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.
Opinions of eminent educationists
“The much awaited Union Budget has provided some impetus for the education sector. The increase in the Education outlay to Rs. 1.12 Lac Cr is a welcome move in the right direction towards achieving the NEP goal of 6% contribution to GDP. It is noteworthy that the School Education budget has grown by 17% and I look forward to a more enabling environment for private institutions as well. The plan of a National Digital Library supported by e-content in all Indian languages will provide access to quality education for more children. Steps on teacher recruitment and teacher training through specialized institutions will help democratize early-year education in the country. Fuelled by the allocation provided in this budget, we now need to see execution plans for various progressive initiatives laid out in the NEP for India to move towards its educational vision of being a “Vishwa Guru”.–Mr. Prajodh Rajan, Co-Founder & Group CEO, Lighthouse Learning
“The launch of the PM Kaushal Vikaas Yojana 4.0 and the unified ‘Skill India Digital Platform’ for lakhs of Indian youth will help in a substantial increase in the quality of workforce, and will also open up a new range of opportunities for employment. The Direct Benefit Transfer under pan-India National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme to provide stipend support to 47 lakh in three years will boost training, build the capacity of the apprenticeship ecosystem and provide assistance to support rapid growth”.–Mr. Md. Sajid Khan Director-India at ACCA
“The 2023 Union Budget highlights various initiatives by the Government of India to promote new age frontier technologies as well as youth upskilling across sectors. With India now the third largest ecosystem for start-ups globally, and ranking second in innovation quality among middle-income countries, it is promising to see measures taken by the Government for startups bear fruit. To this front, it is a considerate decision to extend the date of incorporation of income tax benefits for startups showcasing the focus of the Government towards the growth and expansion of India’s startup ecosystem. In terms of education and skilling, the proposals to bolster student education as well as professional skilling, if fostered well throughout the year will contribute to India’s growth and development. The Government’s decision of formulating the National Education Policy is a testament of its efforts in recognizing and unleashing the potential of the youth through skilling. With three centres of excellence for Artificial Intelligence to be set-up in top educational institutions in line with the vision of “Make AI in India and Make AI work for India”, we can look forward to the growth of new-age technologies such as AI, robotics and more. Further, the introduction of the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0 would benefit the youth of the country to scale and find suitable job opportunities. The Government’s decision to set up 30 Skill India International Centres across different states is a notable initiative undertaken in the 2023 budget as it would extend youth skills globally and also put Indian youth on the international skill map. The initiatives announced as a part of the Union Budget today are signs of building a new, strong, digital India focused on sustainability and growth.”–Mr. Krishna Kumar, Founder & CEO, Simplilearn