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New Delhi, August 15
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today announced free online coaching for young people preparing for various competitive examinations, saying the move would ease the financial burden of coaching classes on poor and middle-class families.
Addressing the nation from the Red Fort on India’s 80th Independence Day, Modi said the government would bring together Digital Public Infrastructure, teachers and available talent to create a nationwide network offering free coaching to students.
He said access to quality coaching should not depend on a family’s ability to pay for private classes.
The announcement was part of a wider set of initiatives covering education, artificial intelligence, sport, civil defence, semiconductor manufacturing, nuclear energy and women-led development.
Modi also announced a plan to train one crore young people in artificial intelligence skills over the next year. He said the rapid expansion of AI made it essential for India’s youth to develop the skills needed to compete and lead globally.
The Prime Minister also announced nationwide sports talent hunt for children aged between five and 15. The campaign will cover villages, cities and schools with promising youngsters identified for specialised training.
He said greater attention would be given to sports in which India has traditionally had little or no participation at the Olympics, with the aim of developing athletes capable of competing at the highest level.
On national security, Modi announced plans to build a more extensive Civil Defence network to deal with modern forms of warfare.
He said conflicts were no longer necessarily restricted to borders and could disrupt refineries, banks, data centres, factories and other critical infrastructure. Existing Civil Defence arrangements had largely been designed for the wars of the previous century and needed to be modernised, he said.
The government would familiarise citizens with new systems and develop a large voluntary Civil Defence force capable of responding to emerging threats.
Modi also set out plans to expand India’s semiconductor manufacturing capacity. He said three
semiconductor plants had already begun production and that their output was being exported.
A further five to eight plants, he said, were expected to be established over the next seven to eight years as India seeks greater self-reliance in a sector central to modern technology.
Energy security was another major focus of the speech.
Modi said India was targeting 100GW of nuclear power capacity by 2047, while aiming to begin work on five new nuclear reactors during the current decade. He also highlighted India’s progress in fast breeder nuclear technology, describing it as an important step towards greater self-reliance in nuclear fuel.
The Prime Minister also announced a new target of creating six crore Lakhpati Didis, women in rural communities earning at least Rs 100,000 a year.
He said the earlier target of three crore Lakhpati Didis had already been exceeded. Creating another three crore financially successful women, he said, could transform the rural economy and strengthen women’s role in India’s development.
The announcements formed part of Modi’s broader Independence Day message, which focused on building a skilled workforce, expanding technological capabilities and increasing India’s self-reliance.
The North News
