The Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman mentioned plans for a new education policy, a fund for research, skilling and a revamped regulator for higher education, but, an analysis of the speech found, it had little to offer the wider education sector.

What the Budget offered

Rather than setting out plans for education as a whole, Sitharaman placed these proposals under the heading of “youth”. She credited earlier work by the Modi government for three Indian institutions, two IITs and the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, being ranked among the world’s top 200 universities.

• Rs 400 crore was set aside to build world-class institutes.
• The allocation for research and innovation was raised to Rs 609 crore, compared with Rs 244 crore earlier.
• A National Research Foundation, proposed in the draft New Education Policy, was included.
• A new regulator for higher education was proposed.
• Rs 50 crore was allocated for hiring language teachers.

Gaps highlighted by the analysis

The analysis said the speech was largely silent on school education, even though educationists have long argued that higher education cannot improve without strong primary and secondary schooling. The Budget said the government would adopt the New Education Policy, but did not say in what form.

The policy draft, submitted on May 28 by the K Kasturirangan Committee, focuses heavily on overhauling school education, beginning at pre-school, and puts teachers at the centre of reform. It also stresses learning three languages in school. Yet the Budget had no overall allocation for teacher training and adult education, which received more than Rs 450 crore in each of the last two Budgets, the analysis noted.

The spending question

The draft policy estimates that education’s share of public spending must rise from 10 per cent to 20 per cent, through an increase of 10 per cent over the next 10 years. The Union Budget allocated Rs 94,854 crore to education, about three per cent of total spending of Rs 27,86,349 crore, which the analysis described as a weak start. It added that the speech made clear the Modi government intends to roll out the new policy during its second term.

See also: Election news

Originally published on 6 July 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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