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.”
***
SC/NK/SH/SKS
(Release ID :98295)
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