The Union Budget 2023-2024 was presented to the parliament on February 1 by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. According to budget records, the Ministry of Education will get a staggering ₹1,12,898.97 crore from the centre for the upcoming fiscal year.Notably, this is the largest budgetary allocation ever given to the ministry.The expenditure for the department of School Education is ₹68,804,85 crore, while the expenditure for the department of Higher Education is ₹44,094.62 crore.The expenditure budget for the fiscal year 2022-2023 allotted ₹1,04,277.72 crore to the Ministry of Education. According to the updated figures, the Higher Education Department received ₹40828.35. According to the updated forecasts for 2022-2023, the School Education Department received ₹59052.78.
“The announcements during the Union Budget 2023 by the Finance Minister are significant boosts towards revamping the Indian education system, especially when we are witnessing a rapid shift towards digital learning. One of the major initiatives taken by the government to promote online education was the declaration to set up digital libraries for children and adolescents, which will enhance the availability of quality books across geographies, languages and genres. The government is also promoting regional languages by encouraging various trusts like the National Book Trust and the Children’s Book Trust to provide non-curricular titles in regional languages and English to physical libraries in various states, which will further revamp the culture of reading, which was significantly hit during the pandemic. The government has made big announcements to support the teaching ecosystem by facilitating teachers’ training and recruiting 38,800 teachers and staff for the 740 Eklavya Model Residential Schools, which are serving 3.5 lakh tribal students. Allocation for school education has increased by 8% from Rs 63,449 crore (Budget Estimate) in 2022-23 to Rs 68,804 crore in 2023-24. This move by the government will further bring in educational inclusivity and provide each and all with access to quality education”-Ms. Alka Kapur, Principal, Modern Public School
Budget 2023 has included a series of measures for inclusive socio – economic development. The Indian government with its 7-priorities and a greater focus on Financial Sector and infrastructure & Investment have stepped in the right direction. The Capex increase of 33% and a capital outlay of INR 2.40 lakh crore for railways is a bold move to create jobs and improve the infrastructure development in the country. The overall quality of expenditure outlay provides a strong guard against global headwinds and will create impetus for private investments. This will also offer a vast scope for domestic consumption. Strong agricultural credit outlay, support measures, ease of doing business, and digitization drive across various sectors will improve multiple clusters within the economy.-Rajiv Sabharwal, MD & CEO, Tata Capital Ltd.