Aim to make India developed nation by 2047: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday set an ambitious target of making India a developed nation by 2047, and made a renewed pitch for cutting import dependence and boosting domestic manufacturing.

Addressing the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the 76th Independence Day, PM Modi coined 'Panch Pran' or lifeblood resolves for the nation when it celebrates its 100th year of independence in 2047.

The first of them is to make India a developed nation.

"For the next 25 years, we need to focus on the 'Panch Pran'. The first is making India a developed country," he said.

India, which is the world's sixth largest economy with a GDP of $2.7 trillion, is currently classified as a developing nation.

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In his address, the prime minister rooted for a self-sufficient nation not just in manufacturing all it needs, but also in energy.

Also, rapid technological advancement has helped in digital India.

The Digital India Movement with the production of semiconductors, 5G networks, and optical fibre networks show has shown great results in education, healthcare and changes in common man's lives, he said.

"India's techade is here! With 5G, semiconductor manufacturing and OFCs in villages, we are bringing a revolution through Digital India to the grassroots level."

The success of Digital India and startups is clearly visible in Tier-II and Tier-III cities, he said, adding the country has made rapid progress in electronic goods and mobile phone manufacturing.

"India's industrial growth will come from the grassroots. Our MSMEs, street vendors and those working in the unorganised sectors need to be strengthened," he said.

From the space sector to drone manufacturing to natural farming, India is progressing rapidly in every sector, he said, adding even children are now saying no to imported toys.

5G

5G mobile telephony, which holds the promise of offering 10 times faster speeds and lag-free connectivity, will soon start in India, Prime Minister Modi said.

The Prime Minister touched upon the all-round development of technology in the country from 5G to push for electronic chips, laying of optical fibre cable (OFC) network across villages, and enablement of digital entrepreneurship in villages through Common Services Centres making the present decade as "techade" for India.

"Complete revolution in education is going to come through the digital medium. Revolution in health services is going to come from the digital medium. Any big revolution in life is going to come through the digital medium. A new world is getting ready. This decade is the time of 'techade' for the human race. It is a decade of technology," he said.

Women

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday urged people to pledge not to do anything that lowers the dignity of women, saying a mentality to insult them in speeches and conduct has crept in.

"A distortion has crept in our conduct and we at times insult women," he said, and asked, "Can we take a pledge to get rid of this from our behaviour and values?"

It is important that in speech and conduct "we do nothing that lowers the dignity of women", he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday hailed the diversity of India and said while our talent may be restricted by language barriers, pride should be taken in the variety of languages that exist in the country.

"India has many languages, sometimes our talent is restricted by language barriers, we need to be proud of every language in our country," he said.