Addressing the nation on the 80th Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a series of measures across artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors, sports and other sectors. Several of these build on existing programmes or reiterate earlier targets.
Young people were a recurring focus of the speech, with announcements spanning AI skilling, competitive-exam coaching and the identification of sporting talent.
“In the coming five-seven years, we have to move ahead with the thought of Saptadhara — seven streams,” Modi said, outlining manufacturing, agriculture and food processing, technology and innovation, infrastructure, defence, the green and blue economy, and soft power as areas of focus.
We look at the key announcements, and what we know about them so far.
Saptadhara
Prime Minister Modi outlined what he called “Saptadhara”, or seven streams of development, as a framework that will bring together several of the government’s existing policy priorities over the next five to seven years. These are manufacturing; farming and food processing; technology and innovation; infrastructure; defence; the green and blue economy; and soft power.
For manufacturing, the Prime Minister stressed cost, quality and scale; under technology, he referred to areas including space, quantum, robotics and 6G; while the infrastructure stream includes high-speed rail, highways, inland waterways and port-led development.
He also identified defence self-reliance, including drones, hypersonic technologies and cybersecurity, and the green and blue economy — including green manufacturing, fisheries and coastal tourism — among the seven areas.
Free online coaching for competitive exams
The prime minister announced that the government would provide free online coaching to students preparing for competitive examinations. Details of which examinations will be covered, eligibility and how the coaching will be delivered are yet to be announced.
The announcement comes amid a growing dependence on private coaching. A government survey released last year found that 37% of Class 11 and 12 students across India took private coaching, rising to 44.6% in urban areas. Urban students spent an average Rs 9,950 a year on coaching, more than twice the Rs 4,548 spent by rural students. The Indian Express reported that this could amount to 9-12% of the annual consumption expenditure of households with children in these classes.
The Centre already runs SATHEE, launched by the Education Ministry and IIT Kanpur in 2023, which provides free preparation and mentorship for examinations including JEE, NEET, CUET and SSC.
The announcement also comes weeks after student protests over the alleged NEET-UG 2026 paper leak grew into a wider agitation over the conduct of competitive examinations, and led to the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
AI training for one crore youth
The prime minister said that over the next year, one crore youth will be trained in artificial intelligence skills so that they are “not left behind.”
The government currently runs AI-skilling programmes across schools, higher education and vocational institutions. Under the IndiaAI Mission, the IndiaAI FutureSkills programme provides for AI courses, fellowships for undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD students, as well as Data and AI Labs in smaller cities.
In November 2025, the government introduced YUVA AI for ALL, a free foundational course aimed at providing a basic understanding of AI. The programme itself had set a target of reaching one crore citizens, making the one-crore figure not entirely new.
Semiconductor plants
The Centre has approved 12 semiconductor projects across six states, involving investments of over Rs 1.6 lakh crore. These include fabrication facilities as well as units for semiconductor assembly, testing and packaging. Three have begun commercial production.
PM Modi on Saturday said that five to eight semiconductor plants would become operational “in the coming years”. This comes as several projects approved under the India Semiconductor Mission move towards production. The plants the PM referred to appear to be projects already in the pipeline, rather than fresh approvals.
Sports talent hunt
The prime minister announced a nationwide talent hunt for children between ages five and 15, aimed at identifying young athletes across sporting disciplines. This announcement comes as India looks to bid for the 2036 Olympic Games.
He added that India does not participate in nearly two-thirds of the over 300 events at the Olympics, and that the country would work towards strengthening participation in these disciplines by 2036.
The Centre already runs talent identification programmes under Khelo India, where athletes identified as having potential are provided training and financial support. Details of how the talent hunt will work, and whether it will build on the existing Khelo India framework, are yet to be announced.
Census self-enumeration
Prime Minister Modi urged young people to help their families participate in the ongoing Census exercise, particularly through the self-enumeration facility, which allows people to fill in household details online.
The 2027 Census is being conducted digitally for the first time, with self-enumeration available for 15 days before officials begin house-to-house enumeration in each state.
The first phase — the Houselisting and Housing Census — began in April and will run till September.
At present, self-enumeration is underway in Assam from August 2-16, followed by house-to-house enumeration from August 17. Manipur will begin self-enumeration on August 17.
The second phase, Population Enumeration, is scheduled for February 2027 and will also include caste enumeration.
New Delhi, Aug 15: Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivers a speech during the 80th Independence Day celebrations at the Red Fort, in New Delhi on Saturday. (ANI Photo/Naveen Sharma)
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