'India dreaming big': PM Modi delivers 13th Independence day speech, renews call for 'aatmanirbhar Bharat'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation after hoisting the national flag at the Red Fort in Delhi on the 80th Independence Day.Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the nation on 80th Independence Day. (Youtube/Narendra Modi)PM Modi began his speech by remembering the "ultimate sacrifice" of the "great sons and daughters" in the freedom struggle. "With freedom as the sole objective, they devoted their entire lives to sacrifice and struggle," he said.He went to pay tributes to Mahatma Gandhi and said, “I respectfully salute revered Bapu and all the freedom fighters, as well as the great revolutionaries who inspired this glorious tradition of sacrifice.”ALSO READ: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Independence Day 2026 look decoded: Red bandhani safa to tricolour pocket squareVande Matram echoing from Red Fort a historic momentThis year's event marked 150 years of 'Vande Mataram', with the National Song rendered during the Independence Day celebrations at the Red Fort for the first time.Commemorating the moment, PM Modi said, "For everyone present at this ceremony today, this is also a historic moment. For the first time since Independence, Vande Mataram is echoing from the Red Fort on August 15."Will make India a developed nation by 2047The prime minister vowed to make India a developed nation by 2047 and said the country is dreaming big to touch new heights. "The world will be forced to look at India differently when most populous country becomes a developed nation.""India cannot march forward in 21st century by relying on laws of previous century. Our success shows resolve of Viksit Bharat in 2047 cannot remain unfulfilled," he said.Make India aatmanirbharUrging the country to work towards becoming aatmanirbhar or self-reliant, PM Modi said India cannot remain dependent on other nations. He hailed citizen's efforts in the direction and said people were aligning themselves with spirit of "vocal for local".The prime minister announced the launch of a major semiconductor programme, aimed at making India self-reliant. "Three semiconductor plants have already begun operations, and I have been told that the production taking place there has already started being exported."Giving a timeline on the project, he said, "I want to tell the people of India that in the coming seven to eight years, another five to eight semiconductor plants are going to become operational very soon.""This Aatmanirbhar Bharat is the highway towards a developed India," said PM Modi.Some people want to keep country fearfulHighlighting the crises faced by India, PM Modi said, "A global pandemic like COVID-19 plunged the entire world into uncertainty. All systems were under severe strain. We emerged from COVID, and then came news of the threat of wars — Ukraine on one side, West Asia on the other, with tensions everywhere."The prime minister alleged that some people seem to enjoy spreading fear in the country and "keeping its people anxious".Listing the alleged rumours, PM Modi said, "There will be no vaccines. People will not survive on CoWIN. Nothing is going to work. Then came another wave of rumours: there would be no petrol at petrol pumps, no gas, no diesel, no fertilisers.""By spreading all kinds of rumours from around the world, some people seemed to take pleasure in frightening Indians and keeping them immersed in fear and anxiety," he said.PM Modi said however the country did not fall prey to these attempts and has witnessed that well-thought-out plans of the past 10 to 12 years are bearing fruit. "Even in the face of such a massive crisis, India moved forward with the principle of “Nagrik Devo Bhava” — treating citizens as worthy of the highest priority," he said."The preparations India had made, the steps it had taken one after another — although we had not anticipated that such a crisis would come — all these preparations proved useful when the crisis arrived. And today, the country has gas, petrol and urea. Hum apni takat ke upar khade ho rahe hain," said PM Modi.