New Delhi, Aug 15: Following is the sixth part of the text of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's address from the Red Fort on the occasion of the nation's 62nd Independence Day:

Brothers and Sisters,

I have said on a number of occasions that I am greatly concerned about the problem of regional imbalances in development. Some parts of our country are doing much better than others. Some States are being left behind. This pattern has persisted for far too long. We must ensure that the less developed States catch up with the developed ones.

New Delhi, Aug 15 : Following is the forth part of the text of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's address from the Red Fort on the occasion of the nation's 62nd Independence Day:

Brothers and Sisters,

New Delhi, Aug 15 : Following is the third part of the text of Prime

Minister Manmohan Singh''s address from the Red Fort on the occasion

of the nation''s 62nd Independence Day:

Brothers and Sisters,

Providing employment has been a special priority for us. Our policies for agriculture, for industry, for infrastructure development and for skill development, will all promote employment.

New Delhi, Aug 15 : Following is the second part of the text of Prime

Minister Manmohan Singh''s address from the Red Fort on the occasion

of the nation''s 62nd Independence Day:

Brothers and Sisters,

New Delhi, Aug. 15 : Following is the first part of the text of Prime

Minister Manmohan Singh''s address from the Red Fort on the occasion

of the nation''s 62nd Independence Day:

My dear countrymen, brothers, sisters and my dear children.

Greetings to all of you on this happy occasion of our Independence Day.

This is a sacred day for every Indian.

Today we remember the sacrifice of those who under the leadership of

Mahatma Gandhi fought for our freedom from foreign rule.

New Delhi - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in his Independence Day speech Friday, strongly defended his government's decision to pursue a civilian nuclear deal with the United States and talked of the need for political consensus to battle issues like terrorism, extremism and communalism.

Addressing the nation from the ramparts of the historic Red Fort in New Delhi after unfurling the national flag, Singh dwelled on a range of issues, including relations with Pakistan.