Modi highlights exports, local products and deep-tech start-ups in Mann Ki Baat

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PM lauds growing overseas markets for Indian farm products, rising Khadi sales and Chennai’s deep-tech ecosystem

By BL New Delhi Bureau

Updated - October 25, 2026 at 01:28 PM.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday highlighted the economic potential of local products, agricultural value addition, traditional textiles and deep-tech innovation, citing examples ranging from Bihar’s makhana exports to brain research and start-ups at IIT Madras.

In the 139th episode of his monthly radio programme Mann Ki Baat, which marked 12 years of the broadcast, Modi urged listeners to prioritise products made by local artisans during the festive season ahead of Diwali and Chhath. He said the Vocal for Local movement was helping Indian products reach international markets. “This spirit of ‘Vocal for Local’ is now taking our products to global markets,” he said.

Citing examples, he said, “makhana from Purnia in Bihar is now reaching Greece, and arhar dal from Kalaburagi in Karnataka is being exported to the Maldives – meaning, new global markets are opening up for India’s farmers.”

On his visit to Chennai earlier this month, Modi said he had inaugurated the Sudha Gopalakrishnan Brain Centre at IIT Madras. He described its brain-imaging platform as a global benchmark. The centre is creating high-resolution digital 3D images of the human brain and aims to map and study 100 human brains in minute detail using the Param Shakti supercomputer. “This is the first mission of its kind in the world,” he said, adding that the data would be made available as an open-source resource for research across fields.

The PM said industry had played a significant role alongside the government in establishing the centre, and that IIT alumni and academia had come together to support it. He noted that despite scientific progress, conditions such as Alzheimer’s and dementia still lack a definitive cure.

Modi also said he met start-ups during the visit that are working on gold-quality verification to prevent fraud, faster recovery of money lost to bank fraud, and AI-assisted screening for cervical cancer.

At IIT Madras, he said, the interaction focused on deep-tech ventures supported by the institute’s incubation ecosystem. These include an electric vehicle that can fly over the sea, fast-charging batteries for drones and electric vehicles, and AI applications in defence.

Underlining the importance of packaging, the PM cited Maharashtra’s Shabari Naturals initiative, through which tribal communities market honey, mahua, chironji and bamboo-based items in packaging that reflects tribal art. The packaging, he said, has received Japan’s Good Design Award. He also pointed to a Karnataka start-up that is making packaging material from bamboo and agricultural residue.

Modi said sales of Khadi Gram Udyog products exceeded ₹28 crore in a single day on Gandhi Jayanti this year, ₹1.5 crore more than the previous year. “This means that the popularity of Khadi continues to grow, and the benefits are reaching those whose skills and hard work bring items like Khadi and various handicrafts to life,” he said.

On rural livelihoods, he cited Nav-Trinjan, an initiative of Punjab’s Kheti Virasat Mission in the Malwa region that promotes organic cotton cultivation. Its weaving school, he said, has transformed the lives of many women.

The PM also highlighted the revival of millet cultivation in the Northeast. In Meghalaya’s Khanduli village, two women friends developed millet-based cookies, cakes, muffins and baby food, which raised demand for the grain. In Nagaland’s Kezoma village, where millet farming had stopped for over a decade, the community resumed cultivation in 2024 and held its first millet festival in 2025.

Published on October 25, 2026

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