Modi asks India to 'start up, stand up'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday devoted his second Independence Day speech to counter the “pro-corporate” charges levelled against his government by highlighting the measures taken for the welfare of the poor while exhorting entrepreneurs to “start up and stand up”.

Speaking from the ramparts of the Red Fort, Modi briefly touched upon economic development, stopped short of announcing “one-rank, one-pension” (OROP) for ex- servicemen and reaffirmed his commitment to root out corruption and communalism.
In his 85-minute address — perhaps the longest by any prime minister — Modi counted “Swachh Bharat” and “Jan Dhan Yojana” as the biggest success stories of his government in the past one year.

He said some 17 crore people have got bank accounts under the “Jan Dhan Yojana” and 10 crore enrolled for social security schemes in 100 days.

Admitting that corruption has become part of the system, he said he had taken steps to weed out the menace by ushering in transparency in governance. “Fifteen months have passed since you gave me the mandate to form the government. There is not a single allegation of corruption on that government and I will brave all attacks and fight all obstacles to fulfil the task you have given to me,” he said, vowing to translate the dream of corruption-free India into reality.

He listed the auctions for allocation of coal blocks and FM radio stations as efforts at bringing in transparency in governance process.  “I was under tremendous pressure for not auctioning FM radio stations.”

“But in the interest of transparency, we went ahead with the auction for FM radio in 85 cities. The auctions have already garnered more than Rs 1,000 crore,” he added.
Emphasising on the government’s steps in the area of financial inclusion, fighting graft and inducing transparency, PM said true economic progress must touch the bottom of the pyramid. The prime minister, however, disappointed lakhs of ex-servicemen who were awaiting a concrete announcement on the OROP scheme.

He said the government has accepted the scheme in principle, but did not spell out any clear roadmap for its adoption, prompting protesting ex-servicemen in Jantar Mantar to cry out “shame, shame”.Despite his strong accent on international relations, Modi refrained from making any mention of foreign policy and his meetings with several heads of state in the 15 months that he has been in power. Particularly intriguing was the silence on Pakistan and his meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the resumption of peace talks – a decision that has received mixed response.

If the focus was on “Make in India” last year, Modi on Saturday said the government would encourage young entrepreneurs to create a network of start-up companies covering every district of the country. “Start-ups will be promoted in every corner of the country. Start up India, Stand up India,” the prime minister said coining a new slogan. Modi also urged the state governments to avoid interviews for junior level posts and make such selections on the basis of merit through transparent, online processes.

Invoking the “Team India” spirit a number of times, Modi said people were willing to contribute in their own way. As an example, he said, some 20 lakh people had given up their cooking gas subsidy.