In last I-day speech of term, Modi hails India's rise under his govt

In his last Independence Day speech before Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today presented a picture of rising India under his government, contrasting it with what he termed as "policy paralysis" under the UPA, as he announced the launch date of his signature healthcare scheme covering 50 crore Indians.

Addressing the nation from the ramparts of Red Fort, his fifth speech after the NDA came to power in 2014, Modi also announced permanent commissioning of women in the armed forces and a plan to send Indian astronauts into space by 2022.

"When 125 crore people move towards achieving a goal, there is nothing that cannot happen. In 2014, the people of the country did not just stop at forming the government. They moved together towards nation-building and are continuing to do so," he said.

In the nearly 80-minute speech, Modi devoted much of his speech in presenting the report card of his government, highlighting that the country made fast progress in sectors like economy, defence and social justice.

Hitting out at Congress regimes, Modi said if the country moved forward at the same pace as in 2013, the last year of the UPA government, it would have taken decades to accomplish what has been achieved in the last four years.

"We can take tough decisions because nation's interest is first for us, not party's," said Modi, who was wearing a saffron and red Rajasthani-style turban.

Quoting Tamil nationalist icon Subramania Bharti, Modi said in Tamil, "India will show the path to the world in ridding it of its problems."