Union Budget 2025 | Education infra for students focusses on skilling and AI-proficient youth

Provisions to provide broadband connectivity to all government secondary schools in rural areas under the Bharatnet project was also announced — a measure that will be helpful for rural youth.

New Delhi: A Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence (AI) for education, adding another 50,000 Atal Tinkering Labs to the existing 10,000, five National Centres of Excellence for Skilling and infrastructure push in IITs to add 6,500 more students are among a series of measures aimed at students and youth announced in the Budget on Saturday.

With AI becoming an industry buzzword, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government will be setting up a Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence for education at a cost of Rs 500 crore and this would be in addition to the three Centres of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence for agriculture, health and sustainable cities announced in 2023.

The budget has also made provisions for adding another 50,000 Atal Tinkering Labs in schools in the next five years. Sitharaman said it is aimed at cultivating the “spirit of curiosity and innovation, and fostering a scientific temper among young minds”.

Provisions to provide broadband connectivity to all government secondary schools in rural areas under the Bharatnet project was also announced — a measure that will be helpful for students, along with primary health centres.

Building on the initiative announced in the July 2024 Budget, she said, five National Centres of Excellence for Skilling will be set up to equip the youth with the skills required for 'Make for India, Make for the World' manufacturing. There will be partnerships with global institutions covering curriculum design, training of trainers and a skills certification framework.

Five elite IITs, set up after 2014, will see a huge infrastructure push to accommodate 6,500 more students while 10,000 fellowships will be provided for technology research in IITs and Indian Institute of Science over the next five years. Hostel and other infrastructure capacity at IIT-Patna will also be expanded with Sitharaman highlighting that the number of students in 23 IITs has doubled from 65,000 to 1.35 lakh in ten years.

An additional 10,000 seats will also be added in medical colleges and hospitals. The government’s plans for the next five years is to add 75,000 seats.

“The budget presents a forward-thinking vision for higher education, focusing on skill development, innovation, and inclusivity... The increased investment will enable us to enhance further the quality of education, support research and innovation, and expand access to higher learning opportunities for all," UGC Chairman Prof M Jagadesh Kumar said.

The budget allocation for the Ministry of Education has risen from Rs 1.20 lakh crore to Rs 1.28 lakh crore, of which the higher education sector has been Rs 50,077.95 crore. School education has got Rs 78,572.10 crore.