Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said India had repeatedly proved its detractors wrong during times of crisis, asserting that the country's growing self-reliance had ensured uninterrupted supplies of fuel, gas and fertiliser even during the West Asia crisis.
Addressing the nation from the Red Fort on the 80th Independence Day, Modi said some people had tried to scare Indians that the country would face shortages of petrol, diesel and LPG when the West Asia crisis erupted.
"We proved the naysayers wrong by ensuring sufficient energy supplies," he said.
He also accused some people of spreading misinformation during the Covid-19 pandemic and said they 'derived pleasure' from the crisis.
According to Modi, some people had also 'weaponised systems at their disposal' during times of crisis, but India's self-reliance helped it withstand such pressures.
Highlighting the push for energy security, Modi said more than 50 lakh households were now covered by solar energy and piped gas had reached 1.75 crore households.
He said the government had set a target of 200 GW of nuclear energy and was setting up five new nuclear reactors.
Modi also cited the electrification of the railways as an example of accelerated development, saying that while only 30 per cent of the network had been electrified in the 90 years after work began in 1925, the entire network was electrified in the past decade.
He said the country had also launched a hydrogen train.
Calling self-reliance essential for India's progress, Modi said the country could not remain dependent on other nations and pointed to the production of semiconductors and growing Indian dependence on neither domestic nor foreign critical-mineral supplies as signs of its capabilities.
He said India had also concluded free-trade agreements with 40 countries. -- PTI
