PM's Independence Day Speech, 2008
My dear countrymen, brothers, sisters and my dear children
Greetings to all of you on this happy occasion of our Independence Day. This isa sacred day for every Indian. Today we remember the sacrifice of those whounder the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi fought for our freedom from foreign rule.Today we remember the hard work and dedication of all those who have toiled tobuild a free and modern India. And we re-dedicate ourselves to that cause. Weremember our farmers, our workers and our teachers. We remember our soldiers -who defend our borders in snowy mountains, in deserts, in jungles, on the shoresand in the oceans.
Brothers and Sisters,
Four years ago, on this day, I stood here before you and spoke to you about ourGovernment's new vision for a new India. I said to you that it is our desire tobuild an India that is just and humane; an India that treats all its citizens asequals; an India that is prosperous; an India that lives in peace; an India inwhich everyone can find work suited to his or her talent and can work for his orher brighter future. An India that is secular, that is fair and just to all itspeople. An India united in its diversity. It has been our sincere endeavour towork for the building of such an India.
Brothers and Sisters,
Four years ago I stood here and said to you that I have no promises to make, butI have promises to keep. The implementation of the National
Common Minimum Programme, was our promise to keep;
To give a "new deal to rural India", was our promise to keep;
To make our economy and society inclusive was our promise to keep;
To take India to its rightful place in the comity of nations, was our promise tokeep;
It has been the sincere endeavour of our Government to keep each of thesepromises. We have given a new deal to rural India. Through the Rashtriya KrishiVikas Yojana we are investing Rs. 25000 crore in agriculture; To provide reliefto our debt distressed farmers we have waived loans taken from the banksamounting to about Rs. 71000 crore; In the past four years we have increasedbank credit for agricultural sector from Rs 81000 crore to Rs 225000 crore, andhave reduced the
interest rates for farm loans; In order to improve the economic conditions offarmers we have steeply increased the procurement prices for food grains; 50%for wheat and 30% for paddy; The National Food Security Mission has been set upto enhance production of rice, wheat and pulses; Irrigation, watersheddevelopment, rain fed areas development, and flood management have received ourspecial attention; Our effort at increasing investment in rural areas andreducing the debt burden of farmers has turned our agricultural economy around.
After almost a decade of stagnation especially from 1998 to 2004, investment inagriculture is increasing and there has been a revival in this area. We have hadrecord production of foodgrains, cotton and sugar in 2007-08. Our farms are onceagain green. Our godowns are once again filling up. Our farmers are once againhopeful about their future and their welfare.
Brothers and Sisters,
I spent the first ten years of my life in a village that had no electricity, nodrinking water supply, no doctor, no roads and no
phones. I had to walk many miles to a school. I had to study at night in the dimlight of a kerosene lamp. After independence there has been considerabledevelopment in rural areas, yet many of our citizens still live a life that Ilived in my childhood.
That is why when our Government took over, we launched Bharat Nirman, to buildrural infrastructure. Our Government is committed to transforming rural India.In these four years we have taken important initiatives. I am confident that anew and prosperous India will be built due to our efforts.
My dear Countrymen,
Four years ago I spoke to you about our "Seven Sutras" – the sevenpriorities for our Government – agriculture, water, education, health care,employment, urban renewal and infrastructure.
In each area we have taken important initiatives. I have already spoken aboutour initiatives for agricultural development and farmer's welfare.
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The second important area of development has been infrastructure development.There is a new dynamism in our railways. New roads are being built. New seaportsand airports are being developed. More and more of our people now live in ourcities. The Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Mission has been funding urbandevelopment and modernization of our cities. The National Rural Health Missionhas been expanding public health facilities and services in rural areas.
As someone who started his professional life as a teacher, I feel proud to saythat our Government has been giving special attention to the development ofeducation in our country. There is a massive increase in public investment ineducation at all levels. In elementary education, in secondary education and inhigher education.
We have strengthened Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and expanded the mid-day mealprogramme upto upper primary level in all districts of the country. About 14crore children are being provided mid-day meals under this scheme. We areestablishing 6000 new high quality model schools, with at least one school ineach block. 373 new colleges are being opened in backward districts. We areopening 30 new universities, 8 new IITs, 7 new IIMs, 20 new IIITs, 5 new IndianInstitutes of Science, 2 Schools of Planning and Architecture, 10 NITs, and a1000 new polytechnics.
I have called the 11th Five Year Plan our "National Education Plan".We want every section of our society to get access to education. Every childbelonging to a family of SC, ST, OBC and all Minorities, every single child, boyor girl, must have access to modern education. Our Government is implementingseveral new scholarship schemes for the educational development of our children.Schemes for pre-matric and post-matric scholarships for children hailing fromSC, ST, OBC and
Minority families are being implemented. Special scholarships for meritoriousstudents from SC, ST, OBC and Minority families have also been launched.Scholarships for overseas studies are being given to SC and ST students.National merit-cum-means scholarships for children hailing from economicallyweakers sections and children with disabilities have also been approved.
We have established a new Skill Development Mission which will work under thesupervision of the Prime Minister. A Skill Development Corporation will becreated by the Government with the active participation of the private sector togive special training to our young men and women, our workers and ourtechnicians.
I am happy to say that we are sincerely implementing most of the recommendationsof the Justice Sachar Committee Report on social, economic and educationalempowerment of our Muslim community.
India will be transformed only when every Indian is literate, well fed, healthyand can secure gainful employment. I want to see a modern India, imbued by ascientific temper, where the benefits of modern knowledge flow to all sectionsof society. This year we hope to send an Indian space craft, Chandrayan, to themoon. It will be an important milestone in the development of our spaceprogramme.
Brothers and Sisters,
Providing employment has been a special priority for us. Our policies foragriculture, for industry, for infrastructure development and for skilldevelopment, will all promote employment. Our beloved former Prime MinisterShrimati Indira Gandhi had said, "Garibi Hatao". Our leader ShrimatiSonia Gandhi has given us the slogan, "Rozgar Badhao". Our Governmentis making special efforts to create "rozgar" to fight "garibi".
The National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme is a historic initiative ofour Government. Today the entire country is covered by this programme. The NREGAis providing minimum livelihood support to the crores of neediest among us. Itis aimed to soften the sharp edges of poverty. To create more employment we needmore investment in agriculture, in manufacturing and in infrastructure. We needa new wave of industrialization to generate more employment. If industrial
development has any adverse impact on some of our rural folk, we will ensurethat there is reasonable compensation and proper rehabilitation. A newRehabilitation and Resettlement Policy has been formulated and we will seekParliament's approval for it.
We have introduced a bill in Parliament to provide social security to theworkers of the unorganized sector. Our Government has launched the Aam AadmiBeema Yojana, under which one member of each landless family in rural areas willbe insured. We have also started a programme to provide health insurance toBelow Poverty Line families of workers in the unorganized sector. Citizens above65 years of age, living below the poverty line are being covered under theIndira Gandhi Pension
Scheme.
My dear countrymen,
In the past four years we have seen a sharp increase in the rate of investment.This has contributed to an increase in the rate of growth of the economy. Forthe first time in history, we have had four years of nearly 9.0% economicgrowth. India is among the world's fastest growing economies.
But there are new challenges that we face. We have the challenge of inflation. Iknow how much each one of you is concerned about the recent rise in prices. Theinflation we have seen this year is basically due to external factors. All overthe world and in global markets the price of food, fuel and other commoditieshas been rising. In many developing countries the rate of inflation is doublethat in India. Our Government has worked hard to ensure that in India the rateof inflation is not as high as in many other countries. We have also takenspecial measures to insulate the poorer sections of our society from the fullimpact of rising food and fuel prices. Our Government has not raised the priceof kerosene and fertilizers. We have not raised the issue price of wheat andrice under PDS.
We are taking determined measures to bring prices under reasonable control. Ihave urged all Chief Ministers to improve and strengthen the PDS to ensureavailability of essential commodities to the common man at reasonable prices.The Reserve Bank of India is moderating the growth of money supply in thecountry so that inflation can be controlled. However, while making these effortswe should avoid doing anything which hurts our growth.
Brothers and Sisters,
Today, while speaking about the achievements of our Government, I wish to makeone more promise. We have done much, but I realize that there is more to do. Theproblem of malnutrition is a curse that we must remove. Our efforts to provideevery child with access to education and to improve health care services for allcitizens will continue. We need to take forward our initiatives for giving equalstatus to women and for their social and economic empowerment. I promise to youthat we will continue striving for the development and prosperity of ourcountry. We will work hard to take the country to greater heights in all fields.
Brothers and Sisters,
We must apply modern science and technology to find long term solutions to ourenergy problem. Our crude oil and gas reserves are limited. We must findalternative energy sources. I would like our scientists and engineers to findways in which we can make better use of solar energy, wind energy, bio-gas andother sources of energy.
Our economy must grow at the rate of at least ten per cent every year to get ridof poverty and generate employment for all. A basic requirement for sustainedgrowth, and for the development of our agriculture and industry is availabilityof energy, particularly electricity. All over the world, there is growingrealization of the importance of atomic energy to meet the challenge of energysecurity and climate change. It is a clean, environmental friendly and renewablesource of energy.
India's atomic scientists and technologists are world class. They have developednuclear energy capacities despite heavy odds. But there are handicaps which haveadversely affected our atomic energy programme. We have inadequate production ofuranium. The quality of our uranium resources is not comparable to those ofother producers. Many countries have imposed sanctions on trade with India innuclear materials, nuclear equipment and nuclear technology. As a result, ournuclear energy programme has suffered.
The nuclear agreement that we are negotiating with developed countries will endIndia's nuclear isolation. It will open up new opportunities for trade indual-use high technologies and nuclear materials and equipment, opening up newpathways to accelerate industrialization of our country. It will enable us toprovide electricity to meet the needs of our farmers, our artisans, our tradersand our industry.
Brothers and Sisters,
Four years ago I said to you that an important challenge we face is thechallenge of providing good governance. We have taken several steps to makeGovernment transparent, efficient and responsive. The Right to Information Actwas one major step. We have initiated reform and modernization of Government.The National e-Governance Plan will make it easier for all our citizens to dealwith the various agencies of Government.
We have completed the examination of the report of the Sixth Pay Commission. Wehave gone beyond the recommendations of the Commission in increasing emolumentsof government employees. While doing this we have taken special care of theinterests and welfare of our armed forces and para-military forces, andgovernment employees working at lower levels in our civil services. This is onemore step in making Government more efficient.
We need more reforms at all levels of Government. We want to improve ourschools, our hospitals and other public services. The Panchayati RajInstitutions have an important role to play in decentralization and reform ofGovernment. We must enhance their administrative and financial powers. I appealto State Governments to take all possible steps for improving governance and tohelp in the Central Government's initiatives.
My dear Countrymen,
Terrorism, extremism, communalism and fundamentalism have emerged as majorchallenges to the unity and integrity of our country. The recent terroristattacks in Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Jaipur and other parts of the country haveshocked the nation. What words can I find to condemn such acts of barbarism. Ishare the sorrow and grief of people affected by terrorism. The Government ofIndia will take concrete steps to rehabilitate and help such families.
I commend our security forces and intelligence agencies for the dedication withwhich they are dealing with the problem under
difficult circumstances. But I agree that we have to further strengthen ourintelligence agencies and police forces to deal with
the problem of terrorism.
We will examine the functioning of our intelligence agencies and police andsecurity forces and take all possible steps to equip them to tackle thischallenge. Whatever resources are required, will be provided. Whatever manpoweris required will be provided. We are firm in our resolve to meet the challengeof terrorism. I urge the State Governments, all political parties, civil societygroups and social and religious leaders to cooperate with us in rooting outterrorism from our country.
Brothers and Sisters,
I am confident that we will overcome these challenges. But this requires hardwork and unity of purpose. This requires a politics of consensus, notconfrontation. This requires dialogue among communities, not discord. Thechallenge of communalism, of extremism and of terrorism cannot be won by anation divided. The challenge of environmental and ecological destruction cannotbe won by a society divided.
The challenge of economic modernization and social development of all, ofScheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, of Other Backward Classes and Minorities,cannot be won by a people divided.
Brothers and Sisters,
I have said on a number of occasions that I am greatly concerned about theproblem of regional imbalances in development. Some parts of our country aredoing much better than others. Some States are being left behind. This patternhas persisted for far too long. We must ensure that the less developed Statescatch up with the developed ones.
We must pay special attention to the development of the North-Eastern region.Our Government has taken several initiatives to increase public investment inthe North-East and in Jammu & Kashmir. We are investing in infrastructureand in education in these regions to encourage development and generateemployment.
Jammu & Kashmir and the North-eastern region require an era of peace forthem to catch up with the more developed parts of the country. We have beentaking various initiatives to promote peace and stability in these States. Theseinitiatives will be taken forward.
The recent incidents in the State of Jammu and Kashmir are a cause for concern.In this hour of crisis, divisive politics will lead us nowhere. I appeal to allpolitical parties to keep the long term interests of Jammu and Kashmir in viewand come together to find a permanent solution to the problems of the State.
The sacred shrine of Shri Amar Nath inspires all Indians to march together. Thisshrine is a shining example of our secular tradition, where Hindu pilgrims havebeen looked after for years by their Muslim brothers. Issues related to thissacred place, especially the issue of providing the best possible facilities topilgrims, can only be resolved in an atmosphere of peace and goodwill. Dividingpeople in the name of religion can complicate these issues further which canalso pose a threat to the unity and integrity of the country. I appeal to thepeople of Jammu and Kashmir to cooperate with us in establishing peace in theState. It is my conviction that all issues can be resolved only through dialogueand peaceful means.
Brothers and Sisters,
Our ancient Himalayas are under environmental threat. If the Himalayan glaciersrecede, the flow of water in our sacred rivers will go down. Climate change candisrupt our economy in several ways. Some of our coastal areas could besubmerged. Our monsoon pattern may change. We need long term solutions to suchthreats.
