Innovative and Forward-Thinking: Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan Commends Union Budget 2025
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Synopsis
On Feb 1, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan praised the Union Budget 2025-26 for its inclusive approach, focusing on citizen welfare and aiming for a developed India by 2047. The Budget emphasizes education, innovation, and youth empowerment, promising significant investments in human capital and infrastructure.
Key Takeaways
- Comprehensive Budget prioritizing citizen welfare.
- Investment in education and innovation.
- Enhanced support for youth empowerment.
- Introduction of Atal Tinkering Labs in schools.
- Establishment of AI Centre of Excellence in Education.
New Delhi, Feb 1 (NationPress) Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday commended the Union Budget 2025-26, describing it as a comprehensive Budget that unites everyone and focuses on the welfare, well-being, and empowerment of all citizens, while decisively guiding India towards the objective of becoming a developed nation by 2047.
The Union Minister expressed appreciation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for presenting a visionary and future-oriented Budget.
He noted that this Budget addresses the complete spectrum of needs, from childhood to youth, who will play a critical role in fulfilling the Viksit Bharat vision by 2047 and beyond.
Furthermore, he mentioned that the Budget initiatives encompass the entire youth demographic, who will lead the country in the next 25 years. This will enhance the Bhartiya Gyan Parampara within our educational framework and promote a global community, he added.
The Minister underscored that the Budget 2025-26 focuses on investing in people and enabling the comprehensive development of India's human capital.
He pointed out that with Gareeb, Yuva, Annadata, and Naari as foundational pillars, this Budget aims to elevate the sentiments of the poor and middle class, boost spending, catalyze investments, and stimulate growth.
He stressed that it would help to eliminate regional disparities, foster rural prosperity, support research, innovation, and entrepreneurship, invigorate the education and skill development sector, and promote employment-led growth.
The Minister expressed gratitude for the continuation of significant investments in education, skilling, research, and innovation, stating that this Budget signifies another substantial step towards empowering India's populace with enhanced opportunities for world-class education and strengthening human capital.
The total Budget allocation for the Ministry of Education has reached Rs 128,650 crore, which represents a 6.22% increase over the budgeted figures for 2024-25.
He added that 50,000 Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL) will be established in government schools over the next five years to nurture curiosity and innovation while fostering a scientific mindset among young learners.
This initiative will ensure that students from all government secondary schools gain access to ATL. The Union Budget also plans to enhance Broadband connectivity to all government secondary schools and primary health centers in rural areas via the BharatNet project, he noted.
Union Minister Pradhan mentioned that the total enrollment of students in 23 IITs has surged by 100% from 65,000 to 1.35 lakh over the past decade.
Additional infrastructure will be developed in the five IITs established after 2014 to accommodate 6,500 more students. The capacity for hostels and other facilities at IIT Patna will also be expanded, he added.
To enhance students' understanding of their subjects, it is proposed to introduce a Bharatiya Bhasha Pustak Scheme to provide Indian language books in digital format for school and higher education.
Moreover, five National Centres of Excellence for Skilling will be established with global expertise and partnerships to equip the youth with necessary skills for 'Make for India, Make for the World' manufacturing. These partnerships will involve curriculum design, trainer training, a skills certification framework, and routine assessments.
Union Minister Pradhan emphasized that the fourth AI Centre of Excellence in Education envisioned in the Budget 2025-26 aims to transform India's educational landscape from pre-primary to research and professional stages.
By leveraging artificial intelligence, it aspires to tackle disparities and inefficiencies, ensuring equitable and high-quality education across the nation. This Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence for Education will be established with a total budget of Rs 500 crore, he stated.
The Minister announced an allocation of Rs 20,000 crore for the implementation of private sector-driven Research, Development, and Innovation.
In the next five years, under the PM Research Fellowship scheme, the provision of 10,000 fellowships for technological research in IITs and IISc with increased financial support is also proposed in the Budget, he added.
A Gyan Bharatam Mission will be initiated for the survey, documentation, and conservation of our manuscript heritage in collaboration with academic institutions, museums, libraries, and private collectors to cover more than one crore manuscripts.
A National Digital Repository of Indian knowledge systems for knowledge sharing will also be established, he added.
The Budget allocation for FY 2025-26 of Rs 78,572 crore is the highest ever for the Department of School Education and Literacy.
Overall, there has been an increase of Rs 5,074 crore (7%) in the Budget allocation for the Department of School Education and Literacy in FY 2025-26 compared to the Budgetary Estimate for 2024-25. In comparison to the Revised Estimates (RE) of FY 2024-25, there has been an increase of Rs 11,000 crore (16.28%).
