Union Budget 2025: Bharatiya Bhasha Pustak Scheme To Provide Digital Books To Students

SUMMARY

The Bharatiya Bhasha Pustak Scheme is aimed at providing digital Indian language books to students

In another major announcement, a centre of excellence in AI for education will be set up with a total outlay of INR 500 Cr

Sitharaman said that broadband connectivity will be provided in all secondary schools in rural areas under the BharatNet project

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Union Budget 2025 speech proposed to implement ‘Bharatiya Bhasha Pustak Scheme’ to provide digital Indian language books to students and higher education.

“We propose to implement a Bharatiya Bhasha Pustak Scheme to provide digital-form Indian language books for school and higher education. This aims to help students understand their subjects better,” said Sitharaman.

In another major announcement, a centre of excellence in artificial intelligence (AI) for education will be set up with a total outlay of INR 500 Cr. It will be a new addition to three centres of excellence in AI for agriculture, health, and sustainable cities announced in 2023.

Further, in a push to upgrade infrastructure for schools, Sitharaman also announced that 50,000 Atal Tinkering Labs will be set up in government schools over the next five years

“This will cultivate the spirit of curiosity and innovation and foster a scientific temper among young minds,” the finance minister said.

In line with it, Sitharaman also highlighted that broadband connectivity will be provided in all secondary schools in rural areas under the BharatNet project.

The government has directed its focus towards youth upskilling to prepare a future-ready workforce. The FM in the budget session said that five national centres of excellence for skilling will be set up with global expertise and partnerships to equip the youth with the essential skills.

The centres are aimed at training youth with the skills required for “Make for India, Make for the World” manufacturing, the FM said.

“The partnerships will cover curriculum design, training of trainers, a skills certification framework, and periodic reviews,” said Sitharaman.

Besides, for higher education, additional infrastructure will be created in the five IITs started after 2014 to facilitate education for 6,500 more students. Hostel and other infrastructure capacity at IIT, Patna will also be expanded, said Sitharaman.