Modi vows to fix government muddle on India's 68th Independence Day

2014-08-15 35

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi voiced dismay on Friday (August 15) at the government in-fighting he found on assuming office in May and vowed to fire up the bureaucracy to deliver results in a country desperately in need of growth and development.

On the occasion of India's 68th Independence Day, a wave of patriotism filled the air as Modi unfurled the national tricolour flag and addressed thousands of people at the historic podium from the ramparts of 17th-century Red Fort from where Mughal kings ruled Delhi for two centuries.

Delivering his first Independence Day speech, Modi emphasised the need for better governance but announced none of the sweeping market reforms that many who handed him India's biggest election mandate in three decades have been awaiting.

Modi unveiled an initiative to improve access to financial services for the two-fifths of Indians who lack a bank account and are often at the mercy of moneylenders who charge extortionate interest.