Public expenditure on India’s education sector has increased steadily over the past two decades, reflecting the growing population, expanding education enrolment, and the needs of policy reforms. Although in the financial year 2000-01, the total public expenditure on education, including the Center and the states, was approximately ₹ 82,486 crore, it increased to ₹ 9,41,746 crore in the budget estimate of 2022-23. In this way, government expenditure on education has registered an increase of more than 11 times. During the fiscal year 2025-26, the central government allocated ₹1,28,650 crore to the Education Ministry, which is 13% more than the last year’s revised estimate.
Expenditure on education as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) has long remained in the range of 3.3% to 4.6%. It averaged around 3.82% between 2000 and 2022, which is still lower than the 6% target suggested by the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the Kothari Commission. The ratio reached 4.64% in 2021 during post-Covid-19 revival efforts, but has since stabilized around 4%.
According to the data, public expenditure on education in 2004–05 by the state and central governments together stood at only 3.36% of GDP, one of the lowest levels in the 2000s. Subsequently, between 2005-06 and 2008-09, the expenditure increased from ₹1.13 lakh crore to ₹1.86 lakh crore. In 2011-12 it crossed ₹3.7 lakh crore for the first time. However, after 2015, the Center started showing considerable interest in the education budget. In 2015-16, this budget reached Rs 5,70,000 lakh crore for the first time. Reached ₹8.75 lakh crore by 2019-20. Expenditure levels remained high in the pandemic-hit 2020-21, while in 2022-23 it stood at around ₹9.41 lakh crore. According to estimates, total public education expenditure could reach around ₹11 lakh crore by 2026-27, which would be about 4% of GDP.
India’s public expenditure on education in proportion to GDP (Centre + State)
| Year | Expenses(₹ Crore) | in proportion to GDP |
|---|---|---|
| 2000-01 | 82,486 | 4.28% |
| 2001-02 | 79,866 | 3.81% |
| 2002-03 | 85,507 | 3.78% |
| 2003-04 | 89,079 | 3.51% |
| 2004-05 | 96,694 | 3.36% |
| 2005-06 | 1,13,229 | 3.45% |
| 2006-07 | 1,37,384 | 3.64% |
| 2007-08 | 1,61,420 | 3.74% |
| 2008-09 | 1,86,499 | 3.78% |
| 2009-10 | ~2,15,000 (est.) | ~3.80% |
| 2010-11 | ~2,60,000 (est.) | ~3.55% |
| 2011-12 | 3,72,680 | ~4.26% |
| 2012-13 | ~4,41,629 | ~4.44% |
| 2013-14 | ~5,15,692 | 3.84% |
| 2014-15 | ~5,70,000 (est.) | ~4.10% |
| 2015-16 | ~6,20,000 (est.) | ~4.10% |
| 2016-17 | ~6,80,000 (est.) | ~4.20% |
| 2017-18 | ~7,40,000 (est.) | ~4.30% |
| 2018-19 | ~8,00,000 (est.) | ~4.20% |
| 2019-20 | 8,75,429 | ~4.30% |
| 2020-21 | ~8,50,000 (est., COVID-affected) | 4.50% |
| 2021-22 | 9,19,145(RE) | 4.30% |
| 2022-23 | 9,41,746(BE) | 4.12% |
| 2023-24 | ~9,80,000 (est.) | ~4.10% |
| 2024-25 | ~10,20,000 (est.) | ~4.00% |
| 2025-26 | ~10,60,000 (est.) | ~4.00% |
| 2026-27 | ~11,00,000 (project.) | ~4.00% |
Policy decisions shaped this journey. in 2001 Education for all campaign Since the beginning of the 1930s, there has been a major expansion in primary education and a significant increase in enrollment rates. The National Education Policy announced in 2020 emphasized multidisciplinary education, skill development and research, leading to increased allocations in both school and higher education.
Talking about the central government alone, ₹1,28,650 crore has been allocated for the Education Ministry for the financial year 2025-26, which is 13% more than last year’s revised estimate. This includes ₹78,572 crore for school education and ₹50,078 crore for higher education. There has been a significant increase in programs like Samagra Shiksha, PM Poshan and PM-Shri, aimed at compensating learning loss and strengthening infrastructure after the pandemic.
Despite this, experts say the level of spending is still not enough to fully address quality, equity and infrastructure challenges. Problems such as inequality between states, teacher shortage and skills gap remain. As India moves towards the goal of ‘Developed India’ by 2047, taking public investment on education to 6% of GDP remains a key policy challenge.
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