Reshma Ravishanker

While the primary focus of the Union budget 2023 has been on teacher training, establishment of nursing colleges, recruitment of teachers in schools catering to the needs of tribal children, some allied sectors have also seen announcements that relate to education and research.

From boosting availability of study resources to upskilling youth, here are some other significant announcements of the budget associated with education.

In the area of research

To unleash innovation and research by start-ups and academia, a National Data Governance Policy will be formulated. This will enable access to anonymized data.

To realise the vision of “Make AI in India and Make AI work for India”, three centres of excellence for Artificial Intelligence will be set-up in top educational institutions. In collaboration with industry partners, interdisciplinary research, development of cutting-edge applications and designing scalable problem solutions in the areas of agriculture, health, and sustainable cities will be addressed.

One IIT will get a research and development grant for five years to work towards production of Lab Grown Diamonds. The Union government views this as a viable option with potential for several job opportunities.

Finance minister dubbed millets to be ‘Shree Anna’. To make India a global hub for the same, Indian Institute of Millet Research, Hyderabad will be upgraded to be the Centre of Excellence for sharing best practices, research and technologies at the international level.  

Dedicated multidisciplinary courses for medical devices will be introduced in the existing institutions to have more skilled manpower for futuristic medical technologies and research.

For the Youth  

In alignment with the NEP vision, Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0 to be launched to skill youth within the next three years.  On the job training, industry partnership, and alignment of courses with needs of industry will be emphasized. 30 Skill India International Centres will be set up across the country.

Under the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme, stipend support to 47 lakh youth in three years under Direct Benefit Transfer will be rolled out.

Libraries and reading

To inculcate a culture of reading, and cope from pandemic-induced learning loss, the National Book Trust, Children’s Book Trust and other sources will be encouraged to provide and replenish non-curricular titles in regional languages and English to physical libraries.

Government to collaborate with NGOs that work in literacy and education to inculcate financial literacy. Regulators and organizations will be encouraged to provide age-appropriate reading material to libraries.

A National Digital Library for children and adolescents will be established to provide access to quality books across geographies, languages, genres and levels, and device agnostic accessibility.

For Early Childhood Education

PM Poshan Shakti Nirman popularly known as the Mid-day meal scheme has a budget allocation of Rs 11,600 crore this year against a previous year’s allocation of Rs 10,233 crore.

Under the Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0 (Umbrella ICDS – Anganwadi Services, Poshan Abhiyan, Scheme for Adolescent Girls), Rs 20554 crore has been allocated. This is an increase by Rs 291 crores from the previous budget.

Also read: Budget 2023-24: Education sector gets Rs.1.12 lakh crore