India celebrates Independence Day amid tight security; PM promises to tackle inflation, terrorism

The prime minister also said he hoped the tension in the northeastern region and Jammu & Kashmir would ease and peace and prosperity would prevail. Political tension, Singh said, can only be resolved in an atmosphere of peace and goodwill.

Noting that the poor people were worst affected by the high inflation rate, Singh said the government is "taking determined measures to bring prices under reasonable control."

"I know how much each one of you is concerned about the recent rise in prices. The inflation we have seen this year is basically due to external factors. Our Government has worked hard to ensure that in India the rate of inflation is not as high as in many other countries. We have also taken special measures to insulate the poorer sections of our society from the full impact of rising food and fuel prices," the prime minister said.

"However, while making these efforts we should avoid doing anything which hurts our growth," he added.

The prime minister also said India should be imbued by a scientific temper. "This year, we hope to send an Indian Spacecraft, Chandrayan, to the moon. It will be an important milestone in the development of our space program," he said.

According to the prime minister, initiatives were also being taken to end India's nuclear isolation, and the India-US civilian nuclear agreement would resolve India's energy problems and enable the government to provide electricity to meet the needs of farmers, artisans, traders and industry.