Bhubaneswar: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has hailed the Union Budget 2026–27 as a transformative blueprint for Yuva Shakti, emphasizing its focus on education, employment, and the overarching goal of Viksit Bharat. The total budget allocation for the Ministry of Education has seen a significant rise to ₹1,39,289.48 crore, representing an 8.27% increase compared to the previous year’s budget estimate.
Minister Shri Pradhan expressed his gratitude to the Prime Minister and Finance Minister for a growth-oriented budget that prioritizes the well-being of the poor and middle class while strengthening strategic areas like MSMEs, healthcare, and innovation. He noted that the budget is built on three fundamental duties: sustaining economic growth, building human capacity, and ensuring universal access to resources.
A major focus of the budget is the empowerment of women in technical fields. Highlighting that India already boasts high female participation in STEM, the Minister announced that one girls’ hostel will be established in every district through viability gap funding to further encourage enrollment in science and technology courses.
To bridge the gap between academia and industry, the budget proposes the creation of five University Townships located near major industrial and logistics corridors. These zones are designed to integrate universities, research institutions, and skill centers within a single residential ecosystem.
Furthermore, a high-powered Education to Employment and Enterprise Standing Committee will be formed to align the services sector with emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence. This includes embedding AI into school curricula and upgrading teacher training institutes. The budget also targets the creative economy by setting up AVGC Content Creator Labs in 15,000 schools and 500 colleges, aiming to support two million professionals in the animation and gaming sector by 2030.