Budget 2026 Bets on Skills to Power India’s Tech Economy
The Finance Minister proposed supporting the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies in setting up AVGC Content Creator Labs in 15,000 secondary schools and 500 colleges.
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India’s Union Budget 2026–27 has drawn a sharp line between education, employment and enterprise, with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman laying out an ambitious roadmap to prepare India’s workforce for a technology-led economy, from semiconductors and AI to animation, design and space sciences.
Presenting the Budget in the Parliament today, Sitharaman announced the launch of India Semiconductor Mission 2.0, signalling the government’s intent to deepen domestic chip-making capabilities. “We will launch India Semiconductor Mission 2.0 and also focus on industry-led research and training centres to develop technology and a skilled workforce,” she said, underlining the need to align advanced manufacturing with talent development.
The Budget also places a big bet on India’s creative economy. Calling animation, visual effects, gaming and comics a fast-growing sector, Sitharaman noted that the AVGC (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics) industry is projected to require nearly 2 million professionals by 2030. To build this talent pipeline early, she proposed supporting the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies in Mumbai in setting up AVGC Content Creator Labs in 15,000 secondary schools and 500 colleges across the country.
In a relief for families sending money overseas for education and healthcare, the Finance Minister announced a cut in the Tax Collected at Source (TCS) under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) from 5% to 2% for these purposes. “I propose to reduce the TCS rate for pursuing education and for medical purposes… from 5% to 2%,” Sitharaman said.
At a structural level, the Budget proposes setting up a High-Powered ‘Education to Employment and Enterprise’ Standing Committee, tasked with positioning the services sector as a core engine of Viksit Bharat.
The committee will recommend measures to help India capture a 10% share of the global services market by 2047, while assessing the impact of emerging technologies, including AI, on jobs and future skill requirements.
Design education also gets a push. Acknowledging the rapid growth of India’s design industry and the shortage of trained designers, the government plans to establish a new National Institute of Design in eastern India through a challenge-based approach.
To strengthen higher education ecosystems, the Centre will support states in creating five University Townships near major industrial and logistics corridors, integrated academic zones that house universities, research institutions, skill centres, and residential facilities.
Addressing gender-specific challenges in STEM education, the Budget also proposes one girls’ hostel in every district, supported through viability gap funding or capital assistance.
The science and curiosity agenda extends skyward, too. To promote astrophysics and astronomy through immersive learning, the government will set up or upgrade four major telescope infrastructure facilities, including the National Large Solar Telescope and the Himalayan Chandra Telescope.
Industry leaders welcomed the direction but called for deeper investments. CII member and Ethiraj Group of Education Chairman Muralidharan told ANI, “It is important that students learn how to exploit new tools like artificial intelligence and emerging technologies. We will require support for research centres, labs and startup incubation centres.” He added that states like Tamil Nadu, with large higher-education populations, would need proportionately higher allocations.
Atul Rai, CEO and co-founder of Staqu Technologies, shared, “Equally important is the focus on skilling and education-to-employment pathways, which will ensure that AI adoption is supported by a future-ready workforce.”
Budget 2026 sketches a future where chips, creativity, code and classrooms converge, aiming to turn India’s demographic scale into a durable economic advantage.
