PM's address from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the occasion of Independence Day 2013
Prime Minister, Dr.
Manmohan Singh, addressed the Nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort today on
the occasion of Independence Day. Following is the English rendering of the
Prime Minister’s address:
“My dear fellow-citizens,
Brothers, sisters and
dear children,
I greet you all on this Independence
Day.
Today is certainly a day of joy for us.
But on this celebration of independence we also feel pain in our hearts that
our brothers and sisters in Uttarakhand had to face devastation about two
months back. Our deepest sympathies are with all the families that suffered
loss of life or property. I want to assure the people of Uttarakhand today that
the whole country stands with them in this moment of crisis. Our government is
working with all the resources at its command to rehabilitate those whose
houses have been destroyed and rebuild damaged infrastructure.
Our army, paramilitary forces and
numerous officers and staff of the Central and State governments worked in
difficult conditions in partnership with the common people to perform an
outstanding task in providing relief to those who were stranded. We especially
pay homage to the officers and men of the Air Force, ITBP and NDRF who
sacrificed their lives to save others.
We are also deeply pained that we lost the
submarine, INS Sindurakshak in an accident yesterday. Eighteen brave sailors are feared to have
lost their lives. The accident is all
the more painful because the Navy had recently achieved two major successes in
the form of its first nuclear submarine, INS Arihant and the aircraft carrier,
INS Vikrant.
We pay homage to the brave hearts we
have lost. We also congratulate the Navy
on its successes.
Brothers and Sisters,
We achieved independence in 1947 under
the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. If we
look at our subsequent journey, we would find that our country has seen major
changes every ten years.
In the decade beginning 1950, India
took its first steps as a democratic republic under the leadership of Pandit
Jawahar Lal Nehru. We established institutions like the Atomic Energy
Commission, Planning Commission and Election Commission, which went on to make
a major contribution to the processes of nation building in later years. The
first general elections were conducted and a beginning was made towards the
formulation of the First Five Year Plan for socio-economic development of the
country.
In the Sixties, Pandit Nehru set up new
industries and factories, implemented new irrigation projects and opened new
universities. By laying emphasis on the role of Science and Technology in
nation building he started the work of transforming this ancient country into a
modern nation.
In the Seventies, Indiraji boosted our
confidence as a nation. During this period, we launched our first satellite in
space. The Green Revolution enabled us to be self sufficient in food grains for
the first time.
In the next decade, Rajiv Gandhi ji set
into motion the process of technological and economic modernization. The
foundation for the progress we later made in the area of Information Technology
was laid during this period. The importance of Panchayati Raj Institutions was
emphasized and this later resulted in amendments to our Constitutions for
strengthening and empowering these institutions.
In the year 1991, under the leadership
of Shri Narsimha Rao, we successfully negotiated a major economic crisis and
embraced reforms for strengthening our economy. These reforms were opposed by
many political parties at that time. But the reforms were in national interest
and were therefore continued by all governments that came to power
subsequently. Since then, the reform process has continually moved forward.
I believe that the last decade has also
been a decade of major changes in the history of our nation. In no other decade
has our economic development increased as much as in this decade. Democratic
forces have been strengthened and many sections of our society have joined the
mainstream of development for the first time. The common man has been given new
rights which have led to his social and economic empowerment.
Brothers and Sisters,
The first UPA government came to power
in May 2004. Ever since, we have worked with sincerity and honesty to build a
progressive and modern India.
We have envisioned a prosperous India.
An India which has got rid of centuries old burden of poverty, hunger and
disease. Where the light of education has driven away the darkness of ignorance
and superstition.
Where there is social equality and all
citizens enjoy equal economic opportunity. Where no section of the society
faces injustice and exploitation.
We have dreamt of an India where the
youth get employment opportunities that enable them to contribute to the noble
endeavour of nation building.
We have strived for India’s voice to be
heard loud and clear at the international level. We have strived to build a
nation that is looked at with respect and honour by the whole world.
We have taken many measures to realise
these dreams. But the journey is long and
a large distance still remains to be travelled.
Brothers and Sisters,
We have recently issued an Ordinance
towards a Food Security law. The Food Security Bill is now before
Parliament and we hope it will be passed shortly. This law will benefit 75 percent of our rural
population and half of our urban population. Under the law, about 81 crore
Indians would be entitled to receive rice at 3 Rupees per kg, wheat at 2 Rupees
per kg and coarse grains at 1 Rupee per kg. This is the largest effort of its kind
in the whole world.
We have been able to implement this law
only because of the hard work of our farmers. Our food-grain production reached
a record level of 25.9 crore ton in 2011-12.
Without rapid agricultural growth, we
cannot achieve our goal of making our villages prosperous. We have constantly
endeavoured to increase production and to ensure that farmers get remunerative
prices for their produce. In the last 9 years, support prices for various crops
have been enhanced as never before. The support prices for wheat and paddy have
been more than doubled. Many States which faced shortages of food-grains
earlier are now producing more than what they require for themselves.
The average annual rate of agricultural
growth in the 11th Plan was 3.6, which is more than both the 9th
and 10th Plan levels.
We now see clear indications of
enhanced economic prosperity in our rural areas. In the period 2004 to 2011,
rural per-capita consumption has increased four times faster than earlier.
Rural wages have also increased much
faster in this period. MNREGA provides employment to crores of people in rural
areas.
Measuring poverty is a difficult task.
There are diverse views about what constitutes poverty. But whatever definition
we may adopt, it cannot be denied that the pace of reduction in poverty has
increased after 2004.
Many States which had been considered
backward for a long time, with some of them being called Bimaru, are now
progressing rapidly.
We have enacted the Right to Education
Act to provide every child in the country the opportunity for education. Almost
all our children are today being imparted education in Primary schools.
The number of young men and women going
to college has more than doubled in the last 9 years.
We have implemented new schemes for
scholarships on a large scale to enable poor children and those belonging to
the weaker sections to access opportunities for education. Today, the Central
government provides scholarships to more than 2 crore children.
Many new institutions have been opened
in the area of Higher education. For example, 8 new IITs, 7 New IIMs, 16 new
Central universities and 10 new NITs.
New institutions have also been opened to boost scientific research.
Steps have been taken to attract students to the study of science and encourage
Indian scientists working abroad to return to India.
However, much still remains to be done
for reforming our education system. Many
of our schools still lack drinking water facilities, toilets and other
necessary infrastructure. There is a need to improve the quality of education.
To achieve this, it is necessary to lay more emphasis on training of teachers.
About 11 crore children are being
provided afternoon meals every day in schools under the Mid-day Meal Scheme.
This programme is of immense benefit for both education and nutrition of
children. However, it is necessary to improve its implementation. The tragedy
that happened in Bihar some days back should not be repeated anywhere in the
country.
We had launched the National Rural
Health Mission in 2005. The Mission has started showing good results. Both
Maternal Maternity and Infant Mortality rates have come down sharply. A much
larger proportion of children is now born in hospitals. There has also been a
large increase in the proportion of children being inoculated.
No case of polio has been detected in
the country in the last two years. We have been able to eradicate a disease
which used to cause disability to lakhs of people.
The Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana,
which provides free in-patient treatment in hospitals to our poor brothers and
sisters, now covers about 3.5 crore families.
We have implemented the Health Mission
in urban areas also. This will result in both expansion and improvement of
health services in such areas.
For ensuring better safety and security
for women, we have strengthened the law dealing with offences against
women.
There has been good progress in the
last 9 years in the infrastructure sector also, covering areas such as Roads,
Railways, Power, Civil Aviation, Ports and Telecommunications. About 2 lakh km
of new roads have been constructed for connecting villages under the Pradhan
Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojana. More than
37,000 km of new Highways have been built, facilitating travel and trade. More
than 40 airports have been built or upgraded.
In 2004, only 7 percent of the people had telephone connections. Today,
73 percent enjoy this facility. In rural areas, this figure has gone up from 2
to 40. There has been a record addition to our capacity for electricity
generation.
Brothers
and Sisters,
In the recent months, there has been
much discussion on the fact that last year our growth rate came down to 5
percent. This is indeed true and we are trying our best to remedy the
situation. However, it is not only our country that is facing economic
difficulties. The last year has been difficult for the world economy as a
whole. Major European nations are experiencing a slowdown these days. All over
the world, there has been a slump in export markets. All developing countries
have slowed down.
I believe that this phase of slow
growth in India will not last long. In the last 9 years, our economy has grown
at an annual average rate of 7.9 percent. This pace of development is the
highest in any decade so far.
Brothers
and Sisters,
Countries today are more integrated
with each other than ever before. We have endeavoured that our foreign policy
exploits this fully to India’s benefit. In the last 9 years, there has been a
continuous improvement in our relations with the major powers of the world. Our
Look East policy in respect of 10 ASEAN countries in East and South-East Asia
has borne good results, especially in economic matters. We have also strived
for friendship with our neighbouring countries. However, for relations with
Pakistan to improve, it is essential that they prevent the use of their
territory and territory under their control for any anti-India activity.
There has been improvement in the area
of national security also. Despite some worrisome communal incidents in 2012
and this year, the last 9 years have been good for communal harmony. There has
been a reduction in terrorist and Naxal violence also. However, the area of
national security calls for constant vigil. We have not been successful in
preventing Naxal attacks that happen from time to time. The Naxal violence in
Chhatisgarh on 25 May was a frontal attack on our democracy. Recently, there
was a dastardly attack on our Jawans on the Line of Control with Pakistan. We
will take all possible steps to prevent such incidents in the future.
Brothers
and Sisters,
We have taken many important measures
to make the work of the government responsive, transparent and honest. I would
like to mention only two of them here.
Through the RTI Act, the common man now
gets more information than ever before about the work of the government. This
legislation is being used on a large scale at all levels. The Act frequently
brings to light irregularities and corruption and opens the door for
improvements. I am sure that the RTI will lead to further improvements in the
way the government functions.
We have introduced the Lokpal Bill in
Parliament. The Lok Sabha has passed the Bill and it is now before the Rajya
Sabha. This legislation will be a major step towards making our political
system clean.
Brothers
and Sisters,
We have journeyed a large distance in
the last decade. But much remains to be done. The process of change that we
have initiated will be continued in the coming time.
As I have stated earlier also, rapid
economic growth is an imperative for our country. Without it, we cannot
possibly achieve targets such as removal of poverty, provision of good quality
education and health services and creation of new employment opportunities. The
average rate of economic growth that we have attained in the last 9 years shows
what we are capable of. However, economic growth has slowed down at present and
we are working hard to remedy the situation.
We have recently taken many steps to
speed up the process of government clearances for industry, build an
environment more conducive to trade and industry and increase investment in the
economy. A special Cell has been set up to help big projects with clearances.
The Cabinet Committee on Investment is working to remove hindrances in the way
of stalled projects.
Inadequate supply of coal had become a
major problem affecting our efforts for increasing electricity generation. This
has been resolved to a large extent.
We will start work on a number of new
infrastructure projects in the coming months. This includes 2 new ports, 8 new
airports, new industrial corridors and Rail projects.
To boost Foreign Direct Investment, we
have recently enhanced the limit of such investment in many sectors and made
its easier procedurally.
In the coming months, we will see
visible results of these efforts to increase investment. Our growth will
accelerate, new employment opportunities will be generated and there will be
improvements in the infrastructure sector.
Brothers
and Sisters,
After the enactment of the Food
Security legislation, its implementation will be one of our priorities. We have
already started working in this direction in partnership with States.
Computerization of the Public Distribution System will be speeded up.
The Mid-day Meal scheme will be
reformed. The meals being provided to our children should not only be
nutritious but also be cooked hygienically. We will take concrete measures to
ensure this.
In the area of Skill Development, we
could not initially achieve as much progress as we wanted. But now the pace has
picked up. We have established the National Skill Development Authority a few
months back. We will shortly launch a new scheme under which those who have
successfully acquired new skills will be given a grant of about Rupees 10,000. This scheme will benefit about 10 lakh young
men and women in the next 12 months.
The Multi Sectoral Development
Programme for minorities has been reformed recently. We will now implement it
effectively.
A scheme for offering Minimum Support
Prices for minor forest produce has been approved some days back. This will
enable our tribal brothers and sisters to get remunerative prices for the minor
forest produce they collect. We will implement the scheme expeditiously.
A High Level Committee has been
constituted to collect accurate information about the socio-economic,
educational and health status of our tribal population. The report of the
Committee will help us in designing better schemes for their benefit.
We can solve many of the problems that
our country faces by deploying advanced technology. The Aadhaar scheme is a
good example. Under the scheme, by the end of this year, about 50 crore people
will acquire the means of proving their identity and this will bring them
convenience in their daily lives. It will also enable crores of people to avail
of banking facilities for the first time.
Brothers
and Sisters,
There can be no place for narrow and
sectarian ideologies in a modern, progressive and secular country. Such ideologies
divide out society and weaken our democracy. We should prevent them from
growing. We need to strengthen those traditions of our country which teach us
to promote tolerance and respect for thought processes different from ours. I
would appeal to all political parties, all sections of our society and the
public at large to work in this direction.
Brothers
and Sisters,
I had stated a few minutes back that
every decade after independence has witnessed major changes in our country. We
need to think today what changes we would like to see in the decade ahead.
If in the future we can achieve the
same kind of progress as in the last decade, the day is not far off when India
will be rid of poverty, hunger, disease and ignorance. Our India will be
prosperous and all its citizens will be equal partners in this prosperity,
irrespective of their religion, caste, region or language.
We will also need to build an
environment of political stability, social cohesion and security for this to
happen.
Let us all re-dedicate ourselves to
building such an India together.
Dear children, please repeat with me
thrice: Jai Hind, Jai Hind, Jai Hind.
