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New Delhi: India will be celebrating its 79th Independence Day on August 15, 2025, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi leading the celebrations from the Red Fort in Delhi. The theme of this year’s celebrations is ‘Naya Bharat’ and the celebrations will serve as a platform to commemorate the continuing rise of a prosperous, secure and bold 'Naya Bharat' and provide renewed power to surge further ahead on the path to progress.
As soon as the National Flag is hoisted by the Prime Minister, flower petals will be showered at the venue by two Mi-17 helicopters of the Indian Air Force - one trooping the national flag and the other trooping a flag depicting ‘Operation Sindoor’. The success of Operation Sindoor will be a major celebratory point during the Independence Day Celebrations this year, with the view cutter at Gyanpath also bearing the Operation Sindoor logo.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi would tomorrow be delivering another landmark speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort, his 12th consecutive Independence Day speech.
According to an analysis by the news publication Moneycontrol, PM Modi is set to cross the 1 lakh-word mark in his Independence Day speeches when he addresses the nation tomorrow. The Prime Minister has spoken a total of 93,000 words in his Independence Day addresses since 2014. This averages more than 8,500 words per speech. By comparison, his predecessor, Manmohan Singh, averaged only around 3,600 words across his 10 speeches.
Modi’s Independence Day speeches have also been impressive when it comes to their length. The Prime Minister’s first speech in 2014 lasted for 65 minutes and the time has only grown since then. In 2016, PM Modi spoke for 94 minutes, making it the longest Independence Day speech in the country's history.
The Prime Minister’s speeches have been known to be forward looking, while at the same time acknowledging the work done in the year, at the sam time being mindful of the collective challenges faced by the country. In his speech last year for example, PM Modi honoured those who are taking the nation forward, the “brave and courageous and hardworking are working to take the nation forward — be it our soldiers, our farmers, our youth. I salute them all,” the Prime Minister said.
PM Modi in his last year’s speech also talked about breaking the mindset of living with the status quo by rolling out big reforms aimed at changing the lives of the middle class and the poor. A pertinent theme of many of his Independence Day speeches. Another major feature of his speeches is announcing major programmes, like when in 2014 he announced 'Swachch Bharat' and 'Jan Dhan Yojna' while delivering his first Independence Day speech. Similarly in 2019 he announced the 'Jal Jeevan Mission' from the same pulpit.
While many issues that the Prime Minister picks remain the same, how much emphasis he gives on a particular one changes with time. Last year’s speech for example saw the Prime Minister mentioning youth and skill development 30 times, technology 27 times, and ‘Viksit Bharat’ 13 times. On the other hand, 2015 saw 49 references to farmers and agriculture and 18 to corruption. Corruption also saw 17 mentions in 2020. In 2023, the economy and development topped the list with 30 references.
