Modi Promises Free Coaching and AI Training After Massive Youth Protests Over Exam Leaks

Modi promises free exam coaching after India's 'cockroach' protests

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promised free coaching and AI training for India's youth, weeks after Gen Z protesters took to the streets to vent their anger over the leak of highly competitive exam papers and the lack of opportunities in the world's most populous country. Modi did not directly address last month's demonstrations but said his government would ease the financial pressures facing young Indians as he pledged to harness their "immense potential". Speaking from the ramparts of Delhi's 17th-century Mughal-era Red Fort on Saturday to mark the 79th anniversary of independence from Britain, Modi said the "competition surrounding coaching classes has become a huge burden for middle-class families". He went on to outline plans for free online exam preparation and training of 10mn young Indians in AI skills over the next year. "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." The pledges follow protests by hundreds of thousands of young Indians last month led by the Cockroach Janta Party, which began as a social media-fuelled satirical movement earlier this year after India's chief justice described unemployed youth as cockroaches. The CJP soon morphed into a broad channel to voice frustration over corruption in the education sector, as well as the scarcity of secure, well-paid work in a country where nearly 40 per cent of graduates aged 20 to 24 are unemployed, according to data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, a forecasting company. The protests and scenes of police violence in Delhi, where officers fired tear gas and baton-charged demonstrators, were widely reported. They forced Modi's usually unyielding government into a humiliating climbdown with the resignation of his education minister -- one of the protesters' principal demands. Modi's administration has also backed tougher legal penalties for exam leaks and established a panel to review the examination system. It is seen as a gateway to secure employment for millions of young students, many of whom spend years preparing in the hope of achieving financial stability. The 75-year-old prime minister argued that India's youth would be "fully harnessed in nation-building" and become the biggest beneficiaries of his Viksit Bharat (Developed India) ambition to turn India into a developed economy by 2047 -- the centenary of the country's independence. In past years Modi has used the annual address to set out political pledges and policy priorities. In 2025 he vowed to build a "self-reliant India" and announced tax and regulatory reforms aimed at businesses and the middle class after the US imposed tariffs of 50 per cent on the country. Self-reliance was again a central theme of this year's roughly 75-minute speech. Modi outlined plans to build more semiconductor plants, commission five additional nuclear reactors this decade and develop alternative sources of energy following an oil price shock triggered by the US-Israeli war with Iran. India is one of the world's biggest importers of Middle Eastern crude. "Energy security is crucial," Modi said. "India is rapidly moving in this direction today."

India's Modi woos youth with free coaching, AI training

New Delhi (AFP) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Saturday his government would provide free online coaching lessons for competitive exams, weeks after massive youth-led protests forced the education minister to resign. Modi said the initiative was aimed at easing the financial burden on millions of families caught up in the country's fiercely competitive education system. The 75-year-old leader made the announcement while speaking from the ramparts of New Delhi's imposing 17th-century Red Fort to mark the country's independence from Britain on August 15, 1947. "We have decided to provide free online coaching for various competitive examinations for our youth. We have the digital public infrastructure, and we have highly talented teachers and educators," he said. The move comes after nationwide protests triggered by the leak of a key medical entrance examination paper and a series of other recruitment scandals. The protests, which culminated in the resignation last month of education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, exposed deep frustration among young Indians over access to jobs and educational opportunities. They also highlighted immense pressures on students in India, the world's most populous nation where admission to government-run colleges remains one of the most sought-after pathways to economic security. The cut-throat competition has fuelled a sprawling coaching industry where students spend years preparing, often at enormous financial cost for their families. Modi said the free online classes would ease financial burden on "poor and middle-class families". "The competition surrounding coaching classes has become a huge burden for middle-class families... (Students) can stay close to their families, receive their care, and avoid placing an additional financial burden on them," he said. Modi also announced plans to train several million young people in artificial intelligence tools. "We have decided in the next one year, one crore (10 million) youth will be given training in AI skills," he said. Since the protests, authorities have attempted to appease the nation's youth, with the parliament hiking penalties for leaking exam papers. Critics say the protests posed one of the biggest challenges to Modi's government since coming to power in 2014.