Highlights of 79th Independence Day of India on August 15, 2025

On 15 August 2025, The Government of India (GoI) organised the 79th Independence Day (I-Day) celebrations at the Red Fort in New Delhi, Delhi. Prime Minister (PM) of India Narendra Modi addressed the nation and delivered his 12th consecutive Independence Day speech which lasted for 103 minute, the longest by any PM in India’s history.

• This year’s Independence Day theme is centered on ‘Naya Bharat’, signifying the GoI’s vision of achieving ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047.

Historic Independence Day Milestone:

Record Breaking: With this, PM Modi surpassed the record of former PM of India, Indira Gandhi who delivered 11 Independence Day speeches from Red Fort in a row.

Legacy: Now, he stands next only to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, former and 1st PM of Independent India, who delivered 17 Independence Day addresses in a row.

Highlights of I-Day Celebrations :

Coordinating Service: Indian Air Force (IAF) was the coordinating officer service for this year’s national event, featured a ceremonial Guard of Honour, a 21-gun salute, and special flypast which carried the national flag and the Operation Sindoor flag.

Contingent of Guard of Honour: The Guard of Honour contingent for PM comprised of 96 defence personnel, including one officer and 24 members each from the Indian Army (IA), IAF, and Delhi Police.

• The Guard of Honour was commanded by Wing Commander A.S. Sekhon. 
• Major Arjun Singh, commanded the IA contingent in PM’s Guard of Honour;
• While, Lieutenant Commander Komaldeep Singh led the Indian Navy(IN) contingent; Squadron Leader Rajan Arora commanded the IAF contingent; and Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Rohit Rajbir Singh, led the Delhi Police contingent.

National Flag Guard: It comprised of 128 personnel including one officer and 32 Other Ranks each from IA, IN and IAF and Delhi Police, presented the Rashtriya Salute at the time of hoisting of National Flag by PM.

Hoisting of National Flag: Flying Officer (FO) Rashika Sharma assisted PM Modi in hoisting the national flag, which was synchronized with a 21-gun salute from 1721 Field Battery (Ceremonial) using indigenous 105 millimeter (mm) Light Field Guns.

• After the flag unfurling, two IAF Mi-17 helicopters, carrying the national flag and Operation Sindoor flag, showered flower petals at the venue.
• It was led by Wing Commander Vinay Poonia and Wing Commander Aditya Jaiswal.

National Anthem: An IAF band, which included one JCO and 25 Other Ranks, had played the National Anthem during the hoisting of the National Flag.

• The band was led by Junior Warrant Officer M. Deka, and also, for the 1st time, 11 Agniveer Vayu musicians were part of the bands.
• After PM Modi’s Speech, National Cadet Corps (NCC) cadets and ‘My Bharat’ volunteers sang the National Anthem.

Special Guests Invited: This year, around 5,000 special guests were invited to the Independence Day celebrations, including the Indian contingent of the Special Olympic Games 2025, winners of international sports events, and gold medalists of the Khelo India Para Games.

• Special guests who contributed significantly to women’s empowerment and child welfare were also honoured during the event.
• A total of 171 special guests were part of the event, comprising Anganwadi workers and supervisors, children from CCIS, beneficiaries of the PM CARES scheme, Child Development Project Officers (CDPOs), District Child Protection Officers (DCPOs), staff of One Stop Centres (OSCs), and other officials from the Department of Women and Child Development (WCD) across various States and Union Territories.

Key Announcements by PM Narendra Modi:

GST Reforms: While addressing the nation from Red Fort, PM Narendra Modi announced that the GoI will revise the Goods and Services Tax (GST) structure to reduce rates on essential goods and streamline tax slabs for the benefit of households and small businesses, with these reforms expected to be implemented by October 2025.

Formation of Reform Task Force: PM Modi also announced the formation of a dedicated Task Force for Next-Generation Reforms, aimed at driving India’s economic growth and achieving USD 10 trillion economy by 2047.

• This newly announced task force will be entrusted with the responsibility to evaluate all current laws, rules and procedures related to economic activities.
• It will work within a set timeline to reduce compliance costs for start-ups, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), and entrepreneurs.

PM Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana (PM-VBRY): He also announced the launch of a major employment scheme ‘PM-VBRY’ worth around Rs 1 lakh crore, designed to support 1st –time private sector employees.

• Under this scheme, GoI will provide a financial assistance of Rs 15,000 per month to newly employed youngsters.
• The scheme is expected to generate over 3.5 crore new jobs, including 1.92 crore 1st –time employees, over a period of 2 years (from 2025 to 2027).
• In July 2025, the Union Cabinet chaired by PM Narendra Modi had approved the scheme as part of its strategy to incentivize job creation nationwide and was officially effective from August 01, 2025.

Sudarshan Chakra Mission: He announced the launch of ‘Mission Sudarshan Chakra’, India’s state-of-the-art defence system, aimed at enhancing modern weapon systems to protect key military establishments and strengthen retaliatory capabilities over the next 10 years.

• This newly announced air defence system is expected to be completed by 2035. It will be designed on the lines of Israel’s Iron Dome all weather air-defence system.

Indigenously Developed Semiconductor Chips: He further announced that India’s 1st indigenously developed semiconductor chips will be available in the market by the end of 2025.

High-powered Demography Mission: He also announced the launch of High-Powered Demographic Mission, aimed at addressing key national security issues like infiltration and demographic changes, especially in border areas of the country.

Nuclear Energy Capacity: He highlighted that work is underway on 10 new nuclear reactors as part of India’s mission to increase its nuclear power generation capacity by more than 10 times in the next two decades i.e. by 2047.

Other announcements: PM Narendra Modi also announced the launch of the National Deepwater Exploration Mission to utilize ocean resources, alongside key expansions in solar, hydrogen, among others.

• He further announced that the GoI will prioritize the development of indigenous jet engines.

Awards/Honours:

Gallantry Medals/Services Medals:

Total Awardees: As per the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), a total of 1,090 personnel of Police, Fire, Home Guard and Civil Defence (HG&CD) and Correctional Services have been awarded Gallantry and Service Medals on the occasion of 79th I-Day celebration.

Gallantry Medals:

Region-Wise: Among the majority of the 233 GMs, 54 personnel from Left Wing Extremism affected areas, 152 personnel from Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) region, 03 personnel from North-East (NE) region and 24 personnel from other regions.

State-wise GM Awardees: Among 233 GMs, Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) with 127 GMs received the highest number of medals for gallantry, followed by Central Reserve Police (CRPF) (20) and Border Security Force (BSF) (16).

• 17 Personnel from Uttar Pradesh (UP) Police
• 14 Personnel from Chhattisgarh Police
• 9 Personnel from Odisha Police
• 7 Personnel from Maharashtra Police
• 7 Personnel from Bihar Police
• 5 Personnel from Jharkhand
• 3 Personnel from Assam Police
• 1 from Telangana Police

Additionally, 7 GM awards were given to personnel from HG&CD and Fire Service:

• 3 personnel from Maharashtra Fire Service
• 2 personnel from Delhi Fire Service
• 1 personnel from J&K Fire Service
• 1 personnel from UP HC&CD

Click here for the list of GM Awardees

President’s Medal for Distinguished Services (PSM): It is awarded for exceptional records, with 99 awards were presented to various services including:

• 89 Police Service
• 05 to Fire Service
• 03 to HG&CD
• 02 to Correctional Services

Click here for PSM Awardees

Medal for Meritorious Service (MSM): It is awarded for valuable service marked by resource and devotion, with 758 awards given to various services including:

• 635 Police Service
• 51 to Fire Service
• 41to HG&CD
• 31 to Correctional Services

Click here  for list of MSM Awardees

Gallantry Awards/Distinguished Services to Armed Forces and CAPFs:

Total Awards: On the occasion of Independence Day, President of India Droupadi Murmu approved 127 Gallantry Awards and 40 distinguished service awards to the Armed Forces and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) personnel.

Distribution of Gallantry Awards: These awards include: 04 Kirti Chakra which is India’s 2nd highest peacetime gallantry medal;

• 15 Vir Chakra which is India’s 3rd highest war-time gallantry award. Among them, 13 personnel from the Armed forces including 9 from IAF and 4 from IA, were honoured with Vir Chakra for ‘Operation Sindoor’;
• 16 Shaurya Chakras, which is India’s 3rd highest peace-time gallantry award;
• 02 Bar to Sena Medals (Gallantry)
• 58 Sena Medals (Gallantry)
• 06 Nao Sena Medals (Gallantry);
• 26 Vayu Sena Medals (Gallantry);
• 07 Sarvottam Yudh Seva Medals (SYSMs);
• 09 Uttam Yudh Seva Medals; and
• 24 Yudh Seva Medals.

Mention-in-Despatches: Other than these Gallantry Awards, the President has approved 290 Mention-in-Despatches including 115 personnel of the IA, 05 of IN, 167 of IAF and 03 of the Border Roads Development Board (BRDB).

CAPF with highest number of Medals: CRPF with 23 Gallantry Medals (including 20 GMs for valour in J&K and Maoist-hit regions and 3 Shaurya Chakras), the highest among all CAPFs .

Click here for full list of Awardees

Tatrakshak Medal to ICG:

TM to 05 ICG: On the occasion of 79th Independence Day celebration, President of India Droupadi Murmu has approved 3 Tatrakshak Medal(TM) (Gallantry) and 2 TM (Meritorious Service) to Indian Coast Guard (ICG) Personnel.

• These awards recognize exceptional devotion to duty, bravery, and distinguished/meritorious services.
• These awards are given to the personnel of the ICG on the occasion of Republic Day and Independence Day annually since January 26, 1990.

Historical Background:

Independent on: India was declared independent from British-colonial rule on August 15, 1947.

• India Independence Act, 1947 created two separate independent nations i.e. India and Pakistan from British India.

Division of Two Provinces: The provinces of Bengal and Punjab were divided between India and Pakistan.

Governor-General of India: Lord Mountbatten was the last Governor General of British India and 1st Governor General of Independent India, from August 1947 to June 1948.

1st PM of Independent India: Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru was appointed 1st PM of Independent India, who hoisted the Indian flag for the 1st time at Lahori Gate, in Delhi.