As the country celebrates 75 years of Independence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayaas” will help in the creation of a new India.
Addressing the nation on Independence Day from Red Fort in the national capital, the Prime Minister said: “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayaas are very important for the achievement of all our goals… There comes a time in the development journey of every country, when that country redefines itself, moves forward with new resolutions. Today that time has come in India’s development journey… Starting from here, the journey of the next 25 years is the ‘Amrit’ of the creation of a new India. The fulfilment of our resolve in this ‘Amrit Kaal’ will take us till 100 years of Independence,” said the Prime Minister.
“That is why we have to fulfil all our resolutions by doing hard work and culmination of valour. Today I am calling from the Red Fort Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayaas, as everyone’s efforts are very important for the achievement of our every goal,” he noted.
PM Modi on Sunday announced the National Hydrogen Mission with an aim to make India a hub for the production and export of green hydrogen. “For the progress of India, it is necessary for India to be energy
independent to make an Aatmannirbhar Bharat. That is why today India will have to make a resolution that we will make India energy independent before 100 years of independence,” said PM Modi.
“Whatever work India is doing today, the biggest goal, which is going to give India a quantum jump, is the field of Green Hydrogen. I am announcing the National Hydrogen Mission today in the light of the tricolour,” he added.
He announced the Prime Minister Gati Shakti scheme aimed at giving a foundation for holistic infrastructure and an integrated pathway to the economy. PM Modi said that the new initiative worth Rs 100 lakh crore will bring employment opportunities to the youth and the government is set to present the ‘National Master Plan’ of the scheme in near future.
“While concentrating on modern infrastructure, India needs to work on developing new infrastructure with a holistic and integrated approach. We are set to present to you PM Gati Shakti’s National Master Plan in the near future. This new initiative worth Rs 100 lakh crore will bring employment opportunities to the youth,” he said, adding: “Gati Shakti will help our local manufacturers turn into globally competitive. This will also develop possibilities for new future economic zones. Walking the road of development, India needs to increase both manufacturing and export.”
PM Modi also mirrored India’s manufacturing journey and said, “Recently, India put on trial its first indigenous aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, into the seas. Today, India is building its own fighter planes and submarines. Gaganyaan, too, is set to take India to new heights in space.”
“Seven years ago, we were importing mobile phones worth $8 billion! With the PLI schemes running effectively, the imports have significantly reduced and we are exporting mobile phones worth $3 billion,” he said.
The Prime Minister also announced that 75 ‘Vande Bharat’ trains would connect different parts of the country in 75 weeks to mark the ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ being observed by the nation.
“In 75 weeks of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, 75 Vande Bharat trains will connect different parts of the country. Today the speed at which new airports are being built in the country, and the UDAN scheme connecting far-flung areas is also unprecedented,” he said. “From new waterways to connecting new places through seaplanes, work is undergoing at rapid speed. Indian Railways, too, is undergoing a change to modernise itself.”
He also said that the Himalayan region including eastern India, Northeastern states, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, the coastal belt and the tribal zones would become a big base for India’s development in future. “Today, a new history of connectivity is being written in the Northeast. The work of connecting all the state capitals of Northeast with rail service is going to be completed very soon,” he said.
“Rail services will be connecting every capital of the Northeast very soon. Under the Act East Policy, Northeastern states are being connected to Bangladesh, Myanmar and Southeast Asia,” he added.
In a bid to end malnutrition, PM Modi said that by 2024, rice provided by various schemes of the government will be fortified. “The government will fortify the rice which it gives to the poor under its different schemes and will provide nutritious rice to the poor. Whether it is the rice available at the ration shop or the rice available in the mid-day meal, by the year 2024, the rice available through every scheme will be fortified,” he said.
Highlighting the benefits of the government schemes, Narendra Modi said that over 4.5 crore families have received tap water connections under the Jal Jeevan Mission. “Within two years of the Jal Jeevan mission, more than 4.5 crore families have started receiving water from the tap,” he said. “We have to move forward with a target of achieving saturation in our schemes,” he added.
He also announced that Sainik Schools across the country will be open for admission to girl students. “The government has decided that the doors of every Sainik School will now be open for girl children,” said the Prime Minister. He further informed that he had been receiving requests from girls across the country expressing their aspiration to study in Sainik Schools.
“I used to get messages from lakhs of daughters that they too want to study in Sainik Schools, the doors of Sainik Schools should be opened for them too. About 2-2.5 years ago, the experiment of admitting girls was done for the first time in Sainik School in Mizoram,” he said.
In a veiled message to China and Pakistan, the Prime Minister said that India’s surgical strikes and airstrikes have conveyed that the country is fighting and effectively responding to challenges of both terrorism and expansionism.
“By conducting surgical strikes and airstrikes, we have given a message of the emergence of a new India to our enemies. It also conveys that India can take tough decisions…Today the world is looking at India from a new perspective and this vision has two important aspects—terrorism and expansionism. India is fighting both these challenges and is also responding with great courage in a tactful manner,” said PM Modi.
PM Modi also lauded scientists and said that it is the result of the strength of our industrialists and scientists, that today India does not need to depend on any other nation for Covid-19 vaccines.