The All India Student and Youth Organization (AISYO) condemns the Union Budget 2025-26 as a pro-corporate, anti-people policy that accelerates privatization and weakens public education and healthcare. Despite claims of increased spending, the budget prioritizes multinational corporations and domestic monopolies while failing to address crises in education, employment, and healthcare, shifting resources away from the people.
The BJP, despite promises of quality education, has consistently underfunded the sector, prioritizing corporate interests. India's education budget remains low compared to global standards, with the 2025-26 allocation of ₹1.28 lakh crore still far below the 6% of GDP recommended by the Kothari Commission. School education suffers from chronic underfunding and misallocation, with the ₹78,600 crore budget seeing only a marginal increase that barely keeps up with inflation. Instead of improving infrastructure, funds are directed toward digital initiatives benefiting private tech companies, while essential classroom facilities remain neglected. Atal Tinkering Labs, AI centers, and internet facilities are being promoted, but basic needs like teacher recruitment and midday meals are overlooked. ₹5,000 crore of last year’s school budget remained unspent, and the Midday Meal Scheme, now PM Poshan, received only a negligible increase, worsening the crisis in public schools. With 1.2 million teaching vacancies and poor student-teacher ratios, millions of children are pushed toward expensive private institutions, deepening inequality.
Higher education is also being dismantled to serve corporate interests. While ₹50,078 crore has been allocated, funding for central universities, IITs, and IISERs remains inadequate. The government forces public institutions into financial dependency through the Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA), burdening them with debt and leading to fee hikes. Elite institutions like IITs and IIMs are becoming unaffordable for students from poor and middle-class backgrounds, while public university research remains underfunded. Meanwhile, ₹6,000 crore is allocated for the "One Nation, One Subscription" scheme, benefiting corporate publishers rather than strengthening research in Indian institutions.
Despite grand claims, India's healthcare budget remains criminally insufficient. While allocation has increased from ₹33,152 crore in 2015-16 to ₹95,957 crore in 2025-26, this rise is deceptive. India has only 1.4 hospital beds per 1,000 people, far below the WHO-recommended 3.5 per 1,000, and government hospitals are even worse, with just 0.79 beds per 1,000 people—indicating a massive shortfall of 2.4 million hospital beds. The doctor-patient ratio stands at 1:1511, far from the WHO standard of 1:1000. The urban-rural divide in healthcare access is staggering, with 70% of India's population residing in rural areas but only 40% of hospital beds serving them. The nurse-to-patient ratio is a dismal 1:670 instead of the recommended 1:300. Overburdened government hospitals struggle to function under financial constraints, while private hospitals, backed by corporate interests, remain unaffordable for millions. Instead of strengthening public hospitals, the government continues pushing insurance-based healthcare schemes that benefit private insurance companies while failing to provide real healthcare solutions for the people.
India’s unemployment crisis is worsening under the BJP’s corporate-friendly policies. This budget fails to offer any concrete solutions for job creation. The allocation for MGNREGA, a crucial lifeline for rural workers, has been slashed, even as rural distress and joblessness rise. The much-hyped Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes have utterly failed to generate large-scale employment, serving only to subsidize big corporations. Public sector recruitment has stagnated, and the privatization of PSUs is causing job losses rather than job creation. Apprenticeship and skill development programs remain underfunded, leaving young workers with fewer opportunities. Meanwhile, corporate-friendly labor reforms have increased job insecurity, informalization, and depressed wages for workers.
AISYO demands at least 6% of GDP for education and 5% for healthcare to strengthen public institutions and ensure equitable access. Direct funding must replace corporate-controlled loan schemes, and scholarships should be expanded for marginalized students. Public sector employment must grow, and privatization of essential services must stop. A National Youth Employment Guarantee Scheme is needed to provide dignified jobs, while labor protections must be strengthened for gig and informal workers. AISYO urges students, workers, and democratic forces to resist this pro-imperialist, corporate-driven budget through collective struggle and mobilization to reclaim education, healthcare, and employment as fundamental rights.
With Revolutionary Greetings
All india students and youth organisation (AISYO)
Date: 03-02-2025
Vijayawada
