As we step into the seventy-fifth year of our independence, it is worthwhile taking a look at where we started.
For the past years, we have annually celebrated our Independence day. Every year on 15 August Independence Day is celebrated as a National Holiday commemorating India’s freedom from British rule in 1947.
After independence, India became the world’s largest democracy after the UK Parliament passed the Indian Independence Act, 1947, transferring legislative sovereignty to the Indian Constituent Assembly.
Independence Day also marks the anniversary of undivided India’s partition into India and Pakistan.
On the eve of India’s independence, Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Prime minister, had said in his ‘Tryst with destiny’ speech: “At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom.”
After all those years of celebrating Independence day, we have come a long way. In this report on New India Vision, we are going to acknowledge the major key points of those speeches affirmed by PM Narendra Modi at the Red fort situated in the national capital of our beloved country India.
Here we are going to include all the major key points and how the existing government has been standing on their words.
First Term: May 1996
Political energy and expansion made BJP the single-largest political party in the Lok Sabha election in 1996. Asked to form the government, AB Vajpayee was sworn in as Prime Minister, but the BJP failed to gather enough support from other parties to form a majority.
Second Term: 1998-1999
After the fall of two governments by the third front between 1996 and 1998, the Parliament was dissolved and fresh elections were held. These elections again put the BJP at the head.
The government lost the ensuing vote of confidence motion by a single vote. As the Opposition was unable to come up with the numbers to form the new government, the country returned to elections with Vajpayee remaining the “care-taker Prime Minister”.
Third Term: 1999-2004
On October 13, 1999, Atal Bihari Vajpayee took oath as Prime Minister of India for the third time. The BJP-led NDA had won 303 seats in the 543-seat Lok Sabha in the aftermath of Kargil operations, thereby securing a comfortable, stable majority. The coalition government that was formed lasted its full term of 5 years – the only non-Congress government to do so.
2002 – PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s Independence speech on 15 August
“Terrorism is the Villain of Humanity”
AB Vajpayee while addressing Indian citizens on the occasion of independence day, Each year on this day, we gather at the Red Fort and unfurl our beloved Tricolor. The Tricolor is a symbol of our freedom, our self-respect, and sacrifices and martyrdom.
He greeted all the Jawans of the three Armed Forces and the security personnel. ‘We gratefully remember those brave soldiers who laid down their lives while guarding our frontiers or in the battle against terrorism.
He facilitated our hardworking farmers and industrious workers. Facilitation to all those people who are living in foreign countries and still serving the nation and they have done a remarkable job in raising India’s stature in the world.
He talked over the issue of the terrorist attack on 13 December 2002. He remarked his words as ‘Terrorism is the Villain of Humanity’
He also addressed the people with the vision of national security. He stated, “National security is supreme to us. India cannot be dependent on others for her security. Therefore, the first act of my Government five years ago was to make India, for her self-defense, a nuclear weapons state.
The major issues of that time were the Jammu-Kashmir Border dispute, poverty challenges, water shortage, and Drought and flood issues. At that time the progress that India had made in those years gave new hope and confidence. India, which was used to borrowing from abroad, has started lending to others.
An India that was perennially troubled by a paucity of foreign exchange, has today accumulated nearly US $ 100 billion of foreign exchange reserves at that time under the leadership of PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Major Scheme Under the PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s Government
Some major schemes were started and implemented across the nation to liberate the country from the curse of poverty and unemployment.
Antyodaya Anna Yojana
Antyodaya Anna Yojana is one of them; this scheme was initiated by the department of Food and Public Distribution in 2000.
It is the largest Food Security Program to be in existence. The key objective of the scheme is to ensure food security and to create a hunger-free India.
Under this scheme of 1.5 crores, the poorest families in the country are being provided 35kilos of food grains, each month at the rate of Rs 2 kilo – wheat and Rs 3 kilo of rice.
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is a Jewel for the achievement of the Universalization of Elementary Education (UEE) programme initiated by the Government of India, as mandated by the 86th amendment to the Constitution of India making free and compulsory Education for the Children of 6-14 years age group, a Fundamental Right.
‘No Child especially the girl child will be deprived by Primary education words by A.B.Vajpayee on 15 August
Mid-day Meal Scheme
The National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education (NP-NSPE) which is popularly known as the Mid-day Meal Scheme was launched by the Government of India in 1995.
Findings and Achievements
The Cooked Mid-Day Meal Program has been successful in addressing ‘classroom hunger’ in the beneficiary schools. This scheme helps overcome “classroom hunger” as many children come to school on empty stomach or, those coming from distant places, again feel hungry on reaching school, and thus cannot concentrate on their studies.
National Council of Educational Research & Training’s latest report states that Learning Achievement of Students at the End of Class-V has inferred that children covered under mid-day meal have higher achievement levels than those who were not covered under it.
The Scheme has created various good habits in children, such as washing one’s hands before and after eating, use of clean water, good hygiene etc.
Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana
The Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) was announced in 2003 with the objectives of correcting regional imbalances in the availability of affordable/ reliable tertiary healthcare services and also to augment facilities for quality medical education in the country.
Last 5 years Achievements of PMSSY
Six functional AIIMS (AIIMS-Patna, AIIMS-Rishikesh, AIIMS-Jodhpur, AIIMS-Bhopal, AIIMS-Bhubaneswar and AIIMS-Raipur) the derailed construction work is put back on track.
New AIIMS under Phase-II, IV, V, VI, VII: 14 new AIIMS sanctioned/approved since May 2014, Up-gradation of existing General Medical Council-Construction of Super Specialty Block & 17 new projects approved for up-gradation.
Under Phase-IV, V(A) & V(B) civil work has been awarded for 13 GMCs up-gradation projects. More than 4000 super–specialty beds were added to GMC’s up-gradation projects. Centers in 23 out of 58 GMC GMC-approved cuts completed.
One of the major proposals introduced by the PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee to reserve 33% of seats for women in Parliament and State legislations as a means of women empowerment despite all the hardships, and braving all the challenges in these 75 years, India is standing in the world with her head held high.
Today the nation is at such a turning point from where it can take a big leap forward. There is a strive to achieve the new India vision of making India a Developed Nation in the forthcoming years.
PM Narendra Modi’s New India Vision (2014-2022)
Completing the 75 years of Independence we are going to talk about PM Narendra Modi’s New India Vision. Since 2014-19 the major issues and topic topics PM Modi has discussed in his speeches on 15 August.
‘The Path of Violence has not yielded anything to us’
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation from the rampart of Red fort on the 68th independence day. The main key issues disc sed by PM with the large public on Women’s Women across the country, he addressed the parents to impose as many restrictions on our sons as you do with our daughters.
The PM also took his stand on misguided sons who were bent on killing innocent people. He stated ‘ The Path of Violence has not yielded anything to us.’
Giving the example of Nepal, PM said the land of Buddha, can give a message to the world then why can’t India too do the same?
He said it’s the call of the hour that we renounce the path of violence and take the path of brotherhood.
PM Narendra Modi has always been concerned about the prevailing Communal tension for ages in our country, from the top of Lal Quila he appealed to all those people whether it is the poison of casteism, communalism, regionalism, discrimination & economic bases, are obstacles in our way forward. We shall come together to resolve for once in our hearts, we shall march ahead to a society which will be free from all such tensions.
We have come so far in all these days as an independent country, India has created a history in sports and won various gold medals. Addressing the Common Wealth games PM Narendra Modi facilitated the girl’s participation and contribution to India’s fame and glory.
PM Modi said India needs to take a holistic approach to Public-Private partnerships, Skilled India, and Clean India as such Campaigns.
‘Startup India and Stand Up India’
PM Narendra Modi emphasized that in the termite of corruption, Government’s initiatives have eliminated corruption in various sectors. He also emphasizes farmers’ welfare, raising agricultural productivity.
While addressing the nation on the 69th Independence Day, Prime Minister, Narendra Modi announced a new campaign “Startup India, Standup India” to promote bank financing for startups and offer incentives to boost entrepreneurship and job creation in the country.
He also announced that this initiative will encourage entrepreneurship among the youth of India. Each of the 1.25 lakh Bank Branches should encourage at least one Dalit or Tribal entrepreneur and at least one women entrepreneur.
Let’s read out some fact-based on the ‘Startup India and Stand Up India’, whether we have progressed in this field or not.
‘India among Top 5 largest startup communities of the world’
“India ranks third globally with more than 4200 startups according to National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) Startup Ecosystem Report2015 and moved up by one position to become the third fastest growing base of startups worldwide with the number of startups crossing 4,200 by the end of 2015, registering a growth of 40% year-over-year.
With 4200-4400 startups, India is marginally trailing behind the UK which has over 4800-5000 technology-driven startups. The US, however, leads the pack with roughly 47,000 technology-driven startups.”
The country has been declared as the 3rd top country hosting unicorn companies for the year 2021. India displaced the UK from the 3rd position in 2021.
And now day by day more companies are turning out to be unicorns. Fourteen Indian companies turned unicorns between January and June 1, 2022.
‘India’s strength lies in the simplicity of Indians and their unity’
PM Narendra Modi announced, There is no place for casteism and communalism. These have to be defeated through development. All our programmes should be helpful for the poor; we have to empower them through financial inclusion.
However, it is important to note here whether we have come to achieve this goal in our country.
In recent years between 2014-2020, we have seen a rise in communal riots in India. Communal violence during a Ram Navami procession in Khargone triggered arson and stone-pelting.
Cases of Communal violence doubled in the year 2020 as compared to the previous year. As per the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), India reported 857 cases of Communal violence. 180 people have died due to communal riots in India, one-third of those deaths in 2020 alone.
‘Ek Bharat, Shreshta Bharat’
Speaking for over 90 minutes, PM Narendra Modi in his 7oth year of independence touched upon the achievements of his government over the last two years.
PM Narendra Modi talked about the achievement of technological advancement in the country. The ‘Digital India campaign’ has raised the task of online registration, and an online appointments in various sectors such ashospitalsital- medical records, rail- ticket booking, online refund policy etc.
Addressing the Great leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s thoughts on Rural roads in our country, PM Modi gave priority to promoting rural road construction.
The government has successfully increased the rural road construction by 100 km a day which was earlier 70-75 km per day.
The rising global warming and climate change issues across the world have been a matter of concern for every country. Taking this issue into consideration PM Modi emphasized power, particularly the use of renewable resources.
‘Aadhar Card Har Vyakti Ki Pehchan’
To foster Direct benefit by linking Aadhar cards with government schemes has made things accessible to the general public.
Schemes like Jhan Dhan Yojana provide banking service to every household in the country, linking 21 crore families, and 21 citizens with Jan Dhan Yojana, a seemingly impossible task have been done.
Another Scheme Beti Bachaao, Beti Padao has been the landmark Scheme initiated by the govt to empower girls’ education.
PM Modi asserted that under the Mudra yojana- more than 3.5 crore families have been taken benefited from this scheme. About 80% of the people were the first timer to reach the doors of the bank belonging to SC/ST & OBC
PM Modi also talked about the problem of open defecation and constructing toilets in villages and incentivise them for making open defecation free.
For the development of Farmer, the Modi govt launched Mandi-e-Nam, a Network of its Kind to increase the income source of farmers.
Paying tribute to great people who laid down their lives during India’s freedom struggle. PM Modi addressed the contribution of our tribals living in the forest as incomparable. They lived in jungles. We may have heard about Birsa Munda but there are hardly any tribal districts which did not make sacrifices from 1857 till we got freedom.
The Modi government is pursuing big goals to mark the 75th anniversary of its independence in 2022. The government has prepared a vision document through which it aims to make a New India by 2022 by eradicating poverty and corruption. It plans to achieve this goal through inclusive and sustainable development.
PM Narendra Modi making the record of Atal Bihari Vajpayee is more about a comprehensive outlook for the nation going up after 2024 at least. He talked about the $ 5 trillion economy and that requires a lot of doing in areas and spending intensively on infrastructure.
He talked about ensuring all rural households in the country have portable water supply by 2024, for which another 3 and a half lakh crore is required. Several lofty goals or Himalayan goal like he said because he elucidate 2014 to 2019 it was about the requirements of the nation and from now onwards 2024 it is and going to be about aspiration he linked it with the abolition of Article 370 as well, so it is quite a lot to encapsulate the Prime Minister words into Paragraph.
Walking in the footsteps of Mahatma Gandhi Ji, PM Narendra Modi started a cleanliness drive all across the country, ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’.
‘Population Explosion a Conundrum’
Rapidly increasing India’s population is expected to grow by 25%, from 2011 to 1.52 billion by 2036, according to the final report of the technical group on population projections dated July 2020. The group was constituted by the National Commission on Population (NCP) under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare with the mandate to provide population projections for the period 2011 to 2036.
Addressing the rapid explosion of population, PM Modi articulated a polite approach to make the general public understand the concept and issues related to the growing population rate and birth control. PM Modi stated that going towards a small family is similar to serving in the Army, he said it is another way of contributing to the country’s development and growth.
‘Single-Use Plastic – Venom to Environment’
As PM Narendra Modi has said on the 73rd independence day to ban single-use plastic all over the country, and finally this year on July 1st, 2022 this Major decision came into action the union government of India banned single-use plastic.
A 2021 report by one of the Australian philanthropic organizations the Minderoo Foundation said single-use plastics account for a third of all plastic produced globally, with 98% manufactured from fossil fuels. Single-use plastic also accounts for the majority of plastic discarded – 130 million metric tonnes globally in 2019 — “all of which is burned, buried in landfills or discarded directly into the environment”, the report said. The reduction in single-use plastic would lead us to a healthy environment.
Addressing the nation with the importance of Nutrition value and proper management of food security across the country. To sustain a developed economy, India must need its Young youth generation, and the young ones can only be protected and nurtured by providing nutritional incentives to the women and children.
The lack of nutrition leads to malnutrition, and other hazardous diseases such as hypertension, obesity, anaemia, being underweight, lack of mental skills etc.
1000 days of nutritional value must be provided to mothers and children. Some of the various initiatives taken by the government in this area are – Separate breastfeeding space for working women, Poshan Abhiyan, Mid-day meal, Food Security Act, Aaganvadi, Matravandana yojana, Rice fortification, and Public distribution system (PDS).
Talking About women and girls, PM Narendra Modi said the role of women in leading the society at the top is huge, women are now more independent, educated and empowered and we must provide them with all the opportunities.
Another aspect and most important aspect of the New vision of India is the development and modernization of infrastructure. The more we will have the better infrastructure the more we will bring change to our country’s socio-economic development.
Make in India (Aatma Nirbhar Bharat), Vocal for Local, Digital India-like mission has made our life more feasible and the way we the people of India are moving forward to become self-reliant in every field whether it is Education, Health, Economy etc.
Celebrating the 75 years of Independence ‘ Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ to build a ‘New India Vision’, comemorating all the great leaders and paying deepest homage to all freedom fighters of India, we must pledge to bring a new change with a new vision in the development of nation.