Addressing the nation from the Red Fort on Saturday, Modi said the AI training programme would be undertaken on a mission scale over the coming year. He argued that young people must be equipped for changes already transforming workplaces, businesses and professional careers.
The free online coaching initiative is intended to widen access to preparation for competitive examinations. Modi said coaching expenses had become a significant burden on poor and middle-class households. The proposed digital system is designed to make preparatory resources available without requiring students to pay the high fees associated with private coaching centres.
The announcements bring together two issues that have become increasingly important for young people — access to employment and the ability to compete for educational and government opportunities. Artificial intelligence is expected to change the skills demanded across technology, manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, education and other industries. The government is seeking to expand training before those shifts widen existing skills gaps.
Modi presented young people as a central force in the drive to make the country a developed economy by 2047. His speech linked AI capabilities with wider efforts to strengthen domestic technology, manufacturing and innovation. The government also plans further expansion of semiconductor capacity and other technology-intensive industries as part of its push for greater economic self-reliance.
The one-crore target represents a sharp increase in the scale of AI-related training. Existing programmes have already introduced courses covering AI, cyber security, semiconductors, renewable energy and other emerging areas. More than 4.3 lakh young people had been trained in new-age courses under skill-development programmes by the end of 2025, while hundreds of specialised job roles had been developed for fast-growing industries.
The IndiaAI FutureSkills programme is another part of this emerging training network. It supports specialised courses, fellowships and research opportunities for students from undergraduate to doctoral level. Data and AI laboratories are also being established, with particular attention to Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, where access to advanced technology training has traditionally been more limited.
Digital skilling programmes already have a sizeable base from which the new AI initiative can expand. FutureSkills PRIME had attracted more than 27.53 lakh registrations by March 2026, while more than 17.14 lakh people had enrolled in or completed training. Around 80 per cent of learners were from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, indicating growing demand for technology skills beyond the largest metropolitan centres.
The coaching announcement comes against the backdrop of intense competition for entrance tests, recruitment examinations and other selection processes. Families frequently spend substantial sums on tuition, accommodation and study material, particularly when candidates move to major coaching centres. A national online platform could reduce those costs, although its effectiveness will depend on course quality, language options, internet access and the range of examinations covered.
The youth-focused measures also extend the employment programme announced from the Red Fort a year earlier. The Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana carries an outlay of ₹99,446 crore and is designed to encourage the creation of more than 3.5 crore jobs over two years. Around 1.92 crore beneficiaries are expected to be people entering the formal workforce for the first time.
Under that programme, eligible first-time employees can receive an incentive of up to ₹15,000, while employers can receive up to ₹3,000 a month for each additional employee, subject to scheme conditions. The incentives apply to qualifying jobs created between August 1, 2025 and July 31, 2027.
(IPA Service)
