NEW DELHI: The education sector received a renewed push in the Union Budget 2026–27, with an allocation of Rs 1,39,289 crore — an increase of 8.27% over the previous year.
Support for State universities has been boosted with an allocation of Rs 1,850 crore, while major announcements include five university townships along industrial corridors across the country and one girls’ hostel in every district for a Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) higher education institute.
Out of the overall allocation, a gross budgetary estimate of Rs 78,496.22 crore has been earmarked for higher education.
The 2026–27 Budget has made the highest-ever allocation for the Department of School Education and Literacy at Rs 83,562.26 crore. It marks an increase of Rs 4,990 crore, or 6.35 per cent, over the previous Budget. Autonomous bodies - the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) and the Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS) - have received allocations of Rs 10,129.41 crore and Rs 6,025 crore, respectively.
Compared to 2025–26, the allocation for KVS has increased by Rs 625.57 crore, while NVS has seen a rise of Rs 719.77 crore.
Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said, “The budget gives a boost to education and employment-creation and presents a blueprint for the next phase of development.”
Education will be linked with employment and enterprise through the setting up of a high-powered ‘Education to Employment and Enterprise’ Standing Committee.
“The Committee has been proposed to recommend measures that focus on the services sector, which is the core driver of the Viksit Bharat. It will look into the impact of emerging technologies, including AI, on jobs and skill requirements,” he said.
Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar, the former Chairman of the UGC, told TNIE, “The money allocated for higher education goes to central universities, centrally funded institutions, scholarships, and labs that help our institutions become more competitive worldwide."
School Education schemes also get enormous support.
Samagra Shiksha (Integrated, centrally sponsored school education) has been earmarked Rs 42,100 crore; PM POSHAN, popularly known as Mid-Day Meal Scheme schools, will get ₹12,750 crore to sustain the health of students, while PM Shri schools (Model schools) will get Rs 7,500 crore.
An educationist said the Rs 1,850 crore for States under PM-USHA will be divided among the five different School zones in the country.
“The details are yet to be worked out,” he added.
Key announcements:
The budget said five University Townships in the vicinity of major industrial and logistic corridors across the country.
“These planned academic zones will host multiple universities, colleges, research institutions, skill centres and residential complexes,” it said.
To boost women’s participation in STEM education, one girls’ hostel will be established in every district through Viability Gap Funding or Capital Support.
“In Higher Education STEM institutions, prolonged hours of study and laboratory work pose some challenges for girl students,” it said, elaborating on the reason for it.
Setting up Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC) Content creator labs in 15000 secondary schools and 500 colleges calls for skilled personnel in the area of animation, visual effects, gaming and comics to operate these labs.
This project aims to provide a platform to two million professionals by 2030 for the growing AVGC sector.
National Institute of Design in Eastern India
Digital Knowledge Grid to bring India’s cultural, heritage and spiritual knowledge onto one platform are other key initiatives.
To promote Astrophysics and Astronomy via immersive experiences, four Telescope Infrastructure facilities will be set up or upgraded, the budget said.
These are the selected four: the National Large Solar Telescope, the National Large Optical-infrared Telescope, the Himalayan Chandra Telescope and the COSMOS-2 Planetarium.
A Pilot scheme to upskill 10,000 guides in 20 iconic tourist sites through a 12-week training course module in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Management (IIMs).
Allocation for autonomous bodies
Allocation in Central Universities is Rs. 17,440 Crore, which is Rs 748.69 crore (4.49%) more than the previous allocation; UGC has been allocated Rs. 3709.00 crore, which is Rs. 373.03 crore (11.18%) more than the previous year.
IITs have been allocated Rs. 12123 crore in 2026-27, Rs. 774 crore (6.82%) more than the earlier allocation. NITs, Rs. 6260 crore has been allocated, increasing the allocation by Rs. 572.53 crore (10.07%).
Deemed Universities have been allocated Rs. 650 crore, Rs. 46 crore more than the previous year allocation, while Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) have been allocated Rs. 29,2 which is Rs. 40.11 crore (15.92%) more than the allocation last year.
The Atal Tinkering Labs, a flagship initiative under the Department of School Education and Literacy named Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL) begun last year, has been allocated ₹ 3200 crore.
