Dear Citizens,
On the eve of the 58th Republic Day of India, my greetings to all of you in the country and those living abroad. I convey my special greetings to the members of our armed forces and the paramilitary forces, who guard our frontiers on land, at sea and in the air and also the central and state level police including the internal security forces.
Friends, when we are celebrating the 58th Republic Day, I was thinking what thoughts I can share with you. Shall I talk to you on what message I got during my visits to various parts of our country and my interactions with the people particularly the youth with their dreams or shall I talk to you about the proud feeling I had when farmers in Punjab succeeded in doubling seed cotton productivity in tune with the world record or shall I talk to you how a village in a northeastern state has become prosperous by developing its core competence in native silk production or shall I talk to you about the elation of Gujarat farmers celebrating the arrival of electricity in all the villages of the state or shall I talk to you about many great human beings whom I met in various parts of the country such as, one great soul providing leadership for transforming a polluted rivulet into a clean river in Punjab through the efforts of pilgrims themselves or about another divine soul who has connected the hearts of the people of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu through the flow of water or about another divine personality, building a bridge connecting the peninsular region to the mainland near Kochi over the backwaters of the Arabian Sea in the tsunami affected area or shall I talk to you on how 65 villages with a population of 100,000 in Tamil Nadu have generated a self-sustaining economy through PURA or shall I talk to you about the way that the judicial system of the state became a partner for on the spot disbursal of compensation to the victims of an earthquake in Jammu and Kashmir for ensuring timely compensation to the right persons or shall I talk to you about the bravery of our armed forces. I have already shared with you about these and other beautiful experiences that have made the Indian Republic proud. Such beautiful events and people have been changing the fabric of the nation.
What Can I Give?
In the 1980s, children always used to ask me questions such as “When can I sing the Song of India?” Today, the youth are asking me, “What I can give to India?” This shows that the nation is on a positive growth trajectory. The change in pattern of the questions is indicative of the transformation which has taken place over the years. Also, I receive many e-mails and letters asking me “what I can give to India, my country?” When I study the letters, messages and mails that I have received and also the personal interactions with the people, I can clearly see abundant opportunities in which every citizen can contribute. I thought of sharing this with you: My topic of this address will be “What can I give to my nation?
In Indian history, our nation has come across a situation, all at a time, an ascending economic trajectory, continuously rising foreign exchange reserves, increasing domestic investment with investors’ confidence rising steadily, global successes of Indian managerial and entrepreneurial talents, global recognition of technological competence, energy of 540 million youth, umbilical connectivities of more than 25 million people of Indian origin in various parts of the planet and the interest shown by many developed countries to invest in our engineers and scientists through setting up of new research and development centers in India. The distinction between the public and the private sectors and the illusory primacy of one over the other is vanishing. Also, there is a trend that many young people are opting for creating new enterprises instead of being mere employees.
Providing leadership for the one billion people with multicultural, multilanguage and multireligious backgrounds is indeed the core competence of our nation. Our technological competence and value systems with civilizational heritage are highly respected by the world community. Also, foreign institutional investors find investing in India attractive as the returns are high and assured. Indian industrialists are also investing abroad and opening new business ventures. Our gross domestic product which stands at $729 billion is poised to grow at 10 percent annually which along with various other concurrent actions, will enhance the welfare of farmers, workers, professionals and unleash creativity of entrepreneurs, business persons, scientists, engineers and all other constituents of society. Today due to the open sky policy and competitiveness air travel has become affordable for the growing middle class. The railways have introduced many improvements and people can book tickets through Internet. The revolution in travel has not only connected people but also boosted tourism and the economy. Tele-density in the country has gone up to 18 percent. Mobile telephones are reaching the common man and serving their needs. The One India Plan has made calling across the country easy and affordable. Our ICT sector is exporting more than $24 billion and the Indian pharma industry is ranked 4th in the world and exports nearly $4 billion of products. Our $44 billion automobile industry is growing at the rate of 17 percent per annum. Our total exports in the last 8 months has crossed $ 80 billion.
Conclusion
Developed India by 2020 is a mission of a billion people. Every one of us has a role to play. It will be a reality if everyone “Gives — What I can give”, through individual, societal and nationwide participation in a national movement facilitated by the government. My interactions with our citizens in India and abroad, particularly the youth demonstrate to me the positive energy flowing from individuals which make them eager to give all they can to make India developed. The attitude of giving by every citizen and each group will definitely be an enriching factor for the whole nation leading to an accelerated development process.
When the nation marches toward its missions, many challenges will come on the way. Courage is a very important trait for all sections of society in overcoming these challenges. I would like to narrate one incident. On June 8, 2006, I was in the flight of Su-30-MKI. The captain of the aircraft was Wing Commander Ajay Rathore. The duration of the flight was 40 minutes. I participated in all flight actions. When I landed, there were many youth and media personnel. One young man asked me a question, “Mr. President, please tell me, since you have flown in the supersonic fighter aircraft at the age of 74, were you afraid anytime during the flight.” I told the young man, “All the 40 minutes of the flight, I was busy on the controls and instruments and experiencing the “g” build up. I was advised by the captain to track targets and also look at the ground using the synthetic aperture radar. In addition, I was observing the performance of the instruments developed indigenously. I was continuously busy in the flight operations and I didn’t have time to allow fear to enter into me.” Now, dear young friends who have assembled in front of me and the nation, I have a message of courage for you.
Courage to Give
“Courage to think different, Courage to invent, Courage to discover the impossible, Courage to travel into an unexplored path, Courage to share knowledge, Courage to remove pain, Courage to reach the unreached, Courage to combat problems And Succeed, Are the unique qualities of youth.”
As the youth of my nation, I will work and work with courage to achieve success in all my missions.
My dear citizens, let me once again wish you a very purposeful and happy Republic Day.
May God bless you.
Jai Hind.