2019 – Posted in: Daily News – Tags: 73rd independence day

HIGHLIGHTS OF INDEPENDENCE DAY SPEECH

For: Preliminary & Mains

Topics covered: Major highlights of Modi’s Independence Speech on 73rd Independence day

Prime Minister of India hoisted the national flag from the Delhi’s Red Fort to celebrate India’s 73rd Independence Day.

100 trillion investment in infrastructure

The government of India would invest 100 trillion in developing modern infrastructure to help nearly double the size of the Indian economy to $5 trillion in five years’ time.
The government would invest Rs 100 trillion in building modern ports, highways, railways, airports, hospitals and educational institutions.

Rs 3.5-trillion in Jal Jeevan Mission

The government would launch a Jal Jeevan Mission to bring piped water to households and resolved to spend more than Rs 3.5 trillion in the coming years.

Creation of Chief of Defence Staff

PM announced the creation of a chief of defence staff (CDS) as head of the tri-services.
CDS would ensure synergy among the three services and provide effective leadership to them.

One nation one constitution

Referring to the scrapping of a special status accorded to Jammu & Kashmir, he said India now was ‘one nation with one Constitution’.
The government had taken key decisions like bringing a new law to ban the practice of instant triple talaq and scrapping provisions of Article 370.
The introduction of GST had given life to the dream of ‘one nation, one tax’.
India had also achieved ‘one nation, one power grid’ in the energy sector.
The arrangements had been made for ‘one nation, one mobility card’.
India is planning about one nation, one election.

Aspirational India

People’s thinking has changed.
Earlier, people were happy with merely a plan to set up a railway station.
Now people ask – when will Vande Bharat Express come to my area.
People do not want only good railway stations or bus stations, they ask when is a good airport coming.

Improve India’s tourism sector

There is a huge scope to improve our tourism sector.
The time had come to boost exports and that each district of India had much to offer.
Let us make local products attractive. May export hubs emerge in each district of India.
Our guiding principle is ‘Zero Defect, Zero Effect’.

Pitch for simultaneous elections

PM also made a fresh pitch for holding Lok Sabha and Assembly polls together, saying the concept of ‘one nation, one election’ was imperative to make the country great.

Concern over ‘population explosion’

The PM expressed concern over “population explosion” in the country.
It posed new challenges for the coming generations.
He asserted that the central and state governments should launch measures to deal with the issue.

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