The Tamilnadu Chief Minister Ms.J.Jayalalithaa hoisted the national flag at the ramparts of Fort St George. In her Independence day speech, Ms.Jayalalithaa recalled the enormous amount of sacrifice of the Indian freedom fighters to achieve freedom. She announced a hike in the freedom fighters pension from 5000 to 7000 rupees every month and also their medical allowance has been raised from 100 rupees to 500. Their family pension will also be increased from 2500 to 3500 rupees a month.

Recollecting the plight of the Tamils in Srilanka, the Chief Minister appealed to the Centre to impress upon the Srilankan Government to render justice by giving equal rights to the Tamils. Ms.Jayalalithaa said that her government with a foresight to development has launched Vision 2023 with an aim to achieve 20 percent overall growth.