In Independence Day address, Modi also announces manned space mission
In his last Independence Day address before the next general election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday announced not just the launch date for his ambitious health insurance scheme, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Abhiyan (PMJAA), but also permanent commission for women officers on short service commission in the uniformed services and plans for a manned space mission. The PMJAA, touted as the world’s largest healthcare scheme, aims to provide a cover of Rs. 5 lakh per family annually, benefiting more than 10 crore poor families. It will be launched on September 25. India will send a “son or daughter” to space with the national flag in hand by 2022, the Prime Minister said. The speech, at 82 minutes, repeatedly compared his own government’s achievements to the “situation in 2013” of “policy paralysis.”