New Delhi: The government-controlled Canteen Stores Department (CSD), which operates canteens for the defence forces, is set to ban all ‘direct imported’ items.
‘Direct imported’ items would include those that are shipped from other countries in finished form. In the liquor segment, for instance, Scotch brands that are bottled in Scotland will be banned but those that have imported ingredients, but bottled in India, will continue to occupy the shelves.
The move is part of an effort to support PM Narendra Modi’s Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan that has been launched to promote domestic manufacturing, industry experts said.
Out of the 5,500 items sold by the CSD, around 420 are imported, according to the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. Among all the countries, China accounts for a bulk of the imported items such as toilet brushes, electric kettles, sandwich toasters, laptops and ladies’ handbags.
The CSD runs one of the largest retail store chains in the country with over 4000 canteens spread from Siachen glacier in the north to Andaman and Nicobar Islands territory in the southernmost part of the country.