Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day address on Saturday came just days after student-led protests demanding reforms in competitive exams and the resignation of then education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, following the NEET-UG paper leak that sparked outrage across the country.
The timing of the announcements was notable. The prime minister urged families to carefully verify their details, including names and spellings, before submitting their information. The Prime Minister also highlighted a ₹ 1 lakh crore mechanism aimed at supporting innovation and capabilities among young people. He said MY Bharat volunteers and NGOs have recently launched a 100-week campaign as part of the Nasha Mukt Bharat initiative.
“We want the Prime Minister’s speech to be for Gen Z and the youth,” Dipke had said. “We have created a mechanism with ₹ 1 lakh crore to strengthen your ideas, innovation and capabilities,” Modi said. Modi said the initiative could help families save “thousands of crores of rupees” while allowing parents to remain closer to their children. He said technology would allow people to provide Census information through their mobile phones, which could then be verified by officials. In big outreach to Gen Z in the backdrop of massive protests against examination irregularities, Modi said that coaching classes are a burden on the poor and middle class. 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,” Modi said, adding that the government wants to help people save the thousands of crores of rupees they spend on coaching. Earlier reporting noted: Modi said that the youth should be able to stay closer to their families 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,” he said, and added, “We have digital public infrastructure, and we have highly talented teachers and educators.”
Earlier, Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke, who led protests at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, had urged Modi to dedicate his Independence Day speech to Gen Z and explain what the government was doing for their future. Earlier reporting noted: “The competition surrounding coaching classes has become a huge burden for middle-class families. Earlier reporting noted: PM Modi announces free online coaching for competitive exams in Independence Day speech Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced free online coaching for competitive exams during his speech on Independence Day from Red Fort.
