Today, Saturday, February 1, 2025, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget for the financial year 2025-26, marking a pivotal moment in India’s economic landscape.

As the Finance Minister emphasised “Investing in People”, here are some key highlights of the Budget’s new schemes and investment in government schools, aimed at benefiting students. 

New Atal Tinkering Labs

In her speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the Union Government will set up 50,000 Atal Tinkering Labs in Central Government Schools. 

This move aims to “cultivate the spirit of curiosity and innovation, and foster a scientific temper” among the students. 

To recall, the Atal Tinkering Labs have been established in schools all over India under the Atal Innovation Mission (2016) by the NITI Aayog, with a vision to “cultivate one million children in India as neoteric innovators.” The labs serve to “foster curiosity, creativity, and imagination in young minds” and help students gain skills like design thinking, adaptive learning and more. 

Currently, there are over 10,000 Atal Tinkering Labs across private and government schools across India. 

In addition, the Union Finance Minister announced that, under the Bharat Net Project, broadband connectivity will be provided to government secondary schools in rural areas within the next five years.