At 57 mins, Modi makes his shortest I-Day speech

Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered on his promise on Tuesday by making his shortest Independence Day speech so far. The speech lasted 57 minutes.

Last year, the PM had set a record of delivering the longest Independence Day speech which stretched to 96 minutes. 

Afterwards, he received several letters from people complaining about the length of his speeches. 

He mentioned the letters in his radio address ‘Mann Ki Baat’ last month. He then promised to make a shorter speech this time.

Until 2016, the speech of India’s first PM Jawaharlal Nehru, which lasted for 72 minutes in 1947, was the longest-ever address from the Red Fort.

In 2014, Modi spoke for over 65 minutes while the speech was 86 minutes long in 2015. 

Modi’s predecessor Manmohan Singh, who delivered 10 speeches over his long tenure at the helm, never went beyond the the 50-minute mark. 

His speeches lasted 50 minutes only on two occasions – 2005 and 2006. Otherwise, his speeches ranged from 32 to 45 minutes in length.