Independence Day 2018: Here is what PM Modi said in his address at Red Fort

This was Modi's fifth and last Independence Day speech as Prime Minister for the current term

BS Web Team 

With this PM concludes Independence Day speech at the Red Fort. The audience stands for the national anthem.  Three women judges in Supreme Court for the first time, PM Modi says I am proud of the fact that three women judges in Supreme Court are delivering justice. Since independence, this is the first cabinet where so many women are a part of the cabinet: PM Modi #IndiaIndependenceDay pic.twitter.com/tWuFh0CFxk — ANI (@ANI) August 15, 2018 AFSPA has been removed from all of Tripura and Meghalaya and some districts of Arunachal Pradesh: PM Modi PM Modi talks about Triple Talaq The practice of Triple Talaq has caused great injustice to Muslim women. We are striving to end this practice but there are some people who are not wanting it to end. I promise the Muslim women that I will work to ensure justice is done to them: PM Modi pic.twitter.com/FM0LO1Wp8k — ANI (@ANI) August 15, 2018 The healthcare initiatives of the government will have a positive impact on 500 million Indians: PM Modi  Read our exclusive report on Ayushman Bharat Mission Stage set for Ayushman Bharat's soft launch on I-Day, six states on board Exclusion from Ayushman Bharat could deal a body blow to general insurers Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Abhiyaan will be launched on 25th September this year: PM Modi 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered the fifth and the last Independence Day speech of his current term as the Prime Minister from the Red Fort on Wednesday. The speech for the first time was streamed live on Google and YouTube.
 
In his last Independence Day address, PM Modi announced the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Abhiyaan (Ayushman Bharat) and said the government's flagship scheme will be launched on September 25, on the birth anniversary of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay.


"The healthcare initiatives of the government will have a positive impact on 500 million Indians," he said.

"It is essential to ensure that we free the poor of India from the clutches of poverty due to which they cannot afford healthcare."

The ambitious Ayushman Bharat-National Health Protection Mission (AB-NHPM) aims to provide a coverage of Rs 500,000 per family annually, benefiting more than 100 million poor families.

According to a  Business Standard report, the nationwide rollout will have to wait as only six states - Chhattisgarh, Manipur, Haryana, Gujarat, West Bengal, and Andhra Pradesh - are currently on board for the pilot launch. 
 
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First Published: Wed, August 15 2018. 07:10 IST