India's self-reliance stands on 5 pillars of economy, infrastructure, technology-driven system, vibrant demography and demand: PM Narendra Modi

Amid the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday asserted that India's self-reliance stands on five pillars. Addressing the nation, PM Modi said the pillars are the economy, infrastructure, technology-driven system, vibrant demography and demand. This is the prime minister's fifth address to the nation, including a video message, following the outbreak of COVID-19.

Explaining the pillars, PM Modi said that in the economy it shouldn't be an incremental change but instead a quantum jump. The infrastructure should be world-class and it should define India and India's system shouldn't be about last century but should be tech-driven. He added that the biggest democracy has vibrant demography and the demand-supply chain in our economy has to be utilised at an optimum level. 

Coronavirus going to be part of our lives for a long time, but we can't let our lives revolve around it only, said PM Modi. "In this hour of crisis, local suppliers have met our demands; Indians have to be 'vocal about local' and buy products from them," said the PM.

PM Modi also announced a special economic package. If all the packages announced in the last few weeks are taken together then the package comes to Rs 20 lakh crore. He said, "Rs 20 lakh crore and 2020 will help India become self-reliant. In this land, labour, liquidity and laws are in equal focus.