In the 2024 budget speech, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced robust outlays toward strengthening education and the generation of employment and skill development in India. This budget thus places greater emphasis on education as the national development lead factor, articulating a few initiatives and funding provisions for building educational infrastructures and opportunities in the country.
Allocations and Initiatives
1. Financial Support for Higher Education
- It has given as much as Rs 1.48 lakh crore for education, employment, and skill development.
- The students studying in the State or any other institutions in the country would also benefit as the financial assistance of up to Rs 10 lakh would be in the form of loans for pursuing higher education.
2. Skill Development Initiatives
- A new centrally-sponsored scheme for skill development will be launched with the collaboration of state governments and industries.
- In a period of 5 years, around 20 lakh youth will be trained in order to meet the demands of the industry relevant skilled workforce.
3. Upgradation of ITIs
- The government is planning to upgrade 1,000 Industrial Training Institutes.
- The curriculum design would be in sync with the skill needs assessed by industries so that when they come out from these institutes, they are job-ready.
4. Internship Opportunities
- The government will facilitate internship opportunities for one crore youth.
- The interns will get a stipend of Rupees 5000 and a one-time assistance of Rupees 6000. The companies will finance these internships from their CSR funds.
Impact of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020
Finance Minister Sitharaman cited the positive outcomes that were results of the National Education Policy announced in the year 2020. Educational growth in the last decade is gauged in an increase in the number of higher educational institutions and growth in women enrolling for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) courses. Thus, it amply proved the potency of such a policy in bringing about diversity and accessibility to education.
Budget Allocations: Changes and Adjustments
Funding Adjustments –
- The Union Budget 2024 reduced funds to the University Grants Commission by a massive 60.99 percent at Rs 2,500 crore from the revised estimate of Rs 6,409 crore in the previous year.
- Grants for central universities have gone up significantly. The allocation for the financial year 2024-25 was at Rs 15,928 crore (an increase of over Rs 4000 crore), which has shown the government’s commitment towards building central educational institutions stronger.
The Education Budget 2024 reiterates how proactive the government is related to better education outcomes and skill development in India. Most of the investments are in higher education, skill training, and internship programs to empower youth with the right tools for today’s competitive global economy. Funding adjustments like that for UGC may lead to questions; the strategy outlined for enhancing infrastructure and opportunities in education, however, remains loud and clear.
In a nutshell, the budget is endowed with a balanced approach toward building human resources on the one hand and empowering students with the wherewithal to succeed in diverse fields on the other, which will help India in her socio-economic growth in the coming years.
