As India woke up to celebrate its 73rd Independence Day, leading the nation to commemorate the countless, many nameless, but certainly priceless heroes from the yore and the present alike Prime Minister Narendra Modi, following the essence and tradition of our illustrious leaders, did not mince a word about his vision for the country as he addressed the nation from the ramparts of the historic Red Fort in a speech that lasted for 92 minutes, and every single minute devoted to the people, their everyday lives, their aspirations, the problems facing the nation, the possible solutions, and how India can become a $ 5 trillion economy.

Here, we have picked a few major points highlighted by PM Modi to recapitulate it and break it down to make it easy for the common Indian to comprehend.

Possible to become a $ 5 trillion economy in five years

It is the dream of the nation to boost up the economy and touch the $ 5 trillion mark by 2024. “The target of nearly doubling the size of the Indian economy to $5 trillion in five years may seem difficult. But when we have in five years (from 2014 to 2019) added $1 trillion as compared to $2 trillion achieved in 70 years of independence, then this target is achievable,” said a confident Modi.

Chief of Defence Staff (CDS)

The Prime Minister announced that India will now have a Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) who will oversee the three forces – the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force.

The security forces are the nation’s pride and to enhance coordination between them, a Chief of Defence Staff would be created. “This is going to make the forces even more strong,” he said, adding that the appointment of a CDS has been a long-pending issue with the defence ministry attending to it with a sense of urgency.

Investing Rs 100 lakh crore in infrastructure

Prime Minister Modi announced a massive investment of Rs 100 lakh crore to develop modern infrastructure to help double the size of the economy to $5 trillion in the next five years.

The Prime Minister said, “We cannot make incremental changes anymore. We should take high leaps now. This country’s infrastructure needs to be revamped. Hence, we have decided to invest Rs 100 lakh crore for infrastructure.”

He said reforms will continue to be ushered in to help India break into top 50 countries on the ease of doing business ranking.

Emphasis on exports

Emphasising on quality export products, he said, the time has come to think about how we can boost exports.

“Each district of India has so much to offer. Let us make local products attractive. May more export hubs emerge. Our guiding principle is Zero Defect, Zero Effect,” he said. Modi further said that the fundamentals of the Indian economy are strong.

“Today, the Government in India is stable, the policy regime is predictable, the world is eager to explore trade with India. We are working to keep prices under check and increase development,” said Modi.

Made in India

The PM also stressed on the need to give priority to “Made in India” products and asked the people to think of consuming local products, improving rural economy and the MSME sector.

Modi, while encouraging the tourism sector, said, “I know people travel abroad for holidays but can we think of visiting at least 15 tourist destinations across India before 2022, when we mark 75 years of freedom.” India has a lot to offer in the tourism sector, he added.

Population control

Promoting a small family, Modi said, “Population explosion in the country will create various problems for the coming generations. Those who follow the policy of small family also contribute to the development of the nation, it is also a form of patriotism.”

Abrogation of Article 370, Triple talaq

Referring to the abrogation of Article 370 and Article 35A, Modi said that the new Government, which has not yet completed 10 weeks, has taken a major step towards realizing the dream of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

He said that his government does not believe in creating problems or dragging them and therefore revoked Article 370 within 70 days of coming to power.

“The old system in Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh led to corruption, nepotism and there was injustice when it came to rights of women, children, Dalits, tribal communities. The dreams of sanitation workers were incomplete. How can we accept this?” he asked.

Modi said he failed to understand the reasoning behind support to Article 370 and Article 35A. “If these provisions were so important for Jammu and Kashmir’s welfare, why did previous governments left it as a temporary provision despite multiple opportunities to do,” Modi said.

On the Government’s move to scrap triple talaq law, the Prime Minister said, “Remember how scared Muslim women were, those who suffered due to the practice of triple talaq, but we ended that. When Islamic nations can ban it then why can’t we? When we can ban Sati, when we can take strong steps against female infanticide, child marriage, then why not this?”