In his 13th consecutive Independence Day address, next only to 17 by Jawaharlal Nehru in a row, Modi sought to rally parties and young Indians around his Viksit Bharat 2047 vision while laying out a roadmap for India’s economic and strategic rise through what he described as seven streams, or “saptadharas”, of development.

Reaching out to the youth in a big way from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the country’s 80th Independence Day, weeks after widespread student protests over paper leaks and irregularities in exams, he made a series of announcements — free online coaching for competitive exams, AI training for one crore youth, a sports talent hunt and a vibrant civil defence network. He also listed opportunities for them in areas ranging from manufacturing, space and nuclear to semiconductors.

He referred to the youth more than 50 times in the course of his 75-minute speech.

Referring to the successes achieved in the government’s fight against naxals, Modi said for years individuals harbouring Maoist ideologies had entrenched themselves within the corridors of power in the country and through their roles as advisors on government committees.

This “Maoist mindset”, he said, had influenced policy making.

Days after a near washout of the Monsoon session of Parliament, he called for setting aside political wrangling to ensure implementation of 33% reservation for women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies.