One mission--India as developed nation by 2047: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday set a target for India to be a developed nation by 2017 when it would celebrate the centenary of Independence and asserted that a BJP-led government will lay the foundation over the next five years to achieve this goal.

Unveiling the BJP manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections, Modi said the party's top priority will be to empower the poor, increase farm income and strengthening national security were the key themes of the poll document or 'Sankalp Patra'.

The Prime Minister said his government will focus on last mile delivery, which would be the singular mission for becoming a developed nation by 2047.

“We will embark on one mission, one direction to fulfil the dreams of our freedom fighters,” he said.

Modi said though the party's manifesto was for the next five year, he wanted the people to seek an interim account from him and hence the BJP has set 75 definitive time-bound targets to be achieved by 2022 – the 75th anniversary of India's Independence.

“We have decided to take 75 steps that are time-bound and well defined that will be achieved by 2022. This is the first time that a party wants to give an interim account of its work done in the government,” he said.

The Prime Minister said that his government had focused on meeting the requirements of the people over the last five years and it will seek to fulfil their aspirations in the next five years.

Earlier, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the manifesto was of a party which is in government and would continue to be in government and work done by the NDA was backed by a strong achievement and vision of the party.

BJP President Amit Shah said that Modi had provided a decisive government over the last five years and had dared to order surgical strikes and airstrikes on the foundation of terror.

“With its strikes on terror, the Modi-led government had sent out a strong message that India could not be taken lightly,” Shah said.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said India's prestige had touched new heights under Modi's leadership and that it was visible when Pakistan threatened to boycott the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting if India was invited.

She said 56 out of the 57 OIC member nations backed the invitation to India, thus isolating Pakistan on a global stage.