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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced free online coaching for the youth preparing for competitive examinations, saying the initiative would help ease the financial burden on poor and middle-class families.

Addressing the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the occasion of Independence Day, PM Modi also announced a plan to provide artificial intelligence (AI) skill training to one crore youth over the coming year, with the aim of preparing them to lead globally in the field.

Free Online Coaching For Competitive Exams

PM Modi said the growing competition around coaching centres had become a major financial burden for middle-class families, with parents feeling compelled to send their children for coaching out of fear that they may otherwise fall behind.

He said the government wants to help families save the large amounts they spend on coaching and allow young people to remain close to their families while preparing for competitive examinations.

"The competition surrounding coaching classes has become a huge burden for middle-class families. Every parent feels that if they do not send their child to a coaching centre, 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 they spend on coaching," he said.

He added that young people should be able to prepare for competitive examinations while remaining close to their families and without adding to the financial burden on them.

"Our young people should be able to stay close to their families, receive their care, and avoid placing an additional financial burden on them. 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," PM Modi added.

One Crore Youth To Get AI Skill Training

PM Modi also announced an AI skilling initiative targeting 1 crore youth in the coming one year.

Linking the initiative to his vision of a Viksit Bharat, PM Modi said the country's youth would be the key driving force behind India's development and would have an important role in the nation's journey.

He said young people would have an "immense role" in India's journey towards a Viksit Bharat.

"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 Viskit Bharat," he said.

He said the objective was to equip India's youth to take a leading role in artificial intelligence globally.

"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," the prime minister added.

PM Modi Leads Independence Day Celebrations

PM Modi led the national Independence Day celebrations at the historic Red Fort in New Delhi.

He hoisted the National Flag from the ramparts of the Red Fort and addressed the nation, outlining his vision for a 'Viksit Bharat' by 2047.

This year's celebrations carried special significance as the country marked 150 years of 'Vande Mataram'. For the first time, the National Song was rendered as part of the Independence Day ceremony at the Red Fort.