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Addressing the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on 15th August, 2025, the 79th Independence Day, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi called for making ‘Aatmanirbharta’ the foundation of national strength of ‘Viksit Bharat’ and the greatest measure of national self-respect. The Prime Minister emphasised that dependency makes freedom questionable and stressed that self-reliance extends beyond economics to national capability. While saying that Operation Sindoor’s success demonstrated the power of ‘Made in India’ defence equipment, he rejected the nuclear blackmail, reiterating that India will no longer tolerate nuclear threats that have been used for decades. The nation has also decided that blood and water will not flow together – the Indus Waters Treaty has been unjust for 70 years, allowing enemy fields to be irrigated while Indian farmers remain thirsty. Water rightfully belonging to India will now be reserved solely for Indian farmers, he declared.
In a major announcement, the Prime Minister announced the Sudarshan Chakra Mission for national defence, inspired by Lord Krishna’s Sudarshan Chakra. He said
The Prime Minister emphasised that dependency makes freedom questionable and stressed that self-reliance extends beyond economics to national capability. While saying that Operation Sindoor’s success demonstrated the power of ‘Made in India’ defence equipment, he rejected the nuclear blackmail
India will launch a comprehensive defence system by 2035 covering all strategic and civilian areas, including hospitals, railways, and centres of faith. This mission will focus on indigenous research, development, and manufacturing with precise targeted action capabilities, ensuring complete security cover through new technological platforms. In another major initiative towards self-reliance, he emphasised semiconductor manufacturing, saying after 50-60 years of delays where semiconductor projects were stalled and shelved, India has now advanced semiconductor work in mission mode. It is a huge achievement that six semiconductor units are taking shape, with four new units having been approved, and by the end of this year, ‘Made in India’ chips manufactured by Indians will be available in the market.
India has taken a massive lead in the energy sector, also focusing on the mantra of ‘Aatmanirbharata’. It is to be noted that India has achieved its 50% clean energy target in 2025, five years ahead of the 2030 schedule. The country is launching the National Deep Water Exploration Mission for oil and gas reserves under the sea. While nuclear energy capacity will increase more than tenfold by 2047, with 10 new reactors progressing rapidly and private sector participation now allowed, self-reliance in the energy sector is pursued in mission mode. In a similar manner, progress has been made in critical minerals and the space sector with the launch of the National Critical Minerals Mission with exploration campaigns in over 1200 locations for self-reliance in critical minerals essential for the energy, industry, defence, and technology sectors. Over 300 start-ups are now working in the space sector with thousands of youth employed, demonstrating the strength of Indian youth.
Announcing major tax reforms, the Prime Minister said that next-generation GST reforms will be a Diwali gift, which will substantially reduce taxes needed by common people and provide huge benefits to MSMEs and small entrepreneurs. The Prime Minister also called upon the youth to create India’s own platforms instead of depending on others, citing UPI’s success, where India handles 50% of global real-time transactions. He called for indigenous development in operating systems, cyber security, deep tech, artificial intelligence, social media platforms, fertilisers, and EV batteries.
While saluting all the Swayamsevaks for their devotion, stating that the journey of RSS is a source of national pride and continuous inspiration for the country, the Prime Minister lauded the RSS, marking its 100th anniversary as an institution dedicated to nation-building through character-building and serving ‘Maa Bharati’.