On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi revealed a new initiative aimed at providing free online coaching for competitive exams. This program is designed to alleviate the financial strain on poor and middle-class families. In addition, Modi announced that 10 million young people will receive training in artificial intelligence (AI) over the coming year.
The Centre has already taken steps towards providing free online academic assistance. SATHEE provides free educational content and guidance for competitive examinations including JEE, NEET, CUET, ICAR, SSC and IBPS. The programme includes courses on AI basics, generative AI, programming, ethics, cybersecurity and career opportunities.
IIT Kanpur runs SATHEE (Self-Assessment Test and Help for Entrance Exams), an online education platform launched in November 2023 in collaboration with the department of higher education under the Union education ministry. More than 21 lakh learners have registered on the platform so far, Union education minister Pralhad Joshi told the Lok Sabha on August 3. Modi also announced that the government will provide AI skill training to 10 million youth in the next one year, saying young people would play a central role in building a developed India. The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship launched the Skilling for AI Readiness (SOAR) programme in July 2025 to build basic AI skills among school students in Classes 6 to 12 and educators. As of March 2026, around 230,000 learners had enrolled in the programme, of whom nearly 29,800 had been certified, HT had reported earlier.
