India must commit itself to a 25-year timeline for progress, change: Modi

Time has come for India to take up new development journey, says Prime Minister in Independence Day speech.

India must commit itself to a 25-year deadline for progress and change, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday as he outlined his government’s plans in a speech at Delhi’s Red Fort to mark Independence Day.

"A time comes in the development journey of every country when that nation defines itself from a new end, when it takes itself forward with new resolutions. Today, that time has come in India's development journey," he said.

Modi spoke about "Amrit Kaal", an event 25 years away according to traditional Hindu calendar, saying India must not wait for development until then. "We must start the change now to build a new India to celebrate the 100 years of Independence."

“Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayaas' is very important for the achievement of all our goals," he said, calling for cooperation for in inclusive development of the country.

Modi began his speech by honouring India’s freedom fighters, Covid-19 frontline workers and India’s contingent at the Tokyo Olympics.

It is Modi’s eighth such speech as Prime Minister since 2014: last year he announced the launch of the National Digital Health Mission to give all Indians a unique health ID. In 2019, he hailed Parliament for abrogating statutes giving Jammu and Kashmir a special status in the Indian constitution. In 2018, he announced an Indian astronaut would be sent into space by 2022.