NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled a series of initiatives focused on investing in people, the economy, and innovation. The move aimed at fostering growth and development across multiple sectors, of the government.
These efforts, spread across various programs, are designed to bolster education, infrastructure, healthcare, and economic reform while also encouraging innovation to secure Indiaโs future growth.
The government has launched several ambitious programs to support education and health across the country. The Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 programme will provide nutritional assistance to over 8 crore children, 1 crore pregnant women and lactating mothers, and 20 lakh adolescent girls, with a special focus on aspirational districts and the North East. The cost norms for nutritional support will also be enhanced to improve the programโs reach and effectiveness.
In a major push for education, 50,000 Atal Tinkering Labs will be set up in government schools over the next five years, aiming to foster creativity and innovation among students. Furthermore, broadband connectivity under the Bharat Net initiative will be extended to all government secondary schools and primary health centres in rural areas.
The government also plans to introduce the Bharatiya Bhasha Pustak Scheme, which will provide digital-form Indian language books for school and higher education students. Additionally, to accommodate growing demand, additional infrastructure will be created in five IITs established after 2014, adding 6,500 new student seats. This follows a significant increase in IIT student numbers, which have doubled from 65,000 to 1.35 lakh in the last decade.
In healthcare, 10,000 new medical college seats will be added in the coming year, contributing to a broader goal of adding 75,000 seats in the next five years. The government has already added nearly 1.1 lakh UG and PG medical education seats in the last decade, an increase of 130%. The creation of Day Care Cancer Centres in district hospitals is also a part of the governmentโs healthcare vision, with 200 centres expected to be operational by 2025-26.
The PM SVANidhi scheme, aimed at providing financial support to street vendors, will be revamped with increased loans, UPI-linked credit cards, and capacity-building measures. A new Urban Challenge Fund worth โน1 lakh crore will be established to implement ambitious proposals related to urban growth hubs, city redevelopment, and water and sanitation, with โน10,000 crore allocated for 2025-26.
The government has committed an outlay of โน1.5 lakh crore for interest-free loans to states for capital expenditure, alongside incentives for reforms. The second Asset Monetization Plan, running from 2025 to 2030, aims to unlock โน10 lakh crore for new projects.
In another groundbreaking move, a โน20,000 crore Nuclear Energy Mission will be launched to develop Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), with at least five indigenously developed SMRs expected to be operational by 2033. This investment in nuclear energy is part of a broader push to improve energy infrastructure.
A Maritime Development Fund of โน25,000 crore will be created to support the maritime industry, while the revamped UDAN scheme will aim to enhance regional connectivity, adding 120 new destinations and carrying 4 crore passengers over the next decade.
Additionally, the government has announced the full exemption of cobalt powder, lithium-ion battery scrap, and 12 other critical minerals from duties, securing their availability for manufacturing in India. This is expected to boost the domestic production of lithium-ion batteries for mobile phones and electric vehicles (EVs).
To strengthen Indiaโs innovation landscape, the government has allocated โน20,000 crore for private sector-driven research and development initiatives. A Deep Tech Fund of Funds will be created to catalyze the next generation of startups. The PM Research Fellowship scheme will provide 10,000 fellowships for technological research at IITs and IISc, with enhanced financial support over the next five years.
The establishment of a second Gene Bank with 10 lakh germplasm lines will contribute to future food and nutritional security, while the National Geospatial Mission will develop foundational infrastructure for geospatial data. The government also plans to launch the Gyan Bharatam Mission, a comprehensive project to survey, document, and conserve Indiaโs manuscript heritage, involving academic institutions, museums, and libraries across the country.
