.
“We need to understand this relationship and work towards effective mechanisms to counter its worldwide impact. It’s a race against time as all of us are the stakeholders.
“The policymakers are steadily taking steps but the need of the hour is to seek bold and out of the box solutions,” said Rajput.
In an earlier report, Ficci CASCADE had said that the seizure value for mis-declaration of goods stood at Rs 1,187 crore in 2016, while that of undervaluation of goods stood at Rs 254 crore.
Several international organisations such as Interpol, United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Organisation for Economic Corporation and Development, US Homeland Security and US Patents and Trademarks Office are participating in the two-day conference.
Sergey Kapinos, UNODC’s Regional Representative, South Asia, said smuggling and counterfeit goods not only hamper the economic growth of the country but also adversely affect the social fabric and the well-being of its people, and called for framing robust policies and effective implementation to curtail this menace.
Ficci CASCADE and KPMG India (knowledge partner for MASCRADE, 2017) also released a report titled- “Illicit trade: Fuelling Terror Financing and Organised Crime”, which reveals that India was the third most affected country by terrorist activities in 2016, with the first and second positions occupied by Iraq and Afghanistan respectively.
–IANS
rup/him/vd
Lucknow: Vishal Singh, a renowned social worker from Lucknow, also known as Foodman, has once again made India proud. He was honored by the Happy Hands Gloves Cooperative Limited Company in Korathai, Thailand, for his work with the Hunger Free World Mission.
The Hunger Free World Mission’s meeting was held in Korathai, Thailand, under Vishal Singh’s leadership. Representatives from several countries, including Mr. Raja Dwivedi (Managing Director of Happy Hands Gloves Limited), Thailand Coordinator Mr. Raja Mishra, and member Mr. Varun Singh, attended the event.
Under Vishal Singh’s leadership, the attendees took a pledge to work together toward creating a hunger-free world.
Speaking on the occasion, Vishal Singh explained that the main goal of the Hunger Free World Mission is social participation. He said the mission is not just about feeding people but also about meeting other basic needs of those who are struggling. The mission focuses on helping families of terminally ill patients in hospitals by providing food and shelter. It also works to fulfill essential needs like education, jobs, and care for the elderly.
For the last 16 years, the Vijay Sri Foundation has been providing free services, benefiting thousands of people. Vishal Singh highlighted that the mission aims to gain global recognition like other organizations such as WHO, WWF, and Red Cross, which work for social causes.
During this meeting, Vishal Singh was appointed as the Chairman of the Hunger Free World Mission by representatives from various countries. They also discussed holding regular meetings in different countries to push the mission forward.
Business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has also supported this humanitarian mission, vowing to promote the idea of “Seva Parmo Dharma” (Service is the highest duty) worldwide. Vishal Singh praised him, stating that people like Dr .Abhishek Verma inspire others to work for the betterment of society.
Recently, Romania’s Ambassador, Mr . Daniela Sezonov Ţane, invited Vishal Singh to the Romanian Embassy in Delhi, where they discussed the mission in detail. Impressed by his humanitarian work, she honored Vishal Singh and invited him to Romania to take the mission forward .
Food man Vishal Singh has been serving the people of India for the past 16 years. Through the Vijay Sri Foundation, he provides free meals to cancer patients & their families ,shelter, and education for women & children along with running free old-age homes in Lucknow.
In addition to his humanitarian work, Vishal Singh also addresses issues like crime and corruption through his role as Chairman of Seva Path Media and Managing Director of Vijay Sri Foundation.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vishal Singh and his team worked tirelessly to provide food and help to the needy, including starving children, elderly citizens, and pregnant women. Despite contracting the virus himself, he continued to assist others after his recovery. He even created a life-saving oxygen regulator using household items, which was praised by doctors both in India and abroad.
In his address at the meeting, Vishal Singh spoke about his mission to create a hunger-free world. He pointed out that India’s large population, along with issues like unemployment and poverty, has caused the country to fall on the Hunger Index. He urged people to contribute just one handful of grains daily to help create a hunger-free world.
He concluded by saying that through social participation, we can empower the people around us, meet their basic needs, and work together to build a stronger, more prosperous, and developed society.
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