12 YEARS FROM THE RED FORT: MODI GOVT From Access to Aspiration

Across 12 Independence Day addresses, PM Narendra Modi’s changing vocabulary traces India’s journey from fixing basic deficits to pursuing technological, economic and strategic ambition

There is a simple way to measure the distance India has travelled in the last decade: listen to the Prime Minister’s Independence Day speeches.

In the early years of the Modi Government, the speeches were often about problems that we may today consider as ordinary: toilets, electricity, poverty, roads, bank accounts, fertiliser shortages. But the Prime Minister’s tone was urgent when he addressed them. The challenge was to fix what was broken, reach those who had been left out.

Over the years, his vocabulary began to change. The conversation moved from access to aspiration, from plugging gaps to building capabilities, from solving immediate problems to creating systems that could prevent those problems from defining India again.Perhaps that is also why the length and sweep of his Independence Day addresses have become a phenomenon in themselves.

For a Prime Minister modi whose working life is famously relentless, the sheer time devoted to presenting the nation’s journey from the Red Fort is telling. These are not simply annual speeches; read together, they become something closer to a running record of the country’s transformation.

Toilets → Semiconductors

2014 – Can’t we just make arrangements for toilets for the dignity of our mothers and sisters?

2026 – In today’s digital world and technology-driven era, we understand the importance of the chip. Whether it is electronic goods, medical equipment, or transportation systems, chips are indispensable everywhere. The world has reached a point where the entire system could come to a standstill without chips. That is why Bharat has begun establishing its own semiconductor manufacturing capacity in the direction of becoming self-reliant.

Rural Roads → Satellites → Manned Space Missions → AI and Quantum computing

2016 – Rural roads are a perpetual issue in our country. Each rural citizen craves concrete roads.

2018 – Our scientists launched more than 100 satellites in one go, leaving the world astonished.

2024 – I have noticed that there has been a new atmosphere of interest in science and technology in our schools and colleges after the success of the Chandrayaan mission.

2025 – We are preparing for Aatmanirbhar Bharat Gaganyaan on our own in space. We are working towards building our own space station.

2026 – Today is the age of AI, quantum technology, space, robotics and data centres. An entirely new domain has opened up. Emerging technologies are challenging us every moment. Therefore, we must not merely turn our country into a market for the world; we must become a hub of innovation

Fighting Against Poverty

2014 – If the people of India could remove such a big empire without the power of the government, without weapons and even without resources, then friends, it is the need of the hour to eradicate poverty. Can we not overcome poverty? Can we not defeat poverty? My 125 crore dear countrymen, let us resolve to eradicate poverty, to win against it.

2026 – The resolve for a developed India will be fulfilled only when development reaches the last person. Before 2014, only 25 crore people had social security cover…We have provided social security cover to 100 crore countrymen within a decade.

Dignity for women to Women-led Reservation

2014 – We are living in the 21st century. Has it ever pained us that our mothers and sisters have to defecate in the open? Is the dignity of women not our collective responsibility? The poor womenfolk of the village wait for the night; until darkness descends, they can’t go out to defecate… Can’t we just make arrangements for toilets for the dignity of our mothers and sisters?

2018 – I declare with pride the grant of Permanent Commission for the appointment of women officers in the Short Service Commission of Indian Armed Forces.

2026 – Let us step forward to uphold their dignity and ensure that our mothers and sisters secure 33% representation in the Legislative Assemblies and the Lok Sabha as soon as possible, so they may contribute to shaping India’s policies. It is the need of the hour, and I once again urge all the political parties to come and join in the cause.

Putting Farmers First

2014 – But, please tell me why our farmers commit suicide? A farmer takes a loan from the moneylender, but fails to repay his loans. He takes a loan for the wedding of his daughter, but fails to repay. He will have to suffer hardships during his whole life. He chooses to commit suicide. Who will save the poor families of such farmers?

2018 – Economists, farmer organisations, farmers as well as political parties had been demanding that farmers should get an MSP which is one and a half times their investment. The matter was debated for years, files moved to and fro, but was stuck. Finally, we took the decision. We took a bold decision of giving the farmers the MSP, which is one and a half times their investment.

2025 – Last year, the farmers of my country broke all previous records in the production of grains… Agro products worth 4 lakh crore rupees have been exported.

2026 – Our farmers now have access to global markets. Because of FTAs, we are getting access to a very large market… We have to move from the farm to the export market. Whether it is our traditional cuisine, our millets, our spices, our fruits or our flowers… today, due to this FTA, the possibility of export of our shrimp has increased a lot.

Start-up India

2015 – I have to provide strength to start-ups and, therefore, I resolve that in the coming days “Start-up India” and “Stand-up India” will be there.

2016 – There should not be any district, any block in Hindustan, where start-ups are not initiated in the coming days. India can dream that it will become number one in the world of start-ups. Today we are at that position.

2026 – We have opened up numerous avenues; we have opened up the startup sector. You must have seen that private startups in Bharat, led by young people with an average age of 28, launched their satellites and rockets, succeeding in their very first trial. They have accomplished something truly remarkable.

Manufacturing/Technology Self-Reliance

2014 – …from electrical to electronics, ‘Come, Make in India’, from automobiles to agro value addition ‘Come, Make in India’, paper or plastic, ‘Come, Make in India’, satellite or submarine ‘Come, Make in India’.

2025 – …by the end of this very year, ‘Made in India’ chip, manufactured in Bharat by the people of Bharat, will be available in the market.

From operating systems to cyber security, from deep tech to artificial intelligence, everything should be our own, on which the strength of our own people is concentrated; we should introduce the power of their capabilities to the world.

2026 – We must significantly advance the manufacturing sector; alongside boosting production, we need to manufacture everything from small components to large-scale products. The entire value chain should be ours, and we should move ahead with it. We need components as well as complete manufacturing; we need complete products also. From design to manufacturing, India must emerge as a trusted hub in the global supply chain.

Village Electrification → Nuclear Energy Expansion

2015 – The target of providing electric poles, electric wires and electricity to these 18,500 villages would be achieved within the next 1000 days.

2026 – Energy security is the need of the hour, and therefore, we have already taken a series of strong steps in this direction. One major means of ensuring energy security is nuclear energy. By passing the SHANTI Act in Parliament, we have paved the way towards a new goal. By 2047, we are working towards a target of 100 gigawatts of nuclear power. Within this very decade, we have set a target of starting five new nuclear reactors.

Internet Connectivity

2015 – You can imagine what a quality education the children in villages will get if all the villages of India are connected with Broadband Connectivity and if we can give long-distance education to the schools in every remote corner of the villages.

2024 – We have also seen the days when we had to struggle even for 2G. We are already working in mission mode for 6G, and we shall surprise the world with our progress.

2026 – The number of internet users and consumers has increased nearly fourfold. The number of patents granted has increased fourfold. Digital transactions have increased 100 times.

Our goal should be to ensure that Made-in-India 6G reaches every corner of the world. We must accelerate our efforts in this direction, and our commitment to this endeavour must not diminish.

Naxalism/LWE

2017 – I deeply appreciate the efforts of security forces in curbing Left Wing extremism, which mobilised a lot of youth from these regions to surrender and join the mainstream.

2018 – Left Wing Extremism, Maoism have been bleeding the country. Violent incidents, people fleeing from homes and hiding in forests were a matter of daily occurrence.

Because of continuous efforts by our security forces, the launch of development projects and efforts to connect the people with the national mainstream, left-wing extremism, which affected 126 districts, has now been reduced to 90 districts.

2025 – There was a time when Naxalism had taken root in more than 125 districts. Our tribal areas and youth were caught in the clutches of Maoism. Today, we have reduced that number from over 125 districts to merely 20.

2026 – When you gave us the opportunity to serve in 2014, we made a resolve on that very day to free the country from Naxalism. Today, I am happy to say that Naxalite-Maoist violence may no longer even have the strength to take its final breath. We are moving towards eliminating it completely. In areas where Naxalites once fired their guns, where the land was once stained with blood, today, in those very Naxal-affected regions and areas, the Tricolour of development, trust and endeavour is flying high.

Bank Accounts → UPI & Global Fintech Dominance

2015 – Even after sixty years of independence… 40% of the people of the country were without a bank account… the doors of the banks were not open for the poor.

2025 – Our own UPI platform is surprising the world today… India alone is doing 50% of the real-time transactions through UPI.

2026 – We have already demonstrated our capabilities through UPI and digital public infrastructure. We have made the world aware of our strength. Now Bharat must take its digital public technologies to every corner of the world.