Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, 'We are capable of strong decisions as, for us, the nation's welfare is of greatest priority.'
"In 2014 the people didn't just stop after electing a stable government but got together to build a nation," said Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the ramparts of the Red Fort, while addressing the nation on the occasion of India's 72nd Independence Day.
The prime minister expressed pride at what India has achieved, but wanted to remind the nation the point from which that developement started from. "That is when we will realise the unbelievable strides the nation has taken," Modi said.
Taking 2013 as the base year, Modi recollected the measures his government has taken in the past four years since coming to power in 2014. In the past four years, India has felt the development, Modi said.
"If we had continued at the same pace at which toilets were being built in 2013, and the pace at which electrification was being done in 2013, it would have taken us decades to complete," the prime minister said.
Modi also noted that had India moved at the pace of development in 2013, we would not have had LPG connections and smokeless ovens in the villages in even 100 years. He also said that at the 2013 pace of development, it would have taken India generations to spread optical fibre network to the villages.
The prime minister talked about his government's initiatives for good and services tax (GST), higher minimum support price (MSP), for One rank one pension (OROP). He pointed towards India's record production of foodgrains on the one hand and mobile phones on the other. He talked about the rise in the purchase tractors on the one hand and aircradft on the other.
"From being seen as among the Fragile Five, India has now become the land of 'reform, perform and transform'," the prime minister said.
Modi noted that India's voice was being heard effectively at the world stage, and India have become integral parts of fora whose doors were earlier closed for the nation.
"Hum kade faisle lene ke samarth rakhte hai, kyunki desh hit hamare liye sarvapari hai (We are capable of strong decisions as, for us, the nation's welfare is of greatest priority," the prime minister said.
Here is a comparison of development work done in 2013 by Congress with the last 4 years of Modi government:
Villages electrified in 2013-14: 1197
Villages electrified in 2014-18: 17,000
Thus working at 2013 speeds, it would have taken us 15 years to supply electricity to the number of villages we did in 4 years.
Toilets constructed in 2013-14: 49 lakhs
Toilets constructed in 2014-18: 8 crore
Thus working at 2013 speeds, it would have taken us 16 years to construct the toilets we constructed in 4 years.
Free LPG connections given to BPL Families in 2013-14: 3,00,947
Free LPG connections given to BPL Families in 2014-18: 5 Crore
Thus working at 2013 speeds, it would have taken us 170 years to supply LPG connections to the number of BPL families we did in 4 years.
Total Gram panchayats connected in 2013-14 = 59
Total Gram panchayats service ready in 2014-18 = 1,14,186
Thus working at 2013 speeds, it would have taken 2 millenniums to connect the number of villages with optical fibers that we did in 4 years.
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