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PM Modi’s I-Day address may centre around India’s foundation for ‘Viksit Bharat’
PM Narendra Modi’s speech is expected to provide a guide to the path of progress during the ‘Amrit Kaal’ to help the country become a developed nation by 2047.
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day address may centre around how his government has succeeded in laying a strong foundation of ‘Viksit Bharat’ and it would provide a guide to the path of progress during the ‘Amrit Kaal’ that would help the country in becoming a developed nation by 2047, according to three people aware of the development said.
From the rampart of the Red Fort, he is likely to signal accelerating his technology-intensive development agenda for the ‘Amrit Kaal’ -- food security, affordable healthcare, potable drinking water for all, universal education, cleanliness drive, skill development, circular economy and making India as a global manufacturing hub, the officials said requesting anonymity.
“In the last nine years of his rule, PM Modi already took several initiatives and pursued them relentlessly. As a result, India could not only stand strong during the worst crisis of the century of Covid-19 pandemic, but also emerged stronger – bringing over 135 million people out of poverty,” one of them said. According to a NITI Aayog report released on July 17, over 135 million people came out of poverty in India in the last five years as the country registered a decline of 9.89 percentage points in the number of India’s multidimensionally poor from 24.85% in 2015-16 to 14.96% in 2019-2021 with the fastest decline being seen in rural areas.
Officials said the prime minister’s speech is expected to provide a walkthrough of his vision for the ‘Amrit Kaal’ or the policy focus for the next 25 years. This period is expected to see the saturation of Modi government’s welfare measures announced in the last nine years.
“PM Modi is not just interested in announcing scheme, but his interest also lies in delivery, that too 100%. That is why, while replying to the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha, Union finance minister raised the slogan of ‘ho gaya’ [achieved],” a second person said. HT on August 11 reported quoting FM.
The prime minister would ask policymakers, bureaucrats and his party workers to consolidate gains of the past nine years, and implement welfare programmes to the level of saturation, a third person said.
“This is true not only for social or welfare measures but also true for economic policies. Having achieved the feat of becoming the fifth largest economy after replacing the UK, the PM is keen on becoming number three after the US and China in his next term. He will not only reiterate it in his speech but also give necessary directives and set definite milestones to achieve that,” he said.
Officials, however, remained tight-lipped about specific announcements. They indicated that as India completed its celebrations of 75 years of Independence, the focus could shift from the ‘Azaadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ to the ‘Amrit Kaal’.
PM Modi is expected to give a detailed progress report on key sectors, particularly related to social development. The large-scale outreach programmes, which have resulted in creating millions of beneficiaries, are also politically important for the BJP. In his speech on the debate on the President’s speech, Modi said these beneficiaries, who have experienced basic services for the first time under this government, were his suraksha kavach (protective armour) that the opposition’s baseless allegations cannot pierce.
People familiar with the matter said PM Modi will cite bold policy measures such as the abrogation of Article 370 and its impact in Kashmir, which is re-emerging from the shadow of terrorism after decades. He is expected to focus on the development of the northeast and assert that the region was going to become a centre of development because of his plans to integrate it with Southeast Asian and ASEAN economies. Zero tolerance against corruption, leveraging technology and e-governance to create a transparent and accountable ecosystem and trusting people to make laws for ease of living would also be the focus.
They said PM Modi was likely to focus on transformational changes through -- speed and scale, innovation and technology, women empowerment, and an environment-friendly approach. The welfare of over 110 million small farmers, including 30 million women farmers is high on his agenda, the people said.
In his response to the Opposition’s no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha, Union home minister Amit Shah had also spoken extensively on how the government led by PM Modi has performed better than the UPA in various sectors such as health, agriculture, education and rural development.
Coming as the last Independence Day speech before the next Lok Sabha poll, the speech also assumes political importance and outreach to the people. During his reply to the no-confidence debate, PM Modi referred to his first Independence Day speech and said that he spoke about cleanliness and toilets, but his rivals made fun of him and even criticized him for speaking on such issues from the ramparts of the Red Fort.
