Center of Excellence, Fund of Funds, nuclear energy: How Sitharaman said aye to AI in her Budget

In the Union Budget 2025-26, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman made three key announcements that could power innovation and funding for the growing artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem in India. The FM allocated INR500 crore for setting up a Center of Excellence in AI for education. Sitharaman also announced an additional INR10,000 crore for the government’s Fund of Funds initiative, and a deep-tech fund to invest in startups, which experts