72nd Independence Day: PM Modi to Address Nation Today; May Announce Welfare Schemes, Mention Crucial Issues

The proceedings of Independence Day celebrations will be aired through Doordarshan from 6.35 AM onwards. The prime minister’s speech at Red Fort is likely to start at 7.30 AM.

New Delhi, Aug 15: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the occasion of 72nd Independence Day today. This will be PM Modi’s fifth Independence Day address to the nation and the last before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

The proceedings of Independence Day celebrations will be aired through Doordarshan from 6.35 AM onwards. The prime minister’s speech at Red Fort is likely to start at 7.30 AM.

Doordarshan’s coverage of Independence Day celebrations tomorrow will open with a patriotic song recorded by singer composer Shankar Mahadevan, and in a first, anchors will present the event from the ramparts of Red Fort.

The Prime Minister’s speech will also be aired on All India Radio in about 20 different languages through the day.

To ensure maximum outreach of the PM’s speech, it will also be available on the Google homepage with public broadcaster Prasar Bharati tying up with the American tech giant for livestreaming the event. The speech will be livestreamed on YouTube as well.

What to Expect From This Year’s Speech

PM Modi’s last four Independence Day speeches indicate that he will announce a slew of social welfare schemes which may include Modi-care, Sukanya Samridhi Yojana and Atal Pension Yojana.

Officially known as The ‘Ayushman Bharat – National Health Protection Mission (AB-NHPM)’, the Modi-care programme aims at offering healthcare to the tune of Rs 5 lakh to as many as 50 crore people.

The prime minister may also announce tweaking of the Sukanya Sammridhi Yojana to provide more benefit to the girl child. Last month, the government had reduced the minimum amount to open a Sukanya Samridhi account to Rs 250 from Rs 1,000.

PM Modi is also expected to announce benefits for about 32 crore Jan Dhan account holders.

The benefits will be announced to provide a boost to the government’s financial inclusion drive, official sources told news agency PTI.

The overdraft facility under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) may be doubled from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000. This facility allows Jan Dhan account holders to withdraw money from their account even when they have zero balance in it. At present, any one member of a household can withdraw up to Rs 5,000 in case of emergency.

PM Modi on August 15 may announce the decision to increase this amount to Rs 10,000 as part of the government’s effort to fund the unfunded.

According to PTI sources, the government may also announce an attractive micro insurance scheme.

Furthermore, to provide relief to the old-age people, Modi may announce doubling of the maximum limit under Atal Pension Yojana. Currently, the amount is limit to Rs 5,000.

In addition, the speech may also mention crucial issues like the National Register of Citizens (NRC), Rafale Deal, mob lynching and atrocities against Dalits.

Last year, Modi spoke for nearly 54 minutes from the Red Fort, which was his shortest Independence Day address to the nation since 2014. He spoke for over 65 minutes in 2014, 86 minutes in 2015, and 94 minutes in 2016.

PM Gets 30,000 Suggestions For His I-Day Speech

This year, PM Modi sought suggestions from the public which could be incorporated in his I-Day speech and soon enough the official website, mygov.in, was flooded with ideas.

Reports suggest as many as 30,000 ideas have poured in already. Apart from the site, people are also using the NaMo App and email to send in their suggestions. Of all the ideas received till now, over 2,000 were reportedly sent from the rural areas. Modi will pick up 50 of the ideas for his Independence Day speech.

If media reports are to be believed, the most suggestions have come in for jobs. While Mohankrishna Bhat talks about reservation on economic status, Manish Bhardwaj says those who can afford it should adopt martyrs’ families.

The suggestions range from bringing the retirement age for government jobs to 55 so that more youths get an opportunity to bringing in a law to check loud music in residential areas. Modi is likely to announce the launch date of Ayushman Bharat which will give a Rs 5 lakh health insurance to each family. He would also be enumerating the achievements of his government in the past four-odd years.

Security Beefed up

The Red Fort, along with other critical areas in the national capital, have been put under a heavy security cover with the security agencies on a high alert.

According to reports, around 70,000 Delhi Police personnel are guarding the national capital, out of which 10,000 have been deployed at the Red Fort.

Over 500 CCTV cameras have been installed on the routes leading to the Red Fort with over 200 cameras in the fort itself. The footage is being monitored round the clock, the police said.

For the first time, 36 women personnel of the Delhi Police Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) unit will also be guarding the venue with their male counterparts.

According to a NDTV report, a special team of NSG snipers and commandos will form the inner layer of the security cordon, while anti-aircraft guns have been deployed to thwart any aerial intrusion by objects like drones and projectiles.

Traffic Restrictions Put in Place

Traffic restrictions have already been put in place since Monday for the Independence Day function.

While half a dozen roads will remain closed on Wednesday and the traffic will be diverted on some roads, the DMRC has said parking facilities will not be available at its stations.

Parking facilities will not be available at the Delhi Metro stations from 6 am on August 14 till 2 pm on August 15 in view of the security measures adopted on the occasion of Independence Day.

Six roads – Netaji Subhash Marg, Lothian Road, S P Mukherjee Marg, Chandni Chowk Road, Nishad Raj Marg and Esplanade Road – and its Link Road will be closed for general public from 5 am to 9 am.

Local city buses, including of DTC, will not move on Ring Road from 4am to 11 am on August 15, between Hanuman Setu and Bhairon Road T-point and take alternative routes available.

Buses ordinarily terminating at Red Fort, Jama Masjid and Delhi main railway station will be curtailed or diverted.

Alternative routes will remain open to railway stations, bus stations and hospitals near the venue of Independence Day function, the police said.