PM Modi delivers longest speech at 103 minutes on 79th Independence Day, breaks his record

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the nation this year lasted for 103 minutes, marking his longest Independence Day speech from the Red Fort on Friday. His speech centered around multiple issues that concern India's national interests and various other schemes. 

Elected for the third term in office after 2014 and 2019, this was his second speech after 2024. His Independence Day speech last year continued for 98 minutes, then it was the longest one. 

In 2023, PM Modi addressed the nation for 90 minutes, while in 2019, it lasted for 92 minutes. It was his longest speech of the second term in office. 

The shortest ever speech by the current Prime Minister was in 2017, when he spoke for less than an hour. 

PM Modi's first Independence Day speech came in 2014, when he was elected as the Prime Minister of India for the first time. Then, he had spoken for about 65 minutes. In 2018, he spoke for 83 minutes. 

As he addressed the nation this year, PM Modi also surpassed Indira Gandhi's record of delivering the most number of Independence Day speeches from the Red Fort, speaking for straight 12th time in a row. 

However, the record for the most consecutive Independence Day speeches is held by the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru. He delivered 17 speeches while serving as the Prime Minister of India, between 1947 and 1963. 

Indira Gandhi, while serving as the Prime Minister of India for two terms, 1966-1977 and 1980-84, addressed the nation a total of 16 times. But, it was consecutive 11 times. 

Last year, PM Modi broke ex-Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh's record of delivering 11 consecutive addresses. 

Donning a saffron turban, Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the 79th Independence Day celebrations and addressed the nation from the Red Fort. He was wearing a white kurta and chudidaar, paired with a saffron bandhgala jacket, along with a tricolor stole that complemented his entire look. 

Before reaching the Red Fort, the PM had extended his greetings for the day. Posting on X, he wrote, "Wishing everyone a very happy Independence Day. May this day inspire us to keep working even harder to realise the dreams of our freedom fighters and build a Viksit Bharat. Jai Hind."