In his 80th Independence Day address from the ramparts of the Red Fort, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi gave a series of clarion calls aimed at accelerating India’s journey towards Viksit Bharat by 2047. Calling for a change in the country’s work culture, thinking and scale of ambition, the Prime Minister underlined the need for collective action by citizens, governments, industry, farmers, youth and other sections of society.
Key points from the Prime Minister’s address include:
1. Next Level Reforms: The Prime Minister called for accelerating the pace of reforms, stating that reforms for India were neither a compulsion nor a buzzword but a matter of conviction. He said that Government, society, industry, producers and farmers would all have to reform traditional systems, thinking and goals. The Prime Minister called upon the Centre, States and industry to move together and continuously take reforms forward, with systems, policies and rules shaped according to the aspirations of 2047.
2. ‘Sapt Dhara’ for Viksit Bharat: The Prime Minister gave a call from the Red Fort for seven streams of strength, “Sapt Dhara”, to take India to new heights and give the country new momentum in the coming five-seven years. The seven streams are:
- Manufacturing Power: India must develop the complete value chain, from components and design to manufacturing of complete products, and become a trusted centre of the global supply chain. The Prime Minister stressed cost, quality and scale, competitive factories, user-friendly products, attractive packaging and zero-defect precision manufacturing. Calling for no compromise on quality, he said, “Quality, Quality, Quality” should be the mantra of Indian manufacturing.
- Agriculture and Food Production: The Prime Minister called for moving from the farm to the export market and turning India’s traditional foods, millets, spices, fruits and flowers into global brands. He also emphasised chemical-free farming and agricultural products that meet global parameters.
- Agriculture and Food Production: The Prime Minister called for moving from the farm to the export market and turning India’s traditional foods, millets, spices, fruits and flowers into global brands. He also emphasised chemical-free farming and agricultural products that meet global parameters.
- Technology and Innovation: Referring to emerging areas including AI, Quantum, Space, Robotics and Data Centres, the Prime Minister said India should not remain merely a market for the world but become an innovation hub. He said Made-in-India 6G reaching every corner should be the country’s goal.
- Gati Shakti: The Prime Minister called for seamless and fast connectivity through high-speed rail connecting cities, modern highways, inland waterways, airports and multimodal logistics. He said ports should move beyond loading and unloading goods and become drivers of port-led development and growth.
- Defence Shakti: The Prime Minister called for self-reliance in defence and said India must move towards becoming a global supplier by developing next-generation defence technologies. He specifically called for developing drones and counter-drone systems and taking leadership in hypersonic defence technologies. He also highlighted cyber security as an area where the capabilities of Indian youth could be utilised for India and the world.
- Green Economy and Blue Economy: The Prime Minister called for achieving global scale in green hydrogen, renewable energy, energy storage, green mobility and green manufacturing. He also highlighted the opportunities offered by India’s coastline in fisheries, coastal tourism, ocean technology and other areas of the Blue Economy.
- India’s Soft Power: The Prime Minister called for taking India’s strengths in Yoga, Ayurveda, holistic healthcare and Heal in India to the world. He also highlighted handicrafts, culture, films, VFX, animation, gaming and digital content as areas where India could establish its strength globally. He called for greater efforts to attract foreign tourists, global sporting events and concerts to India.
3. Raise the Scale of India’s Ambitions: Calling upon the country to think bigger, the Prime Minister asked why India should not have 50 companies among the Fortune 500 in the coming decade. He said an Indian bank should be among the world’s top five banks and one or two Indian pharmaceutical companies should find a place among the world’s five biggest pharma companies. He also called for Indian law firms, rating agencies, consulting firms and accounting firms to emerge among the world’s leading firms, Indian technology companies to become global leaders, and Indian brands to become identities of the country that attract the world.
4. Make Indian Quality a Global Identity: The Prime Minister made a strong appeal to manufacturers, entrepreneurs and MSMEs to make reliability and quality the identity of Indian products in global markets. He said India must meet global benchmarks in cost, quality and scale and offer products that can compete successfully in world markets. He urged MSMEs to seize the opportunities created by India’s trade agreements and take Indian products to world markets while meeting global parameters on quality and competitiveness.
5. Change Work Culture and Match the Scale of India’s Goals: The Prime Minister said that the next quarter of this century was extremely important for India and that the country could neither stop nor allow its speed to slow down. He called for changing the country’s work culture, thinking and pace of work and said that tasks which had not been accomplished in the previous five-seven decades would have to be accomplished in the coming five-seven years.
6. Nasha Mukt Bharat — Every Family Must Join: Describing drug abuse as a major challenge facing India’s youth, the Prime Minister said that a drug-free India must become a collective responsibility. Referring to the 100-week Nasha Mukt Bharat campaign involving MY Bharat volunteers, NGOs, socio-cultural organisations and spiritual leaders, he called upon every family to become part of the campaign and contribute towards realising the dream of a Nasha Mukt Bharat.
7. Implement Women’s Reservation: The Prime Minister made a direct appeal to all political parties to come together for the implementation of women’s reservation. Referring to the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, he urged political parties to ensure at the earliest that women receive 33 per cent representation in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies and are able to contribute to shaping India’s policies.
8. Youth to Lead Participation in the Census: Stressing that accurate information is essential for policies, schemes and the country’s future planning, the Prime Minister called upon young people to take the lead in helping their families participate accurately in the ongoing Census. He urged youth to sit with their families, understand the form, ensure that the information entered was correct and actively participate in the Census exercise.
9. Nation Above Self; Duty as Identity: Recalling the Panch Pran, the Prime Minister called upon citizens to continue eliminating the mentality of slavery and reiterated the resolve that the interest of the nation must be above self and duty must become our identity.
10. Turn Dreams into Resolve and Resolve into Success: Concluding with a call for collective national effort towards Viksit Bharat, the Prime Minister said that the time, opportunity and resolve belonged to India. He called upon citizens to turn dreams into resolve, resolve into strength and strength into success, make every step a step towards development, move together and collectively build a Viksit Bharat.
