Budget 2025: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced the Union Budget 2025-26 in the Lok Sabha on 1 February 2025. This time the budget emphasizes on promoting Artificial Intelligence (AI), nuclear power, startups and digital technology. The government has announced new funds for National Atomic Energy Mission, National Ground-Standing Mission and Startups. Let’s know some important announcements of this budget.
Center of Excellence for AI in Education
The government will set up a new Center of Excellence at a cost of Rs 500 crore to promote AI in the education sector. Earlier, in Budget 2023-24, three AI Center of Excellence for agriculture, health and smart cities were announced.
Apart from this, the government will also promote domestic manufacturing capacity. The industrial sector is moving towards Industry 4.0, which will require high-skilled workforce. Keeping this in mind, the government will set up the National Center of Excellence for Skilling, where the skills related to the industry will be developed.
National nuclear power mission
The government has announced the National Atomic Energy Mission to promote nuclear power in the energy sector. The goal is to produce at least 100 GW of nuclear power by 2047. For this, the government will set up a research and development (R&D) center at a cost of Rs 20,000 crore, which will work on the small modular reactor (SMR).
By 2033, at least 5 indigenous SMR reactors will be functional.
The Atomic Energy Act and Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act will be amended to increase the participation of private companies.
Tech companies like Google, Microsoft and Meta are giving priority to data centers and small modular reactors for AI operations, as they can be faster than traditional atomic plants and are less expensive.
New Fund of Funds for Startups
To encourage startups, the government has expanded the Fund of Funds of Small Industries Development Bank (SIDBI) and a new investment of Rs 10,000 crore will be made in it.
Financial assistance of Rs 91,000 crore has already been given to startups under the Alternative Investment Fund (AIFS). Now the scope of this fund will be increased and an additional contribution of Rs 10,000 crore will be made to it. For the first time, women entrepreneurs and Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) entrepreneurs will be made available up to Rs 2 crore in the next 5 years.
Braodband Connectivity in Government Schools
To strengthen education and health services in rural areas, the government has announced that broadband connectivity will be provided in all government secondary schools and primary health centers. This facility will be provided under the BharatNet Project. In Budget 2025-26, the government has given priority to areas like AI, nuclear power, startups, deep tech, and digital connectivity.
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