New Delhi: In his address from the Red Fort on India's 79th Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi attempted to address concerns around a growing crisis in the manufacturing sector, especially in the light of US President Donald Trump's punishing tariffs, and announced a series of programmes that his government believes could boost consumption and contain inflation.

Modi briefly spoke about Operation Sindoor's success, in an effort to iron out the controversy around whether or not the armed forces were given a free hand during the military conflict with Pakistan. He said his government not only gave a complete free hand to the armed forces but also let them decide the military targets during the operation.

In late June, India’s defence attache to Indonesia, Captain (Indian Navy) Shiv Kumar, had said that the Indian Air Force lost fighter jets to Pakistan on May 7 during its targeting of Pakistan’s terror-linked sites “only because of the constraint given by the political leadership to not attack the military establishment or their air defences.”

He repeated his assertions that India will "not tolerate nuclear blackmail" by Pakistan anymore, and that his decision to stop the flow of Indus water to Pakistan was a firm reminder to the neighbouring country that "water and blood cannot flow together".

He also said that India will launch a "Mission Sudarshan Chakra" to create a powerful weapon system to thwart attempts by enemies to attack and also to hit back.

"All public places will be covered by expanded nationwide security shield by 2035. We have chosen the path of Lord Krishna’s Sudarshan Chakra. India is launching ‘Sudarshan Chakra Mission’ … a powerful weapon system that will not only neutralise the enemy’s attack but also strike back," he said.

Even as scores of the Bengali-speaking Muslim poor in metropolitan towns are facing a brutal police crackdown, Modi announced a high-powered "demographic mission" in India to contain what he said was "a well-thought out conspiracy" to change India's demography through an influx of "ghushpaithiya (undocumented immigrants)".

“The government will set up high-powered demographic mission to deal with the challenge of demographic change due to infiltration,” Modi said.

He said his government will announce a series of schemes that will reward youth with a stipend for taking up jobs in the private sector, and also incentivise companies to create more employment. The Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rojgar Yojana that he said will kick in from today itself, will award Rs 15,000 to all first-time job seekers in the private sector.

He said that this Diwali, his government will initiate the next generation of Goods and Services Tax reforms that will drastically ease tax pressures on common people, MSMEs and India's manufacturing sector.

"It will be a Diwali gift for you. The new GST reforms will bring down the taxes for daily-use items for all Indians,” Modi said.

He also claimed that two crore women have become ‘lakhpati didis’ during his regime, a section of whom are seated in the audience.

Modi's claims of strides that India has made in the manufacturing sector, however, do not bear out on paper. In the last 10 years, the manufacturing to GDP ratio by has fallen by five percentage points from 17.5% to 12.6%, making "Atmanirbhar Bharat" mostly a publicity claim. The last time this ratio was this low was in 1960.

With Trump's tariffs hanging like a sword over India, Modi stressed on his government's oft-repeated phrases – "atmanirbharta (self-reliance)" and "vocal for local" while urging all political parties to support the mission.

“Farmers, livestock keepers and fishermen are our top priorities. Any policy that threatens their interests, Modi is standing like a wall against it. India will never compromise when it comes to protecting the interests of our farmers," he said, repeating an earlier assertion, without mentioning the 50% tariffs.

Stressing on self-reliance, he said that India is on its way to boost its energy production through "several initiatives in solar, hydrogen, nuclear sectors", while also taking leaps in the space and critical minerals sectors.

In his usual style, he said he did not want to criticise earlier Union governments and then went on take a dig at them nonetheless, claiming how a semi-conductor factory was planned by India 50 to 60 years ago but never implemented. He said that his government has initiated the establishment of not one but four semi-conductor factories to boost India's technological advance.

He claimed that India has already fulfilled its 2030 target of 50% clean energy in 2025, "thanks to the responsible Indians".

Modi also wished Hindutva ideologue Shyama Prasad Mookerjee on his birth anniversary today early in his speech, like in his earlier speeches too on Independence Day.

However, he used his wishes to claim that Mookerjee sacrificed his life for "for the sake of Constitution", and that he demanded "One Nation, One Constitution" in his prolonged protest against Article 370 that allowed Jammu and Kashmir a separate constitution.

In what appeared to be him addressing criticisms against his government for "compromising India's constitutional foundation" during his regime, and praises from Hindutva quarters for rendering Article 370 defunct, Modi said that he is devoted towards India's constitutional structure.

Even though the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh – the Hindu nationalist organisation that is the ideological fountainhead of Modi's BJP – played no role in the fight for independence, the prime minister used the occasion to recall that 2025 is the RSS’s centenary, saying that “the nation is proud” of its “grand, dedicated journey”.

Declaring that the nation is built not just by governments and those in power but by the “efforts of crores of people” and by various institutions, Modi said: “Today, I would like to mention one thing with great pride. One hundred years ago, an institution was born: the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Its 100 years of service to the nation is a prideful and golden chapter.”

“Resolving for nation-building through character-building, and with the aim of the welfare of Maa Bharati for 100 years, the swayamsevaks have dedicated their lives to the welfare of the motherland,” Modi added.

“Today, I respectfully recall all the swayamsevaks who have contributed to this 100-year-long journey of national service from the ancient Red Fort, and the nation is proud of the 100-year-long grand, dedicated journey of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.”

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