Prime Minister Narendra Modi outlines a comprehensive ‘Sapta Dhara’ plan integrating AI, semiconductors, sports, and digital census efforts to accelerate India’s growth agenda over the next five to seven years during Independence Day address.
On the 80th Independence Day, Narendra Modi used his address to set out a broad agenda that tied together artificial intelligence, semiconductors, sport and the census under a single framework he called “Sapta Dhara”, or seven streams. The prime minister said the next five to seven years should be shaped by manufacturing, agriculture and food processing, technology and innovation, infrastructure, defence, the green and blue economy, and soft power, presenting the speech as much as a summary of existing priorities as a fresh policy shift.
Among the most immediate announcements was free online coaching for competitive examinations, aimed at students who increasingly rely on private tuition to prepare for tests such as JEE, NEET, CUET and SSC. A government survey released last year found that 37% of Class 11 and 12 students took private coaching, rising to 44.6% in cities, while the Education Ministry and IIT Kanpur already run SATHEE, a free preparation platform launched in 2023. The new promise comes amid political pressure over the conduct of exams, including protests earlier this year over alleged irregularities in NEET-UG.
Modi also said one crore young people would be trained in AI over the next year so they would not be “left behind”. That target overlaps with work already under way through the IndiaAI Mission, which includes FutureSkills courses, fellowships and Data and AI Labs in smaller cities. The government also launched YUVA AI for ALL in November 2025, a free foundational course that was itself designed to reach one crore citizens, suggesting the latest pledge may expand an existing effort rather than start a wholly new one.
The semiconductor section of the speech followed a similar pattern. The Centre has already approved 12 projects in six states worth more than Rs 1.6 lakh crore, including fabrication, assembly, testing and packaging facilities, and three of those have started commercial production. Modi said five to eight plants would become operational in the coming years, a formulation that appears to refer to projects already in the pipeline under the India Semiconductor Mission rather than new approvals.
Sport was another focus, with the prime minister announcing a nationwide talent hunt for children aged five to 15. He said India must do more to prepare for the 2036 Olympics, pointing out that the country does not yet compete in a large share of Olympic events. The pitch builds on Khelo India, which already identifies promising athletes and gives selected participants training and financial support, though the government has yet to spell out how the new search will work or whether it will be folded into the existing programme.
Modi also urged young people to help families complete the Census through the self-enumeration facility, which allows households to enter details online before officials begin door-to-door counting. The 2027 Census is being carried out digitally for the first time, with the first phase of housing enumeration already under way and population enumeration scheduled for February 2027, including caste enumeration. In Assam, self-enumeration runs from August 2 to 16 before fieldwork begins, while Manipur is due to start the online stage on August 17.
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