New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Sunday presented her ninth consecutive budget in parliament, announcing a series of initiatives for education and upscaling.
During her 83-minute speech, she said the government will establish at least one girls’ hostel in every district, setting up content labs in 15,000 secondary schools, and a new design school in northeast India.
The BJP-led NDA government will set up five university townships in the vicinity of major industrial logistics centres, aside from setting up or upgrading four Telescope Infrastructure facilities – the National Large Solar Telescope, the National Large Optical infrared Telescope, the Himalayan Chandra Telescope and the COSMOS 2 Planetarium.
The move is aimed at promoting research in astrophysics and astronomy.
The government also proposed forming a high-level committee for ‘Education to Employment and Entrepreneurship’ that can recommend measures focused on the services sector as a key driver for a developed India.
In this year’s budget, the union government allocated Rs 1.39 lakh-crore to the Ministry of Education, up by about 8 percent from last budget’s allocation of nearly 1.29 lakh-crore.
This year’s budget also put special focus on mental health institutions, especially in north and northern states.
“There are no national institutes for mental healthcare in north India. We will therefore set up a NIMHANS-2 (in north India) and also upgrade National Mental Health Institutes in Ranchi and Tezpur as Regional Apex Institutions,” Sitharaman said in her speech in Lok Sabha.
She added that the government will also strengthen and increase these capacities by 50 percent in District Hospitals by establishing Emergency and Trauma Care Centres.
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Girls education
In a move to encourage education among girls and for ease of access, Sitharaman said the Union government will set up one hostel in each of the about 800 districts. She also proposed a loan-linked capital subsidy support scheme for veterinary colleges, hospitals, and diagnostics laboratories.
“In Higher Education STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) institutions, prolonged hours of study and laboratory work pose some challenges for girl students. Through VGF/capital support, one girls’ hostel will be established in every district,” she said.
On 25 July, 2005, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) initiative, which was formally adopted to assist Public Private Partnerships (PPP) in infrastructure.
It offers central financial support (grants) to PPP infrastructure projects that are economically appealing but not commercially feasible.
Recognising the growth in India’s Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC), the government announced support for the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies, Mumbai, in setting up AVGC Content Creator Labs in 15,000 secondary schools and 500 colleges.
To meet increased demand in the design business, Sitharaman said that a new National Institute of Design would be set up in eastern India via a challenge route.
The proposed institute aims to improve design education and competency in the region while addressing gaps in access to formal design training outside of established hubs.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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