Budget 2025: Experts advocate AI integration and startup support to revolutionise education sector

Budget 2025: Experts advocate AI integration and startup support to revolutionise education sector

As India gears up for the Union Budget 2025, the general population anticipates significant initiatives across various sectors, including education. Expectations range from a reduction in GST on education services to addressing the country’s skill gap, boosting vocational training platforms, and enhancing digital infrastructure. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to deliver her eighth budget speech on February 1, 2025, and major reforms in the education sector are highly anticipated.

A Budget Push for AI Integration in Education

In March 2024, the Union Cabinet approved a ₹10,371.92 crore investment for the national-level India Artificial Intelligence (AI) mission. This initiative aligns with the vision of “Making AI in India” and “Making AI Work for India” by establishing a robust AI ecosystem. The India AI mission will be implemented by the Independent Business Division (IBD) under the Digital India Corporation (DIC). Key components of the mission include IndiaAI Compute Capacity, IndiaAI Innovation Centre, IndiaAI Datasets Platform, IndiaAI Application Development Initiative, IndiaAI FutureSkills, IndiaAI Startup Financing, and Safe & Trusted AI.
The Indian education system is already on the brink of a technological revolution, and the upcoming budget can play a pivotal role in reinforcing the integration of AI into the learning experience.
Mridu Andotra, Founder and CEO of GeniusMentor, a personalized e-learning platform that tailors study plans, assessments, and learning resources to each student’s needs, emphasizes that to truly empower India’s youth and establish the nation as a global AI leader, the government must prioritize a dedicated budget allocation for AI in schools and colleges in the forthcoming Union Budget.
“A significant increase is needed, potentially aiming for 5-10% of the overall education budget, to match the ambitious goals outlined in the NEP 2020. This investment should focus on providing cutting-edge AI infrastructure, including high-speed internet access, advanced digital tools, and dedicated AI labs in schools and colleges,” Mridu shared her inputs.
The Union Budget should also include provisions for upskilling educators in AI pedagogy and developing engaging, hands-on AI learning experiences for students.

Boosting Startups for Skill Development

In the Union Budget 2024, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced several initiatives for skill development. These included upgrading 1,000 Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) under the hub-and-spoke model, aligning course content with industry skill requirements, launching a centrally sponsored scheme as part of the Prime Minister’s skilling package, and fostering collaboration with state governments and industries. The government aimed to skill 20 lakh students over five years and allocated a significant ₹1.12 lakh crore to education, emphasizing digital learning, virtual labs, and digital initiatives.
To build on these goals, the Union Budget 2025 should prioritize providing tangible support to startups through financial subsidies, grants, and incubation assistance, suggests Ram Ramalingam, Founder and CMO of GeniusMentor.
“Tech start-ups in India, especially the ones in the education domain, will directly impact the quality of the Indian workforce in the global scene. Thus, I believe it’s high time for the government to ‘walk the talk’ on providing tangible assistance & benefits to the start-ups and providing financial subsidies, grants & incubation assistance for the ones dabbling in next-gen technologies like AI in key areas like education,” said Ram Ramalingam, Founder and CMO of GeniusMentor.

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