Budget 2026: Bridging Education-Employability Gap with University Townships, AI Labs

• Union Budget 2026 allocates Rs 1.39 lakh crore to education, an 8% increase, aiming for NEP 2020's 6% GDP spending goal.
• Higher education sees an 11.3% increase to Rs 55,727 crore, signaling aggressive investment in outcome-oriented initiatives.
• New initiatives include university townships near industrial corridors, a National Institute of Design (NID) in Eastern India, and girls' hostels in every district.
• Focus on preparing the workforce for a "phygital" world, integrating AI into education, and establishing an 'education to employment and enterprise' committee.
• AVGC Content Creator Labs in 15,000 secondary schools and 500 colleges aim to train two million professionals by 2030.

Why It Matters: Budget 2026 significantly boosts education funding and introduces initiatives to align education with industry needs.