New Delhi: In his nearly 90 minutes address to the nation on the 77th Independence Day from the ramparts of Red Fort, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday expressed confidence that India would become a developed nation by 2047.
“The promise for change brought me here, my performance brought me here once again. It is Modi’s guarantee that in the next five years, India will become one among top three nation in terms of economy. It is a golden moment to realise the dream of India as a developed nation by 2047,” he said while referring to the countrymen as ‘parivarjan’ (family members).
He said that the country stands with violence-ravaged Manipur. “Path for solution in Manipur will be found through peace. The Centre is making all efforts for a solution and will continue to do so.”
PM Modi also announced launch of ‘Vishwakarma Yojana’ next month, on Vishwakarma Jayanti. with an allocation of Rs 13,000 crore to Rs 15,000 crore for those with traditional skills. “Our goal is to strengthen the economy, empower the people, and make India a developed country”.
He further said the government will soon launch the scheme for middle-class families living in cities but do not own a house.
The government is also planning to increase the number of ‘Jan Aushadhi Kendras’ from 10,000 to 25,000. “Jan Aushadhi Kendras have given a new power to the people specially the middle class. If someone is diagnosed with diabetes then a monthly bill of Rs. 3000 get accrued. Through Jan Aushadhi Kendras, the medicines that cost Rs 100, can be purchased at Rs 10 to Rs 15,” said Modi.
The PM informed that 13.5 crore poor people have broken free from the chains of poverty and entered the new middle class, during the one tenure of five years of the government. “The various schemes ranging from housing schemes, provision of 50,000 crore rupees to street vendors through the PM SVANidhi scheme, and many more such schemes have aided these 13.5 crore people to rise above the hardships of poverty.”
He lauded the contributions of women self-help groups and stressed that will women-led development would take the country forward. “It is my dream to make two crore ‘lakhpati didis’ in the country. Today, 10 crore women are associated with women self-help groups,” he said.
The Prime Minister further stated that there is an atmosphere of peace now, which is contributing towards the development. “The era of serial blasts is over. Today, the country is seeing a drop in terror attacks. The naxal-prone areas have also seen a drastic change.”
He also claimed to have successfully kept corruption at bay. “Corruption, dynasty, and appeasement are the three main hurdles for India. The government’s every moment, every rupee is going towards the welfare of citizens. We have unitedly built a strong economy and stopped leakages. My government weeded out 10 crore fake beneficiaries of welfare schemes; seizure of ill-gotten assets rose by 20 times.”
He highlighted that India’s capabilities is space technology are rising rapidly. “Deep sea mission, modernisation of railways – Vande Bharat, Bullet train – we are working on all. Internet has reached village. While we are working on nano urea, we are also focusing on organic farming.”
He said that when he went to Bali for the G20 summit he found that leaders from other countries wanted to know the details of India’s developments, especially in the field of technology and digitalisation. “The world is looking at India in awe. The experts in the world are saying that now India is not going to back down.”
He exuded confidence that he would address the nation from the Red Fort next year to list out the progress on the promises he had made to the people. “Next year, on August 15, from this same Red Fort, I will list out the progress achieved by the nation and laud your strength, your resolve and your success with greater confidence,” Modi said.
Notably, PM Modi had delivered his longest Independence Day address of 96 minutes in 2016 and his shortest speech in 2017, which lasted 56 minutes.
