An aspirational speech: PM Modi lays out vision of a 'New India'

PM reiterated his intention to persist with economic reforms

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has often used his speeches from the ramparts of the Red Fort on Independence Day as a method of making assurances to the nation about the future path of development. These assurances can be both big and small; for example, on his first Independence Day as PM, Mr Modi laid out the vision for a manufacturing revival that became “Make in India”; in 2015, at the other end of the scale, he indicated that his government would raise the pensions to freedom fighters and their families. The latter was done; the former is, naturally, harder to