Union Budget 2024 | Rs 1.48 lakh crore provided for education, employment, skill, says FM Sitharaman

Presenting the Budget in the Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said it will focus on employment, skilling, MSMEs and the middle class.

New Delhi: Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday announced that the government will allocate Rs 1.48 lakh crore for the education, jobs and skill development sectors.

She also said that the government will provide financial support for loans up to Rs 10 lakh for higher education in domestic institutions. 

“For helping our youth who have not been eligible for any benefit under govt schemes and policies, the government will provide financial support for loans up to ₹10 lakh for higher education in domestic institutions. E-vouchers for this purpose will be given directly to one lakh students every year with interest subvention of 3% of the loan amount,” Sitharaman said in her Union Budget speech. She added that 1000 ITIs will be upgraded on the pattern of hub and spoke model, and model skill loans upto ₹7.5 lakh will be made available to 25,000 students annually. 

Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, in a post on X, said that the various measures by the finmin will benefit all stakeholders, including students, academia and industry. “This is going to fulfil (the) aspirations of our youth, empower people with more livelihood opportunities, increase accessibility to quality education and skills and is also going to create over 4.1 crore new jobs in the next five years,” Pradhan’s post read. 

The allocation for the education ministry this fiscal is Rs 1,20,627.87 crore, an increase of 6.84% over the previous fiscal. In the education ministry’s Department of School Education and Literacy, the allocation for FY24 is Rs 73,008.10 crore, an increase of 6.4% from the allocation of Rs 68,804.85 crore in FY23. Similarly, the allocation for the ministry’s Department of Higher Education saw an increase of allocation of 7.99% – from Rs 44,094.62 crore in FY23 to Rs 47,619.77 crore in FY24. 

The major chunk of allocation in the Department of School Education was for the Samagra Shiksha programme – in FY23 the allocation was Rs 37,453.46 crore, which rose to Rs 37499.99 crore in FY24. Allocation for the PM Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) programme saw a significant rise – Rs 4,000 crore in FY23 (with revised estimates of Rs 2,800 crore) to Rs 6,050 crore in FY 24. 

Under the Department of Higher Education, grants to central universities rose by 37.4% – from Rs 11,252.56 crore in FY23 to Rs 15,472 crore in FY24. 

Union Budget 2024 LIVE | Making a record for any Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman presented her 7th consecutive Union Budget on July 23, 2024 under the Modi 3.0 government. This Budget brought tax relief for the middle class, while focusing on jobs through skilling, incentivising employers. Track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analysis only on Deccan Herald. Also follow us on WhatsApp, LinkedIn, X, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.