Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday, February 1, presented the Union Budget 2026-27 in Lok Sabha. The Ministry of Education has been allotted ₹139289.48 crore for the year, an 8.27% increase from last year. The Department of School Education & Literacy received an allocation of ₹83562.26 crores, an increase of 6.35 per cent, and the Department of Higher Education received an allocation of ₹55727.22 crores, an increase of 11.28 per cent, as compared to 2025-26.
5 university townships, girls hostel setup in every district, starting of NIMHHHANS campus in the northern part of India, NID to be established in easetern India, content creator labs to come up in 15,000 schools and 500 colleges, High-Powered “Education to Employment and Enterprise” Standing Committee to Be Set Up to Recommend Measures Focused on the Services Sector are some of the key announcements made for the education sector.
Budget 2026: Key announcements
The key announcements for the Education sector are listed below.
1. The 5 university townships will be created in the vicinity of major industrial and logistic corridors. These will also have backward linkages with the setting up of composite schools from pre-primary up to secondary level.
2. National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) will be set up in the northern part of India, and the existing NIMHANS will be upgraded as mental stress and trauma are emerging as significant concerns.
3. To promote scientific culture via STEM education, one girls' hostel will be established in every district. There are over 700 districts in the country.
{{/usCountry}}3. To promote scientific culture via STEM education, one girls' hostel will be established in every district. There are over 700 districts in the country.
{{/usCountry}}4. The National Institute of Design will be established in Eastern India to strengthen design education and training, addressing the rapid expansion of the Indian design industry and the continuing shortage of skilled Indian designers.
5. The high-powered 'Education to Employment and Enterprise' standing committee will be set up to recommend measures that focus on the services sector. The committee will also prioritise areas of potential growth, employment, and exports, and assess the impact of emerging technologies, including AI, on job and skill requirements.
6. Divyang Kaushal Yojana will be launched to facilitate employment of divyangjans in the field of IT, AVGC, Hospitality, food and beverages sectors, which require skilling of divyangjans in these areas.
₹16,000 crore">Union Budget 2026: KVS, NVS get major funding boost; allocation crosses ₹16,000 crore
Apart from that, IITs have been allocated ₹12133 cr, IIMs ₹292 cr, and NITs ₹6260 cr. Central Universities have received allocation of ₹17440 cr, UGC received ₹3709 cr and deemed universities have got ₹650 cr.