India, Aug. 27 -- Swadeshi should be everyone's life mantra and irrespective of who is investing, production must take place domestically, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday, making a pitch for self-reliance and Make-in-India products a day before US President Donald Trump's additional 25% tariffs kick in.

He was speaking after flagging off exports of Maruti Suzuki's first electric vehicle, the e-VITARA, from the Hansalpur facility in Gujarat to over 100 countries and inaugurating production units for lithium-ion battery, cell and electrode manufacturing for strong hybrid e-vehicles.

"Swadeshi should become our life mantra. Let's embrace swadeshi with pride. The things that will be made here by Japan are also swadeshi," Modi s...