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Free coaching classes, AI training: PM Modi's big Gen Z outreach in Independence Day speech
Prime Minister Modi said that 10 million youth will be trained in Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the next one year.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced free online coaching for various examinations to help students. He also said 10 million youths will be trained in Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the next one year.
Addressing the nation from the ramparts of Red Fort on Independence Day 2026, PM Modi said that the government will establish a network for providing free online coaching to students by bringing together digital public infrastructure, teachers and educators.
Competition around coaching classes
“The competition surrounding coaching classes has become a huge burden for middle-class families. Every parent feels that if they do not send their children to a coaching centres, they are somehow falling behind or do not belong to a respectable family. Keeping the concerns of poor and middle-class families in mind, we want to help save them the thousands of crores of rupees which they spend on coaching. Our young people should be able to stay close to their families, receive their care, and avoid placing an additional financial burden on them,” Modi said.
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“Therefore, we have decided to provide free online coaching for various competitive examinations for our youth. We have digital public infrastructure, and we have highly talented teachers and educators. By bringing these resources together, we will provide free coaching to the country’s young people and build an entire network for this purpose,” he added.
Currently, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur provides free coaching classes through its online education platform SATHEE (Self-Assessment Test and Help for Entrance Exams). Started in November 2023 in collaboration with the Department of Higher Education (DoHE) of the Union education ministry, the IIT Kanpur-run platform provides access to “quality education” for competitive examinations such as JEE, NEET, CUET, ICAR, SSC and IBPS etc. “The platform provides free educational content and guidance from premier institutions for the competitive exams to all learners, including economically and socially weaker sections. More than 21 lakh learners have registered on the platform so far,” Union education minister Pralhad Joshi told Lok Sabha in response to several questions on expansion of academic assistance in higher education on August 3.
In June 2025, the Union education ministry constituted a high-level 9-member expert committee specifically tasked with recommending systemic reforms to reduce student dependence on private coaching centers and curb the growth of parallel "dummy schools". The committee held three meetings on August 26, 2025, November 15, 2025, and June 2, 2026 and is yet to submit its recommendations.
The government’s online coaching move comes weeks after youth-led protests against examination irregularities were held across various parts of the country including Delhi’s Jantar Mantar which forced Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation as Union education minister on July 25.
Role of youth in Viksit Bharat
In his address to the nation, PM Modi said that ten million youths in the country will be given training in AI in one year.
“My dear fellow citizens, when I speak of a Viksit Bharat, when I speak of advancing the nation at high speed—who is the greatest beneficiary of this? Who is the greatest driving force behind all these efforts?
If there is a driving force, it is the youth of my country. It is the power of my nation’s youth. The youth have an immense role to play in the journey toward a Viksit Bharat... Today, from the ramparts of the Red Fort, I wish to make an announcement for the youth of the country: We have resolved that in the coming one year, we will work to provide AI skill training to 1 crore youth, so that the youth of our nation possess the capability to lead the world in the domain of AI as well,” he said.
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The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) launched the Skilling for AI Readiness (SOAR) programme in July 2025 to build foundational AI skills among school students (Classes 6–12) and educators. It offers three 15-hour student modules—AI to be Aware, AI to Acquire and AI to Aspire—and a 45-hour AI for Educators course. The modules cover AI basics, generative AI, applications, programming, ethics, cybersecurity and career opportunities. Of 230,000 learners enrolled, nearly 29,800 (13%) had been certified as of March 2026, HT reported earlier.
PM Modi also hailed the country’s youth in his Independence Day speech.
Hailing Indian youth during his Independence Day speech, PM Modi said youth have a very important role in the journey towards a developed India. “Not only that, they will also be the biggest beneficiaries of a developed India. Therefore, we have to link the goal of a developed India with our youth and move forward. We have to make the youth our highest priority,” PM Modi said.
