I-Day speech: PM Modi puts youth at centre of India's 2047 vision with skills, sports, wellness push

New Delhi, Aug 15 (IANS) In his 80th Independence Day address from the ramparts of Red Fort, Prime Minister Narendra Modi placed the country's young generation at the heart of India's journey towards becoming a developed nation by 2047, outlining a multi-pronged approach that blends opportunity, capability and well-being. 

Speaking to the nation, the Prime Minister zeroed in on a quiet crisis facing millions of middle-class and poor families; the relentless pressure to spend heavily on coaching centres.

Parents, PM Modi said, often feel that skipping expensive coaching classes somehow means failing their children or losing social standing. To break this cycle, the Union government will roll out free online coaching for a wide range of competitive examinations.

The programme will draw on India's digital public infrastructure and pool the best teaching talent so that quality preparation becomes available without draining household savings or forcing young people to leave home.

In the same breath, Prime Minister Modi announced an ambitious target to train one crore youth in artificial intelligence skills within the coming year.

The goal is clear: ensure Indian talent does not merely participate in the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution but leads it.

The Prime Minister linked this push to the larger ecosystem already taking shape -- more than 2.5 lakh startups, a Rs 1 lakh crore Innovation Fund, thousands of Atal Tinkering Labs, and a private space team with an average age of 28 that successfully launched a rocket on its first attempt.

Prime Minister Modi also turned to sports as a powerful vehicle for youth development.

With India eyeing the 2036 Olympics and preparing to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games, he unveiled a nationwide talent-hunt campaign focused on children between 5 and 15 years.

The idea is to identify potential early, especially in disciplines where India currently has little presence, and give those youngsters specialised training so the country can compete across a much wider range of events.

Beyond skills and sports, PM Modi called for a collective 100-week campaign to build a drug-free India, urging families, My Bharat volunteers, NGOs and spiritual organisations to protect the physical and mental strength of the young generation.

He reminded the youth that the country's transformation over the past twelve years -- from start-ups and bio-economy growth to electric vehicles and expanded higher education -- has opened doors that earlier generations could only imagine.

By combining immediate relief from coaching costs with long-term capability building in AI, sports and personal well-being, the Prime Minister presented a practical and hopeful roadmap.

The message was unmistakable: India's youth are not just beneficiaries of development; they are its primary drivers, and the nation is ready to invest fully in their success.

--IANS

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