On the eve of our 71st Republic Day, I extend my warmgreetings to all of you, in India and abroad.

Seven decades ago, on 26th January, our Constitution cameinto effect. Even before that, this date had acquired special significance.Having resolved to attain 'Purna Swaraj', our people had been celebrating'Purna Swaraj Day' on every 26th January from 1930 to 1947. That is why, in1950 we embarked our journey as a Republic on the 26thJanuary, affirming to theprinciples laid down in our Constitution. Since then, every year we celebrateour Republic Day on 26th January.

The modern State comprises the three organs - Legislature,Executive and Judiciary, which are necessarily interlinked and interdependent.Yet, on ground, the people comprise the State. 'We the People' are the primemovers of the Republic. With us, the people of India rests the real power todecide our collective future.

Our Constitution gave us rights as citizens of a freedemocratic nation, but also placed on us the responsibility to always adhere tothe central tenets of our democracy - justice, liberty, equality andfraternity. It becomes easier for us to follow these constitutional ideals, ifwe keep in mind the life and values of the Father of our Nation. By doing so,we will be adding a meaningful dimension to our celebrations of 150th birthanniversary of Gandhiji. The Government has launched a number of welfarecampaigns, and what is especially noteworthy about them is the fact thatcitizens have voluntarily turned them into popular movements. The 'SwachchhBharat Abhiyan' has achieved astounding success in such a short time. The samespirit can be seen in other endeavours.

Be it giving up cooking fuel subsidy or pushing digitalpayments, the common man has made the government programmes his own, makingthem truly effective. The success of the 'Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana' is amatter of pride, as the target of 8 crore beneficiaries has been achieved. Withthis, those in need have access to clean fuel. The 'Pradhan Mantri Sahaj BijliHar Ghar Yojana', that is, 'Saubhagya' too has brightened people's lives.

Under 'Pradhanmantri Kisan Samman Nidhi', more than 14 crorefarmer families have become entitled to receive minimum annual income of Rs6,000 thousand. This has enabled the farmers who feed us to live a life ofdignity.

To effectively meet the challenge of the increasing watercrisis, the Ministry of Jalshakti has been created. Water conservation andwater management are being given top priority. I am confident that, like'Swachchh Bharat Abhiyan', 'Jal Jeevan Mission' too will take the form of a popularmovement.

Along with the welfare of those most in need, every policyinitiative of the Government is guided by the 'nation-first' principle. Theroll-out of the GST has realised our vision of 'One country, One tax, Onemarket'. It is being complemented by the e-NAM scheme, which is strengtheningthe process of creating 'one market for one nation' and will benefit farmers

There is a consistent effort by the government to ensureoverall development of each and every part of the country - be it Jammu-Kashmirand Ladakh, the states in the North-East or our Islands in the Indian Ocean.

Strong internal security is essential for the development ofthe country. Therefore, the government has taken several concrete steps tostrengthen the internal security system.

Access to health and education are often considered thefoundation of good governance. In both these sectors, we have come a long wayin the seven decades. The Government has rightly focused its attention on thehealth sector, with its ambitious initiatives.

Starting with the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, andexpanding to the Ayushman Bharat, which is the world's largest publicly fundeduniversal healthcare programme, the Government has shown its care and concern forthe well-being of the poor.

Quality of healthcare has improved, so has its reach. TheJan Aushadhi Yojana has brought down the healthcare budget of common people inthe country by providing quality generic medicines at affordable prices.

The foundations of a sound education system were built inancient times, with the setting up of great universities like Nalanda andTakshashila. In India, knowledge has always been considered more valuable thanpower, fame or riches. In our tradition, educational institutions are respectedas temples of learning.

When our land was pushed into backwardness after the longcolonial rule, it was education that emerged as a path to empowerment. Eventhough the development of our educational institutions commenced soon afterIndependence, in an environment of scarcity of resources, our achievements inthe field of education have followed a remarkable trajectory. Our endeavour isto ensure that no child or youth is denied education. At the same time, we needto strive to reach global education standards by continuous reform of oureducational systems.

India is proud of the achievements of Isro. They are makingfurther progress in Mission Gaganyaan, and the nation excitedly looks forwardto the Indian Human Spaceflight Programme gaining further momentum this year.

This is also the year of Tokyo Olympics. While India hastraditionally done well in a number of sports, the new generation of playersand athletes has brought laurels for the nation in more and more varieties ofsports in recent years. At Olympics 2020, the Indian contingent will be backedby cheers and good wishes of millions of Indians.

Another source of pride for our country has been ourdiaspora. During my visits abroad, I have observed that Indians have not onlybrought prosperity to their adopted lands, they have also enhanced India'simage before the world community. Many of them have made great contributions ina wide variety of endeavours.

Dear fellow citizens,

I have nothing but unreserved praise for our armed forces,paramilitary and internal security forces. Their sacrifices to preserve theintegrity and unity of our country present a saga of unparalleled courage anddiscipline. Our farmers, doctors and nurses, teachers who impart learning andvalues, scientists and engineers, alert and active youth, industrious membersof our workforce, entrepreneurs contributing to our economic wealth, artistswho enrich our culture, service sector professionals who have earned globalappreciation, our fellow countrymen contributing in many other spheres ofactivity and specially our resilient daughters who have scaled new heights ofachievements against odds - they all bring pride to our nation.