Inhis address to the nation on the eve of 73rd Independence Day, President RamNath Kovind on Wednesday evening said that the recent changes made in Jammu& Kashmir and Ladakh would be of immense benefit to those regions.

"Thiswill enable the people to access and enjoy the same rights, same privileges andsame facilities as their fellow citizens in the rest of the country," said thePresident.

"The illustrious generation that led the country to freedom did not perceive independence only in terms of transfer of political power. They considered it a stepping stone in a longer and larger process of nation-building and national welding," said President Kovind.

Speaking on the 150th birth anniversary of the Father of Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, President Kovind said, "Contemporary India is very different from the India in which Mahatma Gandhi lived and worked but Gandhiji remains extremely relevant."