As India accelerates towards a digital-first economy, skilling particularly in AI and emerging technologies has become central to employability, productivity, and global competitiveness.
With the Union Budget 2026 approaching, Pankaj Jathar, Chief Executive Officer, NIIT Limited, outlines key expectations from the upcoming Budget, with a focus on improving the affordability of digital education and deepening public investment in skilling infrastructure.
“AI and digital are no longer peripheral skills; they are the core gateway to jobs and competitiveness. As digital learning continues to play a central role in India’s skilling journey, improving affordability will be key to unlocking its full potential. Today, most online courses fall under the 18% GST bracket, which impacts price accessibility at scale. Rationalising GST on verified digital learning programmes to a 5% bracket would make high-quality AI-enabled education more affordable, accelerate widespread adoption, and empower training providers and startups to scale sustainably in support of India’s talent ambitions.
At the same time, the nation must invest more in people. As a skilling-first enabler, we urge the government to set a clear target of 6% of GDP for education, to be delivered through higher absolute allocations that prioritise digital infrastructure, public–private skilling partnerships, and hard-to-reach geographies. India’s skilling gaps are well identified now, and this is a crucial time where we need a national push that combines fiscal incentives for low-cost digital learning with a sustained increase in public education investment to deliver both equity and economic returns.”
