NEW DELHI: The education sector received a renewed push in the Union Budget 2026–27, with an allocation of Rs1,39,289 crore — an increase of 8.27% over the previous year. The Budget places strong emphasis on higher education, school education, STEM participation, and the education-employment linkage, signalling continuity with long-term goals such as Viksit Bharat 2047.
Support for State universities has been enhanced through an allocation of Rs 1,850 crore under PM-USHA, while five University Townships along major industrial and logistics corridors. These planned academic zones will house multiple universities, colleges, research institutions, skill centres and residential facilities. To enhance women’s participation in STEM education, the government will establish one girls’ hostel in every district through viability gap funding or capital support. The Budget noted that extended laboratory hours and intensive academic schedules often pose challenges for women students in STEM institutions.
Of the total allocation, Rs 78,496 crore has been earmarked as the gross budgetary estimate for higher education. “This funding will support central universities, centrally funded institutions, scholarships and laboratories, helping Indian institutions become more competitive globally,” said Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar, former UGC Chairman and former Vice-Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University.
Another senior educationist said the substantial allocation reflects a focus on youth-centric development. “The scale of investment in higher education underlines the government’s intent to align education with the goal of Viksit Bharat 2047,” the expert said.
In a structural reform aimed at bridging academia and the job market, the Budget announced the formation of a high-powered Education to Employment and Enterprise Standing Committee to align education with workforce and entrepreneurship needs.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the Budget provides a boost to both education and employment generation. “It presents a clear blueprint for the next phase of India’s development,” he said.
School education schemes also received significant allocations. Samagra Shiksha, the integrated centrally sponsored school education scheme, has been allotted Rs 42,100 crore. The PM POSHAN scheme (mid-day meals) will receive Rs 12,750 crore to support students’ nutrition and health, while PM SHRI Schools have been allocated Rs 7,500 crore.
An educationist noted that the Rs 1,850 crore allocation for States under PM-USHA will be distributed across five school zones in the country, though operational details are yet to be finalised.
The Budget has also earmarked Rs 2,200 crore for the PM One Nation One Subscription programme, aimed at expanding access to leading academic journals. In addition, the IndiaAI Mission has been allocated Rs 1,000 crore to strengthen talent development and promote the use of applied artificial intelligence for public good.
Continuity remains a key theme in this year’s Budget, with emphasis on initiatives such as the Bharatiya Bhasha Pustak programme, expansion of IIT capacity, and AI Centres of Excellence for education.
Other initiatives include the setting up of content creator laboratories in 15,000 schools and 500 colleges, establishment of a National Institute of Design in eastern India, and the creation of a Digital Knowledge Grid to bring India’s cultural, heritage and spiritual knowledge onto a single platform.
To promote astrophysics and astronomy through immersive learning, the Budget also announced the setting up or upgradation of four telescope infrastructure facilities — the National Large Solar Telescope, the National Large Optical-Infrared Telescope, the Himalayan Chandra Telescope, and the COSMOS-2 Planetarium.
