Addressing the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the 80th Independence Day, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi announced a series of initiatives and targets covering Artificial Intelligence, education, sports, Civil Defence, semiconductor manufacturing, nuclear energy and women-led development.
Key announcements from the Prime Minister’s address include:
- AI Skilling for One Crore Youth:The Prime Minister announced that one crore youth would be trained in AI skills over the next one year. Referring to the rapid expansion of Artificial Intelligence, he said the initiative would help equip India’s youth with the capability to lead in the world of AI.
- Free Online Coaching for Various Examinations:The Prime Minister announced free online coaching for youth preparing for various examinations. Referring to the financial burden of coaching classes on poor and middle-class families, he said Digital Public Infrastructure, available talent and teachers would be brought together to create a complete network for providing free coaching to the country’s youth.
- Nationwide Sports Talent Hunt for Children Aged 5-15 Years:The Prime Minister announced a talent hunt campaign across villages, cities and schools to identify sporting talent among children between five and 15 years of age. The identified children would be provided specialised training to develop them into players capable of representing the country. Referring to Olympic disciplines in which India currently does not participate or qualify, the Prime Minister said greater emphasis would be placed on building capabilities in such sports.
- Vibrant Civil Defence Network for Modern Challenges:Highlighting the changing nature of warfare, the Prime Minister announced that a vibrant Civil Defence network would be created in the country. He said that warfare was no longer necessarily confined to borders and could also affect refineries, the banking sector, data centres, factories and other infrastructure. The Prime Minister said that Civil Defence arrangements developed in accordance with the wars of the previous century had become outdated. Citizens would therefore be familiarised with modern systems, and a large voluntary Civil Defence force capable of dealing with modern challenges would be developed.
- More Semiconductor Plants to Strengthen Self-Reliance:The Prime Minister highlighted the critical role of semiconductor chips in the digital and technological world and said India was moving towards self-reliance in this sector. He said three semiconductor plants had already started and production from these facilities had begun to be exported. The Prime Minister further said that another five-seven or eight semiconductor plants would come up in the coming seven-eight years, and described self-reliance in semiconductors as a pathway towards Viksit Bharat.
- 100 GW Nuclear Power Capacity by 2047:Highlighting the growing energy requirements of chips, AI and data centres, the Prime Minister underlined the importance of energy security and nuclear power. He said India was moving ahead with a target of 100 GW of nuclear power capacity by 2047 and aimed to start five new nuclear reactors within this decade. The Prime Minister also said that India had achieved an important milestone this year in fast breeder nuclear technology, marking a significant step towards self-reliance in nuclear fuel.
- Target of Six Crore Lakhpati Didis:Highlighting the contribution of women to nation-building, the Prime Minister said that the earlier target of creating three crore Lakhpati Didis had been surpassed. He said India would now move ahead with the target of six crore Lakhpati Didis. The creation of another three crore Lakhpati Didis, he said, would bring about a major transformation in the rural economy through the strength of women.
He said Young people have a very important role to play in the journey towards a ‘Viksit Bharat’ (developed India). Not only that, the youth of my country will also be the greatest beneficiaries of a developed Bharat. Therefore, we must take forward the goal of a developed India by connecting it with our youth. We must move forward by making our youth our highest priority.
A great deal has happened in this direction over the past 10–12 years. The Startup India campaign has now resulted in more than 2.5 lakh registered start-ups across the country. The Government has announced an Innovation Fund of ₹1 lakh crore. “I want to tell the youth of the country: bring your dreams to us; we will ensure that there is no shortage of resources.”
The country’s youth have demonstrated their capabilities in the bioeconomy. Before 2014, the sector had a turnover of ₹60,000 crore; today, our bioeconomy has reached ₹20 lakh crore, friends. The TOPS scheme has achieved tremendous success. Khelo India Games, University Games, Winter Games, Beach Games, sports infrastructure, coaching for sports, sports medicine and sports nutrition — in all these areas, Bharat is now moving towards achieving excellence. Bharat’s performance in the world of sports is improving, and we are moving forward as strong contenders for the 2036 Olympics. Bharat is also set to host the Commonwealth Games in 2030.
“We want the 2036 Olympics to be held in Bharat too. But in 2036, there will be sporting events in which Bharat does not compete today, or does not qualify, and events from which India has remained absent. Three-quarters of the opportunities are still awaiting us. Bharat will focus on these areas, and for this, we also want to launch a talent-hunt campaign.”
A talent-hunt campaign will be conducted across villages, cities and schools to identify sporting talent among children aged between 5 and 15. Their talent will be assessed, and they will then be given special training to develop them into accomplished athletes who can represent the country.
Prime Minister also spoke about a Drug-Free India (Nasha Mukt Bharat) should be a collective responsibility for all of us.
