Addressing the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the 77th Independence Day the Prime Minister said, “We used to hear about bomb blasts every now and then in previous years. There used to be public announcements alerting people about possible bomb threats. There used to be warning messages asking people not to touch items as they may contain explosive devices. Earlier, we would often hear about serial blasts. But now such incidents are very much on the decline. There has been a drastic reduction in terror-related incidents. The era of serial blasts is over. The Naxal strongholds, too, are experiencing a change for the better,” PM Modi said. He added that the country is secure and it is only when a country is safe from external and internal threats that it makes steady progress.
Lauding the country’s defence forces, PM Modi said as India’s economic development has strengthened the defence sector and further reforms are in the offing to ensure that the soldiers stay battle-ready at all times. “Our armed forces should be young and battle-ready. They should be skilled and equipped to wage wars. The process to bring in reforms in the armed forces is already underway,” he said. 
In a strong and significant message, PM Modi said unity should be the national character of the country. “All countries that have seen steady progress over the years have strong national characters. Unity should be our national character,” PM Modi said. In an assertion that assumes significance at a time when the country has been locked in a protracted military standoff with China since May 2020, after troopers of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) allegedly tried to alter the status quo of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) at Galwan Valley in Arunachal Pradesh, PM Modi said the country’s borders were safer than ever before.
Before addressing the people on the 77th Independence Day, PM Modi paid floral tributes at the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi at Raj Ghat. This year’s Independence Day will culminate the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ celebrations, which were launched by Prime Minister Modi from Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, Gujarat on March 12, 2021, and will usher the country into ‘Amrit Kaal’.