• The Indian government will establish a Centre of Excellence in AI for education with an outlay of ₹500 crore as part of Union Budget 2025-2026.
  • The government plans to expand IIT infrastructure, accommodating 6,500 more students and adding 10,000 medical seats in the coming year.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced the establishment of a Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence (AI) for education with an outlay of ₹500 crore as part of the Union Budget 2025-2026. The initiative aims to enhance the integration of AI into the education sector, improving learning outcomes and employability.

In her budget speech, Sitharaman recalled her 2023 announcement of three AI centres of excellence focused on agriculture, health, and sustainable cities. She emphasized that the latest initiative would further India's technological capabilities in education.

The announcement aligns with the government’s broader AI strategy, which was highlighted in the Economic Survey a day earlier.

Beyond the education sector, the Indian government is making strides in the global AI race by developing foundational AI models comparable to OpenAI’s ChatGPT and DeepSeek’s R1.

Union Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw recently stated that India’s AI models would rival the best in the world, with algorithmic efficiencies allowing their development in a shorter time frame.

Additionally, the Finance Minister addressed higher education infrastructure, noting a significant rise in the number of students at the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).

Over the past decade, the student count in IITs has doubled from 65,000 to 1.35 lakh. To further expand capacity, the government will create infrastructure to accommodate 6,500 more students in IITs established after 2014. IIT Patna’s hostel and infrastructure will also be expanded.

The budget also includes plans to increase medical education capacity. Sitharaman announced the creation of 10,000 additional seats in medical colleges and hospitals in the coming year, with a long-term goal of adding 75,000 seats over the next five years.

Edited by Harshajit Sarmah