PM Modi's big I-Day highlights: New Jan Dhan scheme, end of Plan Commission and more

Narendra Modi’s first Independence Day speech since he became prime minister was expected to make some big ticket annoucements and he didn’t disappoint. Here are the main announcements that he made during this speech:

Planning Commission to be replaced by new organisation: Speaking about the Planning Commission, the Prime Minister said that though there may have been a rationale behind the creation of the institution, he said there was no requirement for the body any more.

“The Planning Commission has contributed to the nation’s progress. But now nation has changed and so have its requirements,” Modi said.

He said there was the need for a planning body that thought creatively and includes the state governments in the planning process.

“In a very short time, instead of the Planning Commission, there will be a new institution that will focus on various aspects…With a new body and soul there will be a new institution and we are working to ensure that this new scheme replaces the Planning Commission very soon,” Modi said.

Some reports indicated that the new planning body could be called the National Development and Reforms Commission.

PM’s Jan Dhan financial inclusion scheme: The Prime Minister announced the creation of a new Prime Minister’s Jan Dhan scheme in order to ensure that every Indian has access to the banking system.

“People in this nation have mobile phones but they don’t have bank accounts,” he said.

The Prime Minister said that the new scheme would not only bring the un-banked into the banking system but would also provide them with life insurance cover.

“Under this scheme people will not only get debit cards but they will also get life insurance cover,” the Prime Minister said.

He said that an account holder would be eligible for Rs one lakh life insurance cover.

Improving the manufacturing sector: The Prime Minister used his Independence Day speech to make an appeal to the world at large and Indians abroad to invest in the manufacturing sector in India.

" I want to appeal to the world: Come and ‘Make in India’," Modi said.

He said that the country had the capacity to increase manufacturing in any sector and appealed to the youth of the nation to start small manufacturing units in order to reduce imports.

“We should manufacture things that have ‘zero defect’, that are never returned because of a problem’ and have ‘zero effect’ on environment,” he said.

Increasing digital connectivity: The Prime Minister has always been an ardent advocate of the utility of information technology and emphasised the need to ensure that every village in the country had broadband connectivity.

“We have to move towards a digital India,” Modi said.

He said that it was earlier said that the nation was linked by railways but he wanted to make sure that it was connected through information technology which would help provide better governance.

CSR for toilets: The Prime Minister said that he wanted to ensure that every school in the country had toilets for children and separate toilets for girl students to ensure they didn’t drop out.

Modi appealed to Parliamentarians to use their MPLAD funds and corporates to allocate funds from their corporate social responsibility programmes to ensure that every school in the country had a toilet.