Education Budget: Infra expansion at five new IITs, AI push & broadband in schools
Giving a major boost to the education sector, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday announced creating 10,000 new medical seats, revamp of Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), broadband connectivity in secondary schools, an AI Centre and five National Centres of Excellence for Skilling.
The Higher Education Sector has been allocated Rs 50,077.95 crore in the Budget 2025-26 — an increase of Rs 2,458.18 crore over Rs 47,619.77 crore allocated in 2024-25.
In her Budget speech, Sitharaman announced addition of 10,000 seats in medical colleges and hospitals in the country, saying the goal was to add 75,000 seats in the next five years.
“Our government has added almost 1.1 lakh UG and PG medical education seats in 10 years, an increase of 130 per cent,” she said.
An outlay of Rs 500 crore has been made for an AI centre in education, 50,000 Atal Tinkering Laboratories in high and higher secondary schools and broadband connectivity to all secondary schools under BharatNet project were key announcements in the Budget.
Sitharaman also announced five National Centres of Excellence for Skilling to equip the youth with skills.
The budget for IITs also witnessed an increase of Rs 1,024.40 crore i.e. from Rs 10,324.6 crore in 2024-2025 to Rs 11,349 crore in 2025-2026.
With Bihar slated to go to polls later this year, the government announced expansion of hostels and other infrastructure at IIT, Patna.
The Finance Minister announced plans to expand the capacity of five new IITs across India. She noted that the total number of students in the 23 IITs has doubled over the past decade, rising from 65,000 to 1.35 lakh. This increase has necessitated additional infrastructure, particularly in five IITs where work began after 2014 to accommodate 6,500 more students.
In high and higher secondary schools, the government announced 50,000 Atal Tinkering Labs. “(These) will be set up in government schools in the next five years to cultivate the spirit of curiosity and innovation and foster a scientific temper among young minds,” Sitharaman said.
The Budget also proposed Bharatiya Bhasha Pustak scheme to provide digital-form Indian language books for school and higher education. “This aims to help students understand their subjects better,” the FM said.
She also announced the establishment of five National Centres of Excellence for Skilling to equip youth with the skills needed for “Make for India, Make for the World” manufacturing.
