17 minutes of PM Modi speech at UNGA: Key highlights

While delivering the address, PM Modi made an effort to rise above regional tiffs, not mentioning Pakistan at all this year in his address, and highlighted India's contributions to the global community and the U.N. instead.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address at the 74th session of the U.N. General Assembly.

While delivering the mandate speech since coming to power for the second time, PM Modi made an effort to rise above regional tiffs, not mentioning Pakistan at all this year in his address, and highlighted India's contributions to the global community and the U.N. instead.

"Terrorism is the biggest global challenge," PM Modi asserted, adding," for humanities sake unite against terrorism."

"We believe that terrorism is not a challenge for any one country, but for all countries and of mankind as a whole. So for the sake of humanity, all the world has to unite against terror," PM Modi said.

"We belong to a country which has given the world Lord Buddha and not war, given a message of peace and hence our voice to alert the world against terrorism has seriousness and anger. A world divided on terror damages the basis on which the U.N. was created. And hence I consider it essential for the world to be united against terrorism," he said. 

"India has its 1000-years-old culture which has its traditions and that is assimilating dreams of the world in itself... We believe that public welfare should be done through people's participation. And this public welfare should not only be for India but for the welfare of the world. That's why our inspiration is- Sabka Saath, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Vishwas."

"India will be tuberculosis free by 2025. We have opened 5,000 special pharmacies," PM Modi said.

"India has given insurance to 5,00,000 people. 500 million poor people have been given medical facilities. Around 800 varieties of vital medicines have been made available", he said.

"While coming here, I read on the wall of the United Nations building - "No more single use plastic". I am happy to tell the gathering that while I am addressing you today, even at this time, we are running a big campaign to free India from single-use plastic." 

"For us in India, respect for nature is an integral part of spiritualism. We trear nature's bounties as sacred."

Modi said India has very less per capita emissions but was in the forefront of steps to tackle global warming.

"In the next 5 years, along with promoting water conservation, we are going to connect 15 crore houses with water. We are going to construct more than 1.25 lakh kilometers of roads in our remote villages. By 2022, when India will celebrate 75 years of its independence, we are going to build 2 crore more houses for the poor". 

"When a developing country successfully completes the world's biggest sanitation programme and 11 crore toilets are built in five years, all the systems attached with it give an inspiring message to the world," Modi said.

PM Modi also mentioned the Financial Inclusion scheme and said that 37 crore bank accounts have been opened for poor people in the last five years.

"Modern technology of the 21st century is bringing collective changes in society, economy, security, connectivity and international relations. A scattered world is not in anyone`s interest under these circumstances." 

"Neither do we have the option to stay limited within the boundaries of our state,"