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PM Modi I-Day Address Made Simple: 5 Promises and Diwali Tax Break

PM Modi lays out GST relief by Diwali - PNN

New Delhi [India], August 15: On India’s 79th Independence Day, PM Modi spoke boldly from the Red Fort. He blended big goals with small, everyday benefits. The message was this: rules will get simpler, jobs will be pushed, India will make more things at home, and people should feel the change in their daily lives. If you want the long list in one short line, here it is: tax relief for many, Diwali GST changes, a chip by year’s end, big energy and defence plans, and a jobs scheme for millions. Now, let us walk through the main points in detail.

01 Rules Made Easier, Money Left in Your Pocket

The Prime Minister started with the basics. The government says it has removed more than 40,000 needless compliances and repealed over 1,500 old laws. In the last Parliament session, about 280 more provisions were taken out. What that means for us is fewer forms, less paperwork and simpler government work. He also talked about faceless income tax assessments, so the process is fairer and less scary.

A headline many people will notice is the tax relief. People earning up to ₹12 lakh a year will pay no income tax under the new rules. That is likely to change monthly budgets for many families.

02 Small Businesses and Diwali GST Relief

PM Modi made a direct promise to shopkeepers, small businesses and neighbourhood vendors. A Task Force for Next-Generation Reforms will look at all economic rules and suggest cuts in compliance costs for startups and MSMEs. In easy words, the government wants it to be easier to start and run a small business. For shoppers and households, there is a timeline to watch.

Next-Generation GST reforms are coming by Diwali and aim to lower taxes on daily-use items. He called it a Diwali gift to the common man. You could say it is meant to put a little extra money back into pockets just in time for the festival season.

03 Tech, Manufacturing and Challenges for Youth

There were big promises for technology and manufacturing! By the end of this year, India will roll out its first Made-in-India semiconductor chip. That is a big deal because chips run everything from phones to cars, and the world pays close attention to who makes them.

PM Modi also urged young engineers and scientists to try building jet engines in India, pointing to past successes like vaccine manufacturing and UPI payments as examples of what India can do when it focuses. On space, he mentioned growing capability and startups. He named Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla as an example of homegrown talent and said plans are on the table for an Indian space station.

04 Energy, Minerals and Defence: Bigger, Cleaner, Safer

Energy security was another clear theme. The government is working on 10 new nuclear reactors and aims to increase nuclear power capacity more than ten times by 2047. There is also a National Deepwater Exploration Mission to look for resources under the ocean and a National Critical Minerals Mission to explore 1,200 sites for minerals needed by industry and defence. Modi added that India has already met the target of 50% clean energy by 2025.

On defence, he pointed to Operation Sindoor as proof of growing self-reliance and launched Mission Sudarshan Chakra to strengthen offensive capabilities. The message is that India will rely more on its own technology and resources.

05 Jobs, Demography and Health: People First

A major promise was about jobs. The PM Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana is a ₹1 lakh crore scheme that will give ₹15,000 to each newly employed youth and aims to help three crore young people. That is meant to turn some of the economic talk into real jobs.

PM Modi also announced a High-Powered Demography Mission to deal with population issues in border areas caused by infiltration and illegal migration. On health, he urged more domestic research and development in medicines, pointing to India’s role as the pharmacy of the world during the COVID crisis. The call was to make more medicines and medical technology in India for Indians and for the world.

Summary
So what should a regular person expect? Short answer: a mix of small wins and long-term projects. In the near term, we will notice simpler paperwork and possibly lower GST on some everyday items by Diwali. If you earn up to ₹12 lakh a year, your tax bill could be zero under the new framework. For students and young workers, there is a clear push to create jobs and new technology work. For shopkeepers, the Vocal for Local push means a push to buy and sell more Made-in-India products. The bigger projects like chips, reactors and deepwater missions will take longer but are meant to secure jobs and resources down the road.

PM Modi urged shopkeepers to put up Swadeshi boards and asked citizens to choose Indian-made goods out of pride, not compulsion.

Full Speech

PM Modi ended with a simple idea: do not keep measuring where others are. Extend your own line. In other words, focus on building capability at home and making the change visible for citizens. Some promises will arrive quickly, others will take a few years. The test will be delivery.

For now, the tone is clear. The government wants reforms that affect daily life, and it wants to back them with big projects that make India less dependent on others. Whether you watch closely or wait to see, the speech was meant to say that independence now must mean the power to make, to secure and to employ our own people.

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