Uniform Civil Code To Green Energy: Key Takeaways From PM Modi's 11th Independence Day Speech

Reforms in various walks of life and roadmap for a 'Viksit Bharat' dominated Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 11th Independence Day speech from the ramparts of Red Fort on Wednesday.

Various reforms across sectors are needed to realise the goal of making India a developed nation by 2047, and suggestions for the same by the people of the country are being taken into consideration, Modi said. His speech also focussed on the need of inclusion of backward classes in the development of our country.

At the start of the speech he expressed his condolences and solidarity to people who have been affected by the recent natural disasters. He also called for peace to prevail in Bangladesh, which has recently seen a turbulent regime change.

Here are the significant issues Modi addressed in his speech today:

"The Supreme Court has called for Uniform Civil Code time and again. The one we have now is a communal civil code. As we near the 75th anniversary of Indian Constitution, it is high time we enact a secular civil code," says PM Narendra Modi. He said that he believes that discussion should happen on this matter and the laws that differentiate on the basis of religion and class should not be a part of the modern society.

Modi said that as a society we have to seriously think about the atrocities against women, and the crimes against women should be investigated promptly and perpetrators punished. He also noted that the news of the punishment should be publicised more so that people are afraid of doing such crimes.

In his Independence Day speech, Modi said that women have not just been the participants but have led the development in various sectors. He said the government has made 10 crore 'sisters' financially independent by joining self help groups and 1 crore have become Lakhpati Didis.

Modi said that frequent polls were creating hurdles in the nation's progress and urged all political parties to come together for achieving the goal of 'one nation, one election'. He said that linking any developmental scheme with elections has become a practice today.

Modi said that in the next five years 75,000 new seats for medical students will be created to endure that they don't spend 'lakhs and crores' to study abroad. "We have increased medical seats to 1 lakh over the past 10 years," he added.

He also said that New Education Policy has helped cultivate a world-class educational institutions in India, so that not only Indians don't have to migrate to study, but people from around the world come to India for education.

India is the only nation to accomplish the targets of Paris Accord ahead of other G20 nations, according to Modi. He said that the country will achieve its target of 500 GW renewable energy by 2030 while also moving with a net zero target for railways. Modi also wants the country to become a global hub for green hydrogen. Due to this, "The importance of green jobs will increase, we are focused to provide opportunities to youth," he said.

By 2047, Modi wants to take the produce of Indian farmers to "every dining table" of the globe. He said that that as the world transitions to organic farming, India should use this opportunity to become the "organic hub". He also noted the need to make the life of farmers easy by providing them with internet, employment, smartphones, as well as skills.

While noting that it is already exporting mobile phones to the whole world, Modi said that the country will provide end-to-end technological solution in technology.

He pointed out that various opportunities in the gaming market and urged the youth, IT and AI professionals of the country to lead the world in game development.

Despite the size of budget allocated towards defence related expenses, a substantial part used to be spent on imports of defence related equipment, Modi said. In the mission towards self-reliance, India has now increased its focus towards becoming a defence manufacturing hub which exports equipment as a turnaround from the earlier state, he said.

The Modi government has gotten rid of various laws that were intervening, the prime minister said. He said that there will be less intervention of the government in the Viksit Bharat to promote ease of living.

"I urge leaders from all parties to help in working towards ease of living for the people," he said.

He also said that the states need to make policy changes as per global needs to retain the foreign investors.

"Tensions in Bangladesh have caused concerns in India as well. I hope normalcy returns to the neighbouring nation soon," Modi said adding that India will also be a partner in Bangladesh's development.