Taking a leaf out of former US President Barack Obama’s famous “Yes we can” speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday hailed the “New India” where people say “We will” rather than asking “Will we?”.

“Five years ago people would ask will we ever be able to be free of dirt? Will we ever remove policy paralysis? Will we ever eliminate corruption? Today people say ‘we will’, instead of asking ‘will we?’. We will be a Swachh Bharat, we will be a nation free from corruption, we will make good governance a mass movement, the word ‘will’ that earlier reflected a pessimistic system now reflects an optimistic spirit of a youthful nation,” Modi said in his video address to a news conclave.

PM Modi further said that this is a New India where surnames of the youth do not matter, but what matters is their ability to make their own name.

“New India isn’t about the voice of a select few but each Indian. This is an India where corruption is never an option, whoever the person is. Competence is the norm,” the Prime Minister asserted.

He emphasised that the essence of the new India is how “We the people of India” have risen above self-interest and look at society’s interest, and a manifestation of sacrifice that would have made Mahatma Gandhi proud.

The Prime Minister said that the country is witness to changes that were earlier unthinkable.

“In a state like Haryana, it was not thinkable that recruitment for government jobs could be done in a transparent manner. But go to any village in Haryana and people are talking about transparency in recruitment process,” he said.

He added that in present times things are changing for the better. “We see the spirit of new India in the vibrant start of an ecosystem. Thousands of talented youngsters are creating fantastic platforms, showcasing the spirit of enterprise,” he said.

He said that New India is about participative democracy, a citizen-centric government and proactive citizenry, and added that it is the era of responsive people and responsive government.

Enumerating his government’s achievements he said that it has done everything possible to further individual aspirations and collective efforts for India’s betterment.

“Be it steps to improve ease of living, be it keeping prices under control, building 1.25 crore homes in five years, electrifying all villages, providing water to every household, improving health as well as education infrastructure, the government has done it all. Our aim is to create a right enabling environment for our youth,” said Modi.

(With inputs from IANS)