Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted India’s ambitions to host the 2036 Olympics, expand its sporting ecosystem, and launch a ₹1 lakh-crore jobs programme for youth during his Independence Day speech, signalling a strategic push towards economic and global sporting prominence.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi used his Independence Day speech to pair two big promises: a wider push for sport and a new jobs programme for young people. Speaking from the Red Fort in New Delhi on India’s 80th Independence Day, he said the country was strengthening its case to host the 2036 Olympics and would stage the Commonwealth Games in 2030, a move that underscores its broader bid to raise its profile in world sport.
Modi said India was still falling short in many Olympic events because it did not yet qualify in enough disciplines, and argued that the solution was to start much earlier by identifying talent in villages, towns and schools. He said a new nationwide hunt would target children aged five to 15, with special coaching for those found to have potential. The prime minister also pointed to existing programmes such as the Target Olympic Podium Scheme, Khelo India and other national competitions, saying the sporting ecosystem was expanding through better facilities, coaching, sports medicine and nutrition.
Alongside sport, Modi announced the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana, a ₹1 lakh-crore employment scheme that the Business Standard and other Indian publications said is intended to help create 35 million private-sector jobs over the next two years. Under the plan, first-time private-sector workers will receive a ₹15,000 incentive, while employers will be given support for generating new posts. Modi said the programme was meant to open opportunities for young people and strengthen the wider economy.
He also tied the package to his broader vision of a developed India by 2047, saying the country’s youth would be central to that ambition. Modi said there were now more than 250,000 registered start-ups under the Startup India initiative and urged young entrepreneurs to pursue new ideas, backed by a Rs 1 lakh crore innovation fund. He further announced free online coaching for students preparing for examinations, saying coaching costs had become a burden for middle-class families, and warned that drug abuse was becoming a major threat requiring a national response.
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