Viksit Bharat dominates PM’s second longest Independence Day address since 2014

PM Modi's second longest I-Day address

Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave his second-longest Independence Day address on August 15, speaking nearly a thousand words more than what he did in his speech in 2023.

In his 11th consecutive Independence Day address, the prime minister focused on Developed India or Viksit Bharat, while also laying emphasis on women-led development, youth and skill development.

The importance of coalition-era politics and the reliance on states to further growth can be gauged from the fact that the prime minister’s mention of states was the highest since his 2014 speech. The prime minister mentioned the word states nine times in his address.

The prime minister, since his first speech has spoken over 93,000 words. The longest speech still stands at nearly 11,000 words in 2016.

While Modi invoked farmers and the use of technology and skills in farming, and poverty reduction initiatives, an equal emphasis was placed on corruption, health and education.

Environment and climate also found more mentions in the 2024 speech than in any of the years, illustrating the importance of climate issues and natural disasters.

India’s average annual mean temperatures were the highest in 2023 in a decade as per a report by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

The prime minister time and again concentrated on India’s achievement in reaching the net zero target and the progress made on renewable energy.

He reiterated the commitment to have 500 GW of installed capacity from renewables by 2030. India’s current renewable capacity stands a shade below 200 GW (including hydro plants).

Manufacturing and employment also found more mention than any of the previous year's speeches since 2014, as the PM focused on making India an industrial manufacturing hub, while also lauding initiatives on smartphones, defence and toys.