Five takeaways from PM Modi's Independence Day speech

In his 11th Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi outlined a series of futuristic goals for a developed nation in 2047 from increasing the number of medical seats by 75,000 in the next five years to inducting one lakh youth in politics. He used the occasion to speak about some of the ideological goals of his government and speak about the violence against women referring to the horrific incident of Kolkata.

Modi uses his Independence Day speech to frame his vision for the government.

Wearing his trademark Rajasthani style turban, which he wears on August 15, Modi gave his longest speech ever.

We look at the five takeaways from his speech.

1. The middle class

PM Modi lauded the countrymen for their hard work. For them, Modi said the government would work for ‘ease of living mission.’ He spoke of enhancing the quality of life in urban areas through systematic assessments and improvements in infrastructure and services. A key message from his speech was to create quality education infrastructure in the country so that students don't have to go out, and instead come here to study, which he termed as the revival of Nalanda Spirit. As a number of paper leaks in medical exams exposed the current situation, he assured that his government would add 75,000 new medical seats in the next 5 years.

The PM also talked about inducting “fresh blood” in politics. Modi gave a call to bring one lakh youth into the political system, specifically those with no history of politics in their families. He said this initiative was aimed at fighting the evils of nepotism and casteism and inducting fresh blood into India's polity.

2. The futuristic goals

Modi laid down a broad outline for Vision 2047. The other futuristic targets that Modi outlined included making India a global leader in semiconductor production. He envisioned transforming India into a global manufacturing hub, leveraging its vast resources and skilled workforce. Modi spoke about indigenous design capabilities and urged to create products that cater to both domestic and international markets, coining the phrase - Design in India, Design for the World. He called upon the industry to make India a leader in the global gaming market. He also batted for making the Indian standards as global benchmarks.

3. Ideological goals

The prime minister spoke at length about his government’s ideological goals like the Uniform Civil Code, 'One Nation, One Poll'. In fact, he coined a new phrase, secular civil code which needs to replace the current communal civil code. Modi’s emphasis on these ideological promises aimed to signal that despite the BJP being short on majority, it will continue with its ideological promises. This was aimed at BJP’s core constituency which may have left wondering if the party would go slow on key promises due to less number of seats.

4. Political message

Modi sent out a message to neighbours that they should not fear India as it was based on the principle of co-existence. Referring to the current situation in Bangladesh, the PM said the neighbour should protect Hindus and other minorities. Modi also reiterated his commitment to fight against the corrupt, which could be seen as a signal to his opponents that he would continue to take them to task for the ‘acts of corruption.’

5. Security of women

The prime minister spoke about the rape and murder of a doctor in Kolkata to talk about women's security. He said the punishment should be exemplary and it should be widely publicised to send out fear among the criminals. Modi’s reference signals that the government may push to make the punishment in the case as an example.