Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday urged accelerating the process of linking India's education system to the real-world economy during a post-budget webinar. He emphasized the need to increase focus on subjects like AI, automation, digital economy, and design-driven manufacturing. He also highlighted strengthening sectors such as health, sports, and tourism.
On March 9, 2026, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a post-budget webinar titled 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas – Fulfilling Aspirations of People: Education, Skills and University Townships'. He stated that fulfilling people's aspirations is the fundamental objective of the Union budget. He sought suggestions for strengthening sectors like health, education, skill development, tourism, sports, and culture.
Modi highlighted progress in the health sector, where the Ayushman Bharat Yojana and Arogya Mandirs have extended services to rural areas. He noted initiatives like telemedicine making care accessible in remote regions and called for focus on the care economy amid a rising senior citizen population, requiring new training models.
In education, he welcomed the changing mindset of youth and urged an updated curriculum linked to the real-world economy. 'We will have to accelerate the process of linking our education system to the real world economy even further... We will have to increase our focus on subjects like AI and automation, digital economy and design-driven manufacturing,' he said. He emphasized girls' interest in STEM and creating a research ecosystem for young researchers.
On sports, Modi mentioned initiatives like Khelo India infusing new energy into the ecosystem. He called for grooming younger sportspersons and strengthening facilities ahead of international events such as the Commonwealth Games. For tourism, he stressed cleanliness and hospitality.
The webinar, organized by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Department of Higher Education, was attended by policymakers, industry leaders, academia, startups, and students.
