6,500 IIT Seats And 10K Medical Seats To AI In Education: What Budget 2025 Has For Students

Sitharaman said broadband connectivity will be provided to all government secondary schools and primary healthcare centres in rural areas.

Sitharaman announced there will be no tax on income up to Rs 12 lakh under the new tax regime.

Source : PTI

Union Budget 2025: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her eighth budget speech announced creating an additional 6,500 seats in five Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and expanding IIT Patna.

"Total number of students in 23 IITs has increased 100 per cent from 65,000 to 1.35 lakh in the past 10 years. Additional infrastructure will be created in the 5 IITs started after 2014 to facilitate education for 6,500 more students," Sitharaman said. Hostel and other infrastructure capacity at IIT, Patna will also be expanded. 

Sitharaman said broadband connectivity will be provided to all government secondary schools and primary healthcare centres in rural areas. She added that the government will launch 'Bharatiya Bhasha Pushtak' scheme to provide a digital form of Indian language books for schools and higher education.

Centre of Excellence In AI for Education

Sitharaman announced the setting up of a Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence for education with a total outlay of 500 crore. She announced three Centres of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence for agriculture, health, and sustainable cities in 2023.

Expansion Of Medical Education

The government will add 10,000 additional seats in medical colleges and hospitals towards the goal of adding 75,000 seats in the next five years. "Our Government has added almost 1.1 lakh UG and PG medical education seats in ten years, an increase of 130 per cent," she said.

Meanwhile, Sitharaman announced there will be no tax on income up to Rs 12 lakh under the new tax regime. "Slabs and rates being changed across the board to benefit all tax-payers," the Finance Minister said.

"To taxpayers up to Rs 12 Lakhs of normal income other than special rate income such as capital gains, tax rebate is being provided in addition to the benefit due to slab rate reduction in such a manner that there is no tax payable by them," Sitharaman announced.