UGC Chairman & Industry Experts Applaud Boost For Innovation & AI

Education sector leaders have welcomed the Union Budget 2025-26’s substantial allocation for higher education, with both institutional and industry voices praising its focus on innovation, accessibility, and technological advancement.

UGC Chairman’s perspective

The Chairman of the University Grants Commission, Prof. M. Jagadesh Kumar, hailed the 7.74% increase in higher education funding to ₹50,077.95 crore. “The Union Budget 2025-26 presents a forward-thinking vision for higher education, focusing on skill development, innovation, and inclusivity,” he stated, highlighting the UGC’s own increased allocation to ₹3,335.97 crore.

Prof. Kumar made special mention of the government’s commitment to linguistic inclusivity with the Bharatiya Bhasha Pustak scheme and the five-fold increase in funding for Indian Knowledge System to ₹50 crore. He said, “This move will significantly boost UGC’s efforts to prepare 22,000 textbooks for UG & PG studies in 22 Indian languages.”

The Chairman also pointed out some of the major allocations, such as ₹16,146.11 crore for Central Universities and a 68% increase in Student Financial Aid to ₹2,160 crore. He also appreciated the establishment of five National Centers of Excellence for Skilling and the ₹500 crore Centre of Excellence for AI in education as the right steps toward modernizing India’s education system.

Industry leader’s insights

Mr. Nirvaan Birla, Managing Director of Birla Open Minds Education said, “The budget has been “a bold and visionary framework.” He further elaborates on the transformative potential within the AI Centre of Excellence, “This strategic move acknowledges AI as not just an industry trend but a cornerstone of educational future.”

Birla said, “The expansion of IIT infrastructure, particularly with a focus on accommodating 6,500 additional students, is a remarkable step in cultivating a more innovative and globally competitive generation of leaders. However, the real game-changer lies in the establishment of the Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Education, with a ₹500 crore investment.” He also praised the focus on skill development and healthcare education, with 10,000 new medical seats being added, which was the need of the hour to address professional shortages.

Views on innovation and accessibility

Both leaders emphasised on how the budget adopted a comprehensive approach to educational transformation. Prof Kumar spoke on the PM Research Fellowship scheme as capable of propelling research excellence while Birla emphasized that with Bharatnet, there will be rural connectivity and education will reach them.

They were both interested in the regional language education emphasis of the budget, with Kumar pointing out the textbook development initiative and Birla noting that it was a must for rural and Tier 3 towns. Both felt that this was crucial for an inclusive education system.

Future-Ready education system

The leaders’ responses reflected a shared vision of the budget’s transformative potential. Prof. Kumar said that through initiatives such as the 50,000 Atal Tinkering Labs, the indigenous innovation will sprout well in early age and Birla described the overall budget as “a clarion call for an education system that is dynamic, adaptive and on the cutting-edge of global trends.”