In the Union Budget 2026–27 placed education and skills development at the core of India’s long-term growth strategy, with a strong focus on linking education, employment and enterprise to achieve the goal of Viksit Bharat by 2047.
Budget Allocation for Education
- Increased Allocation: The total budget allocation for the Ministry of Education has reached ₹1,39,289.48 crore.
- Year-on-Year Growth: This represents an 8.27% increase over BE 2025–26
Key Announcements in the Education
- High Powered Standing Committee:
- High-Powered Committee: The government will set up a High-Powered ‘Education to Employment and Enterprise’ Standing Committee.
- Services Sector Focus: The committee will recommend measures to position the services sector as a core driver of economic growth, with the aim of achieving a 10% share in global services by 2047.
- Employment and Exports: It will prioritise areas that optimise growth, employment generation and exports.
- Emerging Technologies: The committee will assess the impact of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies on jobs and skill requirements and propose suitable policy measures.
- Girls’ Hostels in Every District:
- Addressing Gender Barriers: To address gender-specific challenges in higher education, particularly in STEM institutions, the government announced the establishment of one girls’ hostel in every district.
- Funding Support: These hostels will be supported through viability gap funding or capital support.
- Rationale: The measure aims to support women students facing constraints due to long study hours, laboratory work and safety concerns, thereby improving access and retention in line with gender equity goals under Articles 15(3) and 15(4).
- University Townships:
- Academic Zones: The Budget proposes the establishment of five University Townships located in the vicinity of major industrial and logistics corridors.
- Integrated Ecosystem: Each township will host multiple universities, colleges, research institutions, skill centres and residential complexes.
- Objective: The initiative aims to strengthen the education–industry linkage and support regional economic development
- AI, Skilling and Workforce Reforms:
- AI in Education: The committee will recommend embedding AI in curricula from the school level onwards.
- Teacher Training: State Councils of Educational Research and Training (SCERTs) will be upgraded to strengthen teacher training.
- Upskilling Professionals: Frameworks will be proposed for upskilling and reskilling engineers and technology professionals in AI and emerging technologies.
- Labour Market Reforms: Other focus areas include AI-enabled matching of workers with jobs and training opportunities, making the informal workforce visible and verifiable, and attracting skilled diaspora and foreign talent to India.
- AVGC Content Creator Labs:
- Expansion of Creative Economy: The Budget announces the setting up of Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC) Content Creator Labs.
- Scale: These labs will be established in 15,000 secondary schools and 500 colleges
- Employment Potential: The initiative aims to provide a platform to two million professionals by 2030.
- Boost to Medical Education and Health Employment:
- Regional Medical Hubs: The Budget announced a scheme to support States in setting up five Regional Medical Hubs in partnership with the private sector.
- Integrated Healthcare Model: These hubs will combine medical education, research and clinical facilities, along with AYUSH centres, diagnostics, rehabilitation infrastructure and medical value tourism facilitation.
- Employment Generation: The initiative is expected to create diverse job opportunities for doctors and allied health professionals, while promoting India as a global medical tourism destination.
- Relief for Overseas Education and Medical Expenses:
- TCS Reduction: The government proposed reducing Tax Collected at Source (TCS) under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) from 5% to 2%.
- Scope: The reduced rate will apply to remittances made for education and medical purposes.
- Impact: This measure aims to ease the financial burden on students and families pursuing overseas education or medical treatment
Earlier Initiatives by India in Education, Skilling and Employment
- National Education Policy (NEP) 2020: Introduced a multidisciplinary, flexible education framework with emphasis on foundational learning, vocational education, teacher training and research integration.
- PM Schools for Rising India (PM-SHRI): Upgradation of schools as model institutions aligned with NEP 2020
- Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV): Residential schools for girls from disadvantaged backgrounds.
- Targeted Scholarships and Hostels: Support for SC, ST, OBC and minority students in higher education
- National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS): Industry-linked apprenticeship training.
- FutureSkills PRIME and Skill India Digital: Focus on emerging technologies and digital skilling
- National Centre of Excellence (NCoE) for AVGC-XR: It function as an incubation center for nurturing startups in the AVGC-XR field.
- It is be modeled after renowned institutions like the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs).
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3 Feb 2026
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