Narendra Modi says courses will help "poor and middle-class families"

During India’s Independence Day address Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his government would offer free online preparation courses for young people taking competitive exams, weeks after student demonstrations over leaked papers and hiring scandals led Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to resign. Speaking from Delhi’s Red Fort, Modi described the new program as a way to ease the financial strain on households that cannot easily afford costly private tutoring in India’s intensely competitive educational environment. He also pledged to train 10 million young people in artificial intelligence skills over the coming year. The steps follow protests that exposed widespread frustration among youth over scarce jobs and educational access, and lawmakers have since tightened penalties for exam-paper leaks. Critics called the unrest one of the biggest challenges to Modi’s government since it took office.