Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is presenting the Modi government's Budget 3.0 for the seventh time. As the budget Beguns Sitharaman announced provisions of 1.48 lakh crore for education, employment, and skilling sector. The people have entrusted our government with a unique opportunity to lead the country toward strong development and overall prosperity, says Nirmala Sitharaman while presenting budget.
Sitharaman stated that courses will be tailored to industry needs, with new courses being introduced accordingly. She also announced that youth not benefiting from existing schemes would receive loans up to ₹10 lakh for higher education in domestic institutions. Additionally, the model skill loan scheme will be revised to provide loans up to ₹7.5 lakh, backed by a government-promoted fund, aiming to assist 25,000 students annually.
In the Interim Budget presented before the Lok Sabha polls, the Ministry received a total allocation of ₹1.2 lakh crore, which is 7% less than the revised estimate for FY24. This amount constitutes only 4.6% of GDP, below the National Education Policy's target of 6%. Despite this, funding for school education and literacy increased slightly to a record ₹73,000 crore. The provision for PM SHRI, aimed at modernizing government schools, more than doubled from FY24 revised estimates to ₹6,050 crore for FY25. The outlay for Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan rose by ₹4,500 crore to ₹37,500 crore, while the allocation for the University Grants Commission was cut by about 60% from FY24 RE to ₹2,500 crore.
Funding for Indian Institutes of Technology decreased to ₹10,324 crore. According to Sitharaman, the Modi government has established seven IITs, 16 IIITs, seven IIMs, 15 AIIMS, and 390 universities since 2014. Education sector experts have urged the government to lower the 18% GST on educational goods and services to 5% to enhance affordability and accessibility, alongside calls for increased spending on R&D and skill training.
Talking about India's inflation rate, Sitharaman said, remains low and stable, trending towards the 4 percent target, with core inflation (non-food and non-fuel) at 3.1 percent. Measures are being implemented to ensure the adequate supply of perishable goods in markets. As highlighted in the Interim Budget, we must focus on the poor, women, youth, and farmers.