Union Budget 2025: Hardwire’s Roundup Of All Things Tech Announced By Modi Govt

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has revealed the Union Budget 2025 for the financial year 2025-2026 and there are some big announcements related to the technology sector. The Narendra Modi-led NDA government stressed incorporating next-gen technology to further economic growth and education over the span of the coming year. Broadband internet in government schools, boosting manufacturing of renewable energy resources and the provision of a new credit card linked to UPI numbers are hailed as some of the landmark announcements by the NDA government. 

That’s not all though. The government has made a lot of decisions about several product categories and emerging sectors such as Artificial Intelligence to benefit the middle class over the course of the next few years. 

Hence, for all those seeking to get a broad understanding of everything that the NDA government announced for the technology sector in the Union Budget 2025, here is everything laid out clearly. 

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Technology announcements in Union Budget 2025

AI takes centerstage

Prior to the Budget 2025 announcement, industry experts had predicted notable reforms in the way Artificial Intelligence will be harvested in educational and professional sectors. Although no major regulation was implemented, the government has announced the establishment of five Centres of Excellence for AI in Education. The government has declared an outlay of INR 500 crore, thus affirming the importance of AI in India’s education system. Artificial Intelligence is expected to be a major tool in the future and utilising AI in the education sector could help elevate the country’s educational standards by a notch. 

Digital education for students

Up until now, education has been considered a right for students in the country but the sector hasn’t kept up with the modern times. In a move inspired by private schools, the government has now announced the expansion of modern necessities like broadband internet to secondary government schools under the Bharat Net programme. This should ensure the overall well-being of the students in lakhs of government schools across the countries, with easy access to all the latest information and online educational guides. Broadband services will also be extended to government-run primary health centres in a bid to extend modern facilities to the most remote areas of the country. 

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More Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL) in schools

After a successful trial run, the government has announced that more Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL) will be established in government schools over the next five years. The NDA government is looking at establishing 50,000 ATLs directly in schools to foster a culture of innovation, curiosity, innovation and creativity in fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), space education and space technology among young minds. 

Encourage ‘Make in India’ for tech suppliers

In a bid to encourage ‘Make in India’ scheme, the government, as part of the Union Budget 2025, will foster an ecosystem to promote the local production of renewable energy generation components like grid-scale batteries, solar cells and electrolysers. Additionally, the lower Basic Customs Duty (BCD) on open cells and Ethernet Switches should encourage lower component costs of networking infrastructure as India continues on its mission to connect every village and city to the digital grid using the latest 4G and 5G cellular technology. Mobile battery production will also be incentivised if production is done locally. 

However, flat panel displays, which include TVs, monitors and computer displays, will be pricier than before as the BCD on these items has been raised from 10 per cent to 20 per cent. 

UPI-linked credit cards for vendors

The Budget 2025 also saw the Finance Minister announce a new UPI-linked credit card for street vendors. With a usage limit of INR 30,000, this should allow for greater economic developments of those at the bottom end of the financial spectrum. The government will also ensure enhanced bank loans and capacity-building measures to strengthen street vendors economically. ID cards will also be issued to gig workers in a bid to extend benefits like healthcare and social security as part of a new welfare scheme. 

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