New Delhi, March 9. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday called for speeding up the process of linking the country’s education system with the real needs of the economy, saying there is a need to increase attention on topics like artificial intelligence (AI) and automation.

Addressing a webinar organized on the budget for the financial year 2026-27, Prime Minister Modi said, “We have to further accelerate the process of linking our education system with the real needs of the economy. We have to increase focus on topics like AI, automation, digital economy and design-based manufacturing.”

He said that India is moving towards an innovation-based economy and hence a strong synergy between education, skills and industry is necessary. Referring to the health sector, the Prime Minister said that the country is today moving forward on the concept of ‘prevention based and holistic health’.

He said, “In the last few years, the health infrastructure of the country has been strengthened and new medical colleges have been opened in hundreds of districts. Through the Ayushman Bharat scheme and ‘Arogya Mandir’, health services have reached every village. Our Yoga and Ayurveda systems are also becoming popular across the world.” For the last few days, Prime Minister Modi has been participating in webinar discussions on various points proposed in the Budget 2026-27. This webinar was also organized in this connection.