Click to play videoWhat PM said:
- Nine pc growth is India's biggest challenge, target
- Previous UPA government provided 100 days work in NREGA
- Will remove slums from cities under Rajiv Awas Yojana
- Road and transport Ministry has a goal of building 20 km roads everyday, will achieve it
- Women Reservation Bill be passed in Parliament soon
- There is no place for separatist in J-K , elections prove it
- Protecting minorities high on agenda, resources are being increased and Bill has been introduced in Parliament to stop violence against minorities
New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh addressed the nation on the 62nd Independence Day from the ramparts of the Red Fort in Delhi on an overcast Saturday morning.
A sagging economy, severe drought conditions and the H1N1 pandemic remained the dominant issues.
However, Manmohan – who was delivering his fifth I-Day speech as Prime Minister – offered hope by the way of introducing a pill for the economy and a slew of welfare schemes for the farmer community.
He insisted the Indian economy will bounce back by the end of 2009. “Our economic growth was good till 2007 but in 2008, the growth came down due to recession. But we are better then other countries and this is due to our polices. We will do everything to get growth rate back to nine per cent,” he said. He also expressed hope that India will be able to tide over the severe drought plaguing many states.
GROWTH STORY WILL BE BACK
According to Manmohan Singh, it was because of his Government's policies that the country was able to grow at 6.7 percent in the last fiscal when the world was facing one of the worst downturns in eight decades.
He said steps will be taken to ensure adequate spending on development projects to boost growth further and capital will be sought not only from domestic sources but from overseas as well.
"India can progress only when each Indian makes a contribution. Our endeavour has been to reach the fruits of development to every citizen. I know we have a long way to go."
LET'S FIGHT THE FLU
The PM also urged the nation to not panic over the outbreak of swine flu and assured that India was well equipped to deal with the global pandemic.
At least 23 people have been killed in parts of India, a large number of them in Pune, since the disease began claiming lives early this month.
Nearly 1,400 confirmed cases of H1N1 virus have been reported, of which 648 patients have been discharged from hospitals after treatment.
ROOT OUT TERROR
Terrorism too found a prominent mention in the speech and the PM said the Government was taking all steps to step up intelligence. “There is no place for violence in our nation – terrorism is big threat. Our Government has taken several steps and our intelligence agencies are being improved to tackle terrorism,” he said.
However, Manmohan made no reference to Pakistan by name in his Independence Day speech -- a rarity on this annual occasion.
"We want peace with our neighbours. We want to create an environment that will benefit the entire South Asia," the prime minister said in his annual independence day speech from the Red Fort. He made no specific reference to Pakistan.
He said the country needed a foreign policy that should "work for India's interests in a changing world. We have succeeded (in having such a policy) to a great extent," he said.
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