Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his Independence Day address from the ramparts of the Red Fort on Saturday, laid out an ambitious roadmap for building a Viksit Bharat by 2047, calling for a fundamental change in the country’s work culture, thinking, pace of development and scale of ambition.
Addressing the nation on the 80th Independence Day, PM Modi said India could no longer afford to pursue small dreams and called upon citizens, governments, industry, farmers, youth and other sections of society to work together to achieve the country’s long-term goals.
“We can no longer move forward with small dreams. We must dream big, because big dreams expand our thinking. They broaden the horizons of our vision as well,” he said.The Prime Minister said the next five to seven years would be critical for India and called for completing in that period tasks that had remained unfinished for decades.“The work which has not been done in the last 5-7 decades, we have to do that work in the coming 5-7 years,” he said, expressing confidence in the country’s youth, women, farmers and workers.
A central theme of PM Modi’s address was the ‘Sapt Dhara’, or seven streams of strength, which he said would provide India with new momentum and help it achieve its development goals.The seven areas identified by the Prime Minister are manufacturing, agriculture and food production, technology and innovation, Gati Shakti, defence, green and blue economy, and India’s soft power.On agriculture, PM Modi called for moving “from the farm to the export market” and developing global brands around Indian millets, spices, fruits, flowers and traditional foods.
Highlighting the rapid emergence of artificial intelligence, quantum technology, space, robotics and data centres, PM Modi said India must not remain merely a market for advanced technologies.He called for taking Indian digital public technologies to the world and set the goal of ensuring that Made-in-India 6G reaches every corner of the globe.Under Gati Shakti,
“There is no alternative to being self-reliant in defence,” PM Modi said, adding that India must move from being a defence market to becoming a global supplier.He called for the development of next-generation defence technologies, including drones, counter-drone systems and hypersonic defence technologies.The Prime Minister also highlighted cybersecurity as an increasingly important area and said India’s youth could contribute significantly to building capabilities in this field.
The Prime Minister called for a renewed push for reforms and said the country’s policies, regulations and systems must reflect the aspirations of 2047 rather than the requirements of a bygone era.The Prime Minister placed particular emphasis on the role of young Indians in the journey towards a developed India.He noted that India now has more than 2.5 lakh registered startups and highlighted the government’s Innovation Fund of ₹1 lakh crore.
From the Red Fort, PM Modi announced a major initiative to train one crore young people in AI skills over the next year, saying this would equip India’s youth to lead in the global AI ecosystem.“The youth have a very important role to play in the journey towards a ‘Viksit Bharat’. Not only that, the greatest beneficiary of a ‘Viksit Bharat’ will also be the youth of my country,” he said.The Prime Minister described drug abuse as a major challenge for India’s youth and called for a collective campaign against it.
PM Modi also made a direct appeal to political parties to implement women’s reservation.Referring to the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, he called for women to receive 33 per cent representation in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies at the earliest.The Prime Minister pointed to India’s entry into the hydrogen-powered train sector as another milestone in its technological journey.
The Prime Minister said India had made significant progress in eliminating armed Naxalism and Maoist violence.He recalled the sacrifices of security personnel during decades of violence and said the government had resolved in 2014 to free the country from Naxalism.
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