President Pranab Mukherjee addresses the nation on the eve of 68th Republic Day:

On the eve of the sixty-eighth Republic Day of our nation, I extend warm greetings to all of you in India and abroad.

My special greetings to members of our Armed Forces, Para-military Forces and Internal Security Forces.

When India attained freedom on 15th August 1947, we did not have an instrument of governance of our own. We waited till 26th January, 1950 when the Indian people gave to themselves a Constitution.

We promised to promote fraternity, dignity of the individual, and unity and integrity of the nation. On that day, we became the largest democracy of the world.

Indian democracy has been an oasis of stability in the region troubled by unrest.

We are today the fastest growing amongst the major economies of the world. We are the 2nd largest reservoir of scientific & technical manpower, 3rd largest army, 6th member of the nuclear club.

We are 6th member in the race for space and 10th largest industrial power.

From a net food grains importing country, India is now a leading exporter of food commodities.

The journey so far has been eventful, sometimes painful, but most of the times, exhilarating. What has brought us thus far will take us further ahead.

But we will have to learn to adjust our sails, quickly and deftly, to the winds of change.

Evolutionary & incremental growth will have to accommodate rapid disruptions brought in by advances of science & tech.

Innovation, more so inclusive innovation, will have to become a way of life. Education will have to keep pace with technology.

In the race between man and machine, the winner will have to be job generation.

The velocity of technology adoption will call for a workforce that is willing to learn and adapt.

Our education system will have to join hands with innovation to prepare our youth for life-long learning.

Our economy has been performing well despite the challenging global economic conditions.

Though our exports are yet to pick up, we have managed a stable external sector with sizeable foreign exchange reserves.

Demonetisation, while immobilizing black money may have led to temporary slowdown of economic activity. As more and more transactions become cashless, it will improve the transparency of the economy.

Born in independent India, three generations of citizens do not carry the baggage of colonial past.

These generations have had privilege of acquiring education, pursuing opportunities & chasing dreams in a free nation.

Democracy has conferred rights on each one of us; but along with these rights, come responsibilities.

Youth today are brimming with hope and aspirations.