Prime Minister Narendra Modi marked the 75th Independence Day of India by unfurling the tricolour at the Red Fort, Delhi. The hoisting of the Indian flag was followed by a 90-minute long speech in which he pushed for self-reliant India and chalked a blueprint for the next 25 years for the nation.

From thanking the Indian contingent for making the nation proud at the recently-concluded Tokyo Olympics to acknowledging the hard work put in by COVID warriors to developing India’s infrastructure, PM Modi covered it all in his speech.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday gave a call for ‘Sabka Prayas’ (everyone’s efforts) along with ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas’ for building a self-reliant India.

Addressing the nation, Modi said, “We have to ensure we meet our goal of building Aatmanirbhar Bharat when we celebrate 100 years of India’s Independence.”

He said that ‘Sabka Saath – Sabka Vikas – Sabka Vishwas’ and everyone’s efforts are very important in achieving “all our goals”.

Here’s how he batted for self-reliant India or Aatmanirbhar Bharat.

‘Yehi samay hai, sahi samay hai, Bharat ka anmol samay hai’

At the end of his speech, PM Modi delivered a rousing poem, capturing the spirit of India and the nation’s focus on ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.

“Can do generation”

In his speech, PM Modi stressed that he has full faith in the youth of the country. “This is a Can Do Generation and it can achieve every goal.”

Stating that no obstacle can stop India from fulfilling its 21st-century dreams and aspirations, Modi said, “Our strength is our vitality, our strength is our solidarity. Our life force is the spirit of nation first.”

He also stated how start-ups are taking India ahead. “Starts ups are a new kind of wealth creators…humei kaam karna hai, rukna nahi hai (we have to continue working, we should not stop,” he said.

Launch of ‘Gati Shakti’

The ‘Pradhan Mantri Gati Shakti National Master Plan’ is a Rs 100 lakh crore infrastructure initiative that PM Modi said will lay the foundation for a “holistic infrastructure” and an “integrated pathway” for the country’s economy.  

This plan was introduced to boost manufacturing and employment. “All manufacturers should target global market. India should become the hub of global market,” he said.

National Hydrogen Mission

PM Modi formally announced the launch of a National Hydrogen Mission to accelerate plans to generate carbon-free fuel from renewables. With this, he set a 2047 goal for India to achieve self-reliance in energy.

During his speech, he said India can achieve self-reliance in energy through a mix of a gas-based economy, doping sugarcane extracted ethanol in petrol and electric mobility.

“For India to progress, for Atmanirbhar Bharat, energy independence is necessary,” he said.

“India has to take a pledge that it will be energy independent by the year we celebrate 100th year of Independence.”

The country has achieved the target of 100 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity ahead of the target, Modi added.

He said that the target is to make India a global hub for production as well as export of green hydrogen.

“Green hydrogen will give India a quantum jump in achieving its targets,” he said.

Timeline for ‘Amrit Kaal’

During his speech, he said that the next 25 years will be “Amrit Kaal” for the country and the nation will transform itself to work towards leading the world.

“A time comes in the development journey of every country when that nation defines itself from a new end, when it takes itself forward with new resolutions. Today, that time has come in India’s development journey,” he said.

“We have to ensure we meet our goal of building Aatmanirbhar Bharat when we celebrate 100 years of India’s Independence,” he added.

“Amrit Kaal will go on for 25 years but we must not wait for 25 years to achieve our targets. We must get to work right now!” he further added.

“The nation needs to change, and we need to change as citizens as well according to the changing times. It is essential to fully utilise the capabilities of India to take it to new heights,” he said, adding that the development should be inclusive.

Modern infrastructure

PM Modi said that India needs to adopt a holistic approach to infrastructure construction. “We will have to work together for manufacturing world-class products, using cutting-edge innovation and new-age technology,” he said.

Big push for farmers

In his I-Day speech, He said the government’s focus is to make small farmers the country’s pride. Small farmers would the ones who own less than two hectares of land and comprise over 80% of all farmers. Rice provided under any scheme will be fortified by 2024, the prime minister announced.

“We are witnessing the rapid transformation of our villages,” Modi said while stressing that digital entrepreneurs are being nurtured in villages too.

100% saturation

He said that since the nation knows the strengths of Ujjwala (free cooking gas scheme) to Ayushman Bharat, it is now time to move toward saturation.

Saturation means 100% of villages have roads, 100% of households have a bank account, 100% of people have Ayushman Bharat card, and 100% should have a gas connection under the Ujjwala scheme.