India Celebrates 68th Independence Day Friday Aug 15,2014

Delivering his first Independence Day speech from the sandstone ramparts of the 17th century Red Fort, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reaffirmed his pact with the nation with an extempore speech of just over an hour.

Addressing a record gathering without the usual bulletproof screen,a flaming polka-dotted orange turban and trademark short-sleeved khadi kurta was Modi's ensemble of choice as he unveiled his 'New Deal' of development and boosting the economy, saying India should become a base for global manufacturing and commerce

Outlining his economic agenda, Modi said the Planning Commission, a 64-year-old Soviet-style body that frames five-year development plans, would be replaced with a new institution in view of the changed economic situation internally and globally.

"So, I am saying from the rampart of the Red Fort that it is a very old system and it will have to be rejuvenated, it will have to be changed a lot," he said, listing a number of reasons why the Planning Commission should be replaced by a new body.

"Sometimes it costs more to repair the old house, but it gives us no satisfaction. Thereafter, we have a feeling that it would be better to construct a new house altogether and therefore within a short period, we will replace the Planning Commission with a new institution having a new design and structure, a new body, a new soul... towards forging a new direction to lead the country based on creative thinking, public-private partnership, optimum utilisation of resources, utilisation of youth power of the nation, to promote the aspirations of state governments seeking development, to empower the state governments and to empower the federal structure," Narendra Modi said. 

Narendra Modi urged people to work for a new India by shedding the "poison" of communalism. "Let's resolve for once in our hearts, let's put a moratorium on all such activities for 10 years, we shall march ahead to a society which will be free from all such tensions,"

The first Prime Minister from the post-Independence generation came out with a scheme for financial inclusion of the poor by providing them bank accounts with built-in insurance of Rs 1 lakh.

"I wish to connect the poorest citizens of the country with the facility of bank accounts through this Yojana. There are millions of families who have mobile phones but no bank accounts. We have to change this scenario. Economic resources of the country should be utilised for the well-being of the poor," he said.

Modi reiterated his dream to make India a clean place and asked: "Do we want to live in filth?" He said India should become clean and hygienic by 2019, the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, a staunch believer in cleanliness.

Rape incidents have made headlines in the past few months and Modi expressed concern at the rising number of assaults. He said rape incidents bring shame to India.

"Our heads hang in shame when we hear news about rape... I want to ask every parent that you have a daughter of 10 or 12 years age, you are always on the alert, every now and then you keep on asking where are you going, when would you come back, inform immediately after you reach.

"Parents ask their daughters hundreds of questions, but have any parents ever dared to ask their son as to where he is going, why he is going out, who his friends are," he said.

After loud applause from the gathering, he added, "After all, a rapist is also somebody's son. He also has parents.

As parents, have we ever asked our son as to what he is doing and where he is going." 

Google Doodle celebrated India's 68th Independence Day with an illustration that depicts an Indian postal stamp released when India got its independence from British Raj in 1947. 

The postal stamp also has an image of the Tricolour, the Indian national flag.
The first stamp of independent India was issued on 21 November 1947 depicting the Indian Flag with the patriots's slogan, Jai Hind. It was issued for foreign correspondence.