Budget 2025: The Union Budget highlighted new and emerging technologies, with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announcing a national framework for Global Capability Centres (GCCs), a ₹500-crore Centre of Excellence in AI for education, and plans to explore a deep tech ‘Fund of Funds’ to support next-gen startups, news agency PTI reported.
Moreover, a new Fund of Funds, with an expanded scope and a ₹10,000 crore contribution, is set to be introduced.
A national framework will be developed to guide states in promoting GCCs in emerging Tier-2 cities. The framework will focus on enhancing talent and infrastructure, reforming bylaws, and fostering industry collaboration.
She said her government will invest in street vendors and online and urban workers. Gig workers of online platforms are to be provided with identity cards and registration on the e-Shram portal.
PM SVANidhi scheme to be revamped with enhanced loans from banks, UPI-linked credit cards with a ₹30,000 limit, and capacity-building support would be ensured.
A committee comprising representatives from various stakeholders had been constituted to suggest a framework for providing social security and welfare benefits to gig and platform workers.
The Ministry of Labour and Employment had issued an advisory to aggregators to register themselves and platform workers engaged with them on the e-Shram portal.
Gig workers and platform workers have been defined for the first time in the Code on Social Security 2020, which has been enacted by the Parliament. Social Security and Welfare-related provisions for the gig and platform workers have been mentioned in the Code.
“I had announced three Centres of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence for agriculture, health, and sustainable cities in 2023. Now a Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence for education will be set up with a total outlay of ₹500 crore,” Sitharaman said, as reported by PTI.
Startups also have a reason to cheer as a new ‘Fund of Funds’ with expanded scope, and a fresh contribution of an additional ₹10,000 crore will be set up.
"The Alternate Investment Funds (AIFs) for startups have received commitments of more than ₹91,000 crore. These are supported by the Fund of Funds set up with a government contribution of ₹10,000 crore. Now, a new fund of funds, with expanded scope and a fresh contribution of another ₹10,000 crore, will be set up," she said.
It is pertinent to mention here that the India GCC landscape has been progressing over the past five years and the total number of such centres have risen to over 1,700 in FY24 with over 2,975 centres.
Jaspreet Singh, Partner and GCC Industry Leader, Grant Thornton Bharat said that the Budget's focus on expanding talent availability and infrastructure in Tier-2 cities marks a significant step in strengthening India's Global Capability Centre ecosystem.
"By unlocking access to a wider talent pool, including professionals who prefer to stay in their hometowns, this initiative will enhance workforce stability and retention. Improved infrastructure will further enable seamless operations, making Tier-2 cities attractive destinations for high-value global work," Singh said.
As GCCs evolve into strategic hubs for innovation and technology, the expansion will drive inclusive growth, reduce regional disparities, and position India as a global leader in digital and business services, Singh said and noted that a well-distributed GCC network will ensure long-term resilience, scalability, and global competitiveness.
Building on the initiative announced in the July 2024 Budget, five National Centres of Excellence for Skilling will be set up with global expertise and partnerships to equip our youth with the skills required for “Make for India, Make for the World” manufacturing. The partnerships will cover curriculum design, training of trainers, a skills certification framework, and periodic reviews.
The government will create additional infrastructure in five Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and expand IIT Patna, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced on Saturday.
Presenting her eighth straight Union Budget, Sitharaman said the government will launch the 'Bharatiya Bhasha Pushtak' scheme to provide a digital form of Indian language books for schools and higher education.
"The total number of students in 23 IITs has increased by 100 per cent from 65,000 to 1.35 lakh in the past 10 years. 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.
Catch all the Budget News , Business News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.