Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa today hoped that India will soon regain its rights over the Katchatheevu island that was ceded to Sri Lanka in 1974.

In her Independence Day speech in Chennai, Jayalalithaa also said that her government was taking steps to protect people from inflation due to the central government's wrong economic policies.

"I have faith in re-establishing our rights in Katchatheevu," she said after unfurling the national flag at the state secretariat Fort St. George.

This year, the Tamil Nadu assembly passed a resolution urging the central government to revoke the Katchatheevu transfer agreement.

The chief minister declared that Tamil Nadu will keep the public distribution system (PDS) going in order to address issues related to the poor.

Independence Day was celebrated across the state as district collectors unfurled the tricolour. In many schools, students turned out early in the morning with mini national flags pinned on their uniforms. (IANS)