The government support to new technologies through AI mission, National Quantum Mission, Anusandhan National Research Fund, Research and Innovation Fund promises to be a big boost for the Indian higher education institutions that are nurturing India’s future entrepreneurs, industry leaders said on Monday.
The Union Budget 2026 signals a decisive shift in how India is approaching technology, from adoption to strategic capability building.
“The emphasis on AI, semiconductors, cloud and data infrastructure reflects a clear understanding that leadership in the digital economy is built bottom-up, starting with strong foundations. The strengthening of the India AI Mission provides a coordinated framework to accelerate AI research, deployment and ethical governance across sectors,” said CP Gurnani, Co-Founder and Vice Chairman, AIONOS.
Importantly, this is not a narrow tech agenda. By aligning AI investments with skilling, workforce readiness and MSME enablement, the Budget recognises that scale, inclusion and competitiveness must move together, he mentioned.
The focus on embedding technology in diverse areas is designed to benefit farmers in the field, enhance enrolment of women in STEM and upskill youth keen ready to lap up new opportunities, said Chocko Valliappa, Vice Chairman, Sona College of Technology.
“The allocation of Rs 139,289 crore for the education sector is higher by 14.2 per cent over RE (revised estimate) 2025-26 of Rs 121,949 crore. As per the revised estimate, the actual spend on education was 5 per cent less than the budgeted amount,” he said.
The Budget proposal for creating five University townships near major industrial and logistics corridors hosting multiple universities, colleges, research institutions, skill centres is a welcome step.
“Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra with rich manufacturing industry base and higher education institutions could easily accommodate one such University township,” Valliappa noted.
According to industry experts, the Union Budget sends a clear signal that India’s next phase of growth will be powered by AI-led digital capabilities, large-scale skill transformation, and globally competitive technology services.
“The proposed Education to Employment and Enterprise framework is a timely intervention to bridge the curriculum-industry gap, particularly in emerging areas such as AI, data engineering, and digital platforms, where demand is outpacing talent readiness,” said Sachin Alug, CEO, NLB Services.
The focus on tier 2 and tier 3 regions as Digital Economy Zones strengthens India’s Global Capability Center ecosystem by unlocking new talent pools and enabling distributed, resilient operating models beyond metros, Alug noted.
Equally important is the move to create a unified IT Services framework with clearer tax and safe harbour norms, which provides long-term predictability for enterprises, said experts.
—IANS
