Budget 2025: AI, infra at IITs, increased medical seats - key announcements for Education by FM Sitharaman

Announcements for education include a new Centre of Excellence for AI, infrastructural developments at IITs, and an increase in the number of medical seats.

Presenting the Union Budget for the next financial year, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made several key announcements for the Education sector. Education Budget 2025 Live Updates

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presenting the Union Budget 2025-26 in the Lok Sabha. She has made key announcements for the education sector (Sansad TV)

These include a new Centre of Excellence for Artificial Intelligence in Education, infrastructural developments at Indian Institutes of Technology, and an increase in the number of medical seats in the country.

Sitharaman said that the goals of a developed India include 100 per cent quality and good school education and 100 per cent skilled labour with meaningful employment.

Here's a look at key announcements for the education sector made by FM Sitharaman in her budget speech-

• The finance minister announced a National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship, and Management in Bihar, with the aim of enhancing farmers' incomes through value addition to their produce and skilling entrepreneurship and employment opportunities for the youth.
• Fifty thousand new ATAL Tinkering Labs will be set up in government schools in the next 5 years to “cultivate the spirit of curiosity and innovation and foster a scientific temper among young minds”.
• All government secondary schools in rural areas will get broadband connectivity under the Bharatnet project.
• The five IITs started after 2014 will get additional infrastructure expansion. “The total number of students in 23 IITs have increased 100% in the past 10 years. Additional infrastructure will be implemented in the 5 IITs started after 2014 to facilitate education for 6500 more students. Hostel and other infrastructure facilities will be improved at IIT Patna”.
• Five National Centres of Excellence for Skilling will be set up for global expertise and partnership to equip our youth with the skills required for 'make for India, for make for the world'. The curriculum will cover curriculum design, training of trainers and skill certification framework and periodic reviews.
• A new Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Education will be set up with a total outlay of ₹500 crore.
• The FM said that to expand medical education, the government will add 10,000 new seats to medical colleges and aims to add 75,000 new medical seats in the next five years.
• The finance minister said that under the PM Research Fellowship Scheme, the government will provide 10,000 fellowships for technological research at IITs and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) with enhanced financial support.
• The FM announced the ‘Gyan Bharatam Mission’ to survey, document, and conserve the country's manuscript heritage with academic institutions, museums, libraries, and private collectors. It will cover more than one crore manuscripts. She said the government will set up a national repository of Indian knowledge systems for knowledge sharing.