Budget 2025 LIVE: Nirmala Sitharaman to present budget at 11 am; what’s in store for education?

Ahead of the Union Budget 2025, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman arrives at the finance ministry. The budget will be read in parliament at 11 am. 

Union Budget 2025: Nirmala Sitharaman at finance ministry (Image: PTI)

The Economic Survey’s chapter on "Employment and Skill Development: Existential Priorities", highlighted key challenges faced due to low-skilled workers, which is attributable to the quality of educational outcomes across different levels of education. “Low educational skills in the workforce make a mismatch between their academic qualifications and job market demands. This mismatch has resulted in over 53% of graduates and 36% of postgraduates being underemployed in roles below their educational qualifications," the survey said. 

Ravichandran urged the Union government to prioritise open-source platforms for Indian language SLMs/LLMs, expand internet access to remote areas via satellite technology, and to establish digital classrooms nationwide to bridge the digital divide. "To truly empower the next generation, AI, coding, and computer science must be integrated into the curriculum from Class 1, with an enhanced focus on mathematics, building upon existing frameworks like the CBSE syllabus".

Ravichandran V Chairperson and trustee at eVidyaloka

Ravichandran V Chairperson and trustee at eVidyaloka, an organization empowering rural students with future-ready education, said: "Budget 2025 needs to make a bold commitment to education—raising funding from 3% to 8% and ensuring rural students are not left behind in an AI-driven world." 

He suggested that the investment should focus on three key areas: expanding access to quality education through hybrid mode, addressing teacher shortages by leveraging public-private partnerships for AI-powered learning solutions, and preparing students for an AI-driven world. "This includes equipping every government school with computers and introducing AI education from 6th grade in collaboration with leading tech companies," he added.

Twitter users have been flooding the social media platforms with memes ahead of the Union Budget 2025.

Nirmala Sitharaman gets trolled for tax reforms. (Image: X)

The Budget speech 2025 will be live streamed through the social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, and X. The finance minister has arrived at the North Block of the Parliament ahead of the India Budget 2025.

Last five years’ education  budget allocation for school and higher education departments.

The Economic Survey 2024-25 tabled by the finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday revealed that the school dropout rates have steadily declined with primary dropout rates at 1.9%, upper primary at 5.2%, and secondary at 14.1%. The importance of skill education in schools has grown significantly with the advent of Industry 4.0, a highly dynamic and skill-intensive era defined by automation, artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of things (IoT), big data, and robotics, it said. 

Economic Survey 2024-25 highlights

On the Union Budget 2025, Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel says, "GST on craft should be removed...Things beneficial for women should be there in the budget," the ANI reported.

Expectations of relief on income tax, particularly for lower middle class, is high after Prime Minister Narendra Modi invoked goddess of wealth for elevating poor and middle class. "I pray to Goddess Lakshmi that the poor and the middle-class sections in the country are blessed by her," Modi said on Friday while speaking to reporters outside Parliament before the start of the Budget session. 

• Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will take up discussion on President Droupadi Murmu's address to Parliament on Monday as the Budget session begins on January 31. 
• The President addressed both the Houses of Parliament assembled together in the Lok Sabha chamber on Friday. 
• The Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the Economic Survey 2024-25 on Friday briefly after the President's address.
• The Finance Minister will present the General Budget 2025 today, February 1, in the Lok Sabha at 11 am.  
• Lok Sabha has provisionally allotted two days from February 3-4 for discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President's address, while Rajya Sabha has earmarked three days for the debate. 
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to reply to the debate in Rajya Sabha on February 6. 
• Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju has convened a meeting of floor leaders of political parties in Parliament on January 30 to ensure smooth functioning of the Budget session.

(With inputs from PTI)

The handloom weavers of Mandi have requested that provisions be made in Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) to provide training to weavers to hone their skills.

The Central Budget 2025 will be announced by the Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman today at 11 am in the Lok Sabha. 

Srinivasa Addepalli, Founder and CEO, GlobalGyan Leadership Academy said: “As we look toward the Union Budget 2025, it's important that we focus on skilling, upskilling, and leadership development to prepare our workforce for the future. The emphasis of education is only on 15-20 years of school and college. The next 30-40 years are equally important for learning. Professional upskilling should be treated on par with education.  By investing in programs that provide individuals with the skills they need, we can help them stay relevant in a fast-changing job market."

Srinivasa Addepalli, Founder and CEO, GlobalGyan Leadership Academy

India’s first budget was presented on November 26, 1947, by the first finance minister RK Shanmukham Chetty.

Shanmukham Chetty broadcasting on the Budget presented by him in the Indian Parliament in November, 1947, from AIR, New Delhi (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will deliver her 8th consecutive budget 2025 speech in the Lok Sabha at 11 am today, February 1. 

The Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the second full budget 2025 of the third term of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government. The Union Budget 2025 will be tabled in the Lok Sabha.