Announcing that Patanjali would launch `Swadeshi' jeans soon, Baba Ramdev on Sunday said the idea behind his expanding business ventures is to end the dominance of multinational corporations that have for decades been capitalizing on the country's market.
“When we want Indians winning medals in sports, why can't we develop the same spirit in economic pursuits and excel in businesses on our own? My fight is against foreign companies trying to take over our economy ,“ the yoga teacher said. There's a great demand from the country's youths for jeans, the reason why Patanjali has decided to launch “Indianized“ jeans to compete with foreign brands, he said.
“Patanjali's plans involve getting into the garment sector, especially `Swadeshi jeans that the youth of the country are demanding. It also wants to enter edible oils and home products like toilet cleaners. There's a huge vacuum in the market for quality products and Patanjali enjoys enormous public loyalty that ensures success for all our products,“ Ramdev said.
Patanjali, Ramdev said, is set to go global with plans to set up units abroad.
“We've set up factories in Nepal and Bangladesh and are now approaching African nations. Profits earned would be used in those countries for development, and won't be ploughed back to India,“ said Ramdev. If permitted, he said he was willing to start units in Pakistan and Afghanistan as well. “Our products have reached the Middle-East and are popular even in countries like Saudi Arabia,“ Ramdev said.While manufacturing units would be set up in poor countries to boost local economies, we will also cater to rich nations like the US and in Euro pe through exports, Ramdev said.
On the proposed plants in Mihan here, Ramdev said it will be biggest unit in the country spread over 40 lakh square feet. It will be larger than the facility at Haridwar. The initial investment on infrastructure and machinery will be close to Rs 1,000 crore, he said. Patanjali is also setting up units in Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh besides expanding existing ones in West Bengal and Karnataka. The company is eyeing a turnover of Rs 50 lakh crore in the FMCG market, he said.
Supporting the Centre's efforts to bring back black money , Ramdev said, “The government needs to take strong, result-oriented and effective steps, and develop enormous political will to root out black money .“
On the festering Kashmir crisis, he said the Centre should deal strictly with separatists who were spreading unrest in the border state with Pakistan's backing. He said almost 99% of the state's population was peace-loving but the remaining one percent were creating trouble.They should be dealt with firmly , he said.
Source: Epaper Times of India
