New Delhi, 1 February – Education Budget 2023 – Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Education Budget 2023 today, 1 February 2023. With highest-ever allocation, the central government plans to spend more than INR 1.12 lakh crore in the education sector in the fiscal year 2023–2024.
The Union Budget 2023 placed a major emphasis on advancing digital education, with the youth and underprivileged students in mind, by:
- Establishing the National Digital Library for children and adolescents
- 3 centres of excellence for artificial intelligence (AI), and
- 100 labs for 5G in engineering institutes, among other initiatives.
Additionally, Sitharaman announced that ‘PM Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0’ will be introduced to train thousands of youths in the next three years.
Education Budget 2023: Key Highlights
1.) Highest-Ever Allocation To Education Ministry: The central government intends to spend more than INR 1.12 lakh crore in the education sector in the fiscal year 2023–2024. The Ministry of Education’s expenditure for the upcoming financial year is INR 11,12,898.97 crore, a considerable rise from the current fiscal year’s revised estimates.
Moreover, this budget is the highest-ever allocated to the ministry.
BUDGET ALLOCATED TO VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS AND SCHEMES OF THE EDUCATION MINISTRY
| The Department of School Education and Literacy of the Education Ministry | INR 68,804,85 crore |
| Higher Education department | INR 44,094.62 crore |
| Central Sector Schemes/Projects* | INR 364.1 crore |
| Autonomous bodies** | INR 14,391.36 crore |
| ‘Samagra Shiksha’, the country’s biggest school education scheme | INR 37,453.47 crore |
| Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM POSHAN) | INR 11,600 crore |
| PM Uchchatar Shiksha Protsahan (PM-USP) Yojna | ₹1,554 crore |
| PM Research Fellowship | INR 400 crore |
| Digital India e-learning | INR 420 crore |
| Research and Innovation | INR 210.61 crore |
| University Grants Commission (UGC) | INR 5,360 crore |
| All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) | INR 420 crore |
| Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) | INR 9,661.50 crore |
| National Institute of Technology (NIT) and Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST) | INR 4,620 crore |
The Department of School Education and Literacy of the Education Ministry has been allocated INR 68,804,85 crore, while the Department of Higher Education has been allocated INR 44,094.62 crore.
*In the school education budget, INR 364.1 crore have been allocated for Central Sector Schemes/Projects, which include:
- National Award to Teachers
- Pradhan Mantri Innovative Learning Programme (DHRUV)
- National Means Cum Merit Scholarship Scheme
**The expenditure of autonomous bodies for 2023–24 is INR 14,391.36 crore. This comprises:
- INR 8,363.98 crore for Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS)
- INR 5,486.50 crore for Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti
- INR 518.50 crore for the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT)
The government has allocated INR 37,453.47 crore for ‘Samagra Shiksha’, the country’s biggest school education scheme.
INR 11,600 crore have been allocated under Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM POSHAN). PM Poshan has replaced the mid-day meal scheme.
2.) 157 New Nursing Colleges: As many as 157 nursing colleges will be set up in conjunction with a similar number of medical institutions, which have already been established since 2014.
3.) Focus On Tribal Students: In the upcoming three years, the government will recruit 38,800 teachers and support personnel for the 740 Eklavya Model Residential Schools that serve 3.5 lakh tribal students.
4.) National Digital Library for Children and Adolescents: National Digital Library (NDL) for children and adolescents would be established. Sitharaman claimed that the NDL will make it easier for students at different education levels to get access to high-quality books in various genres and languages. This National Digital Library will also be accessible from any location online.
States would be asked to correspondingly build physical libraries for these students at the ward and panchayat levels. Officials shall receive proper infrastructural support for this task.
4.) ‘Make AI in India, make AI work for India’: In order to realise the goal of “Make AI in India and Make AI Work for India,” this budget proposes following initiatives:
- Three ‘Centres of Excellence’ for artificial intelligence will be established at prestigious academic institutions across the country.
- Leading industry players will collaborate to do multidisciplinary research, create cutting edge apps, and find scalable solutions to issues in the fields of sustainable cities, agriculture, and health.
5.) Teacher Training To Be Overhauled: Teacher training will be overhauled through the use of:
- Innovative pedagogy
- Curriculum modification
- Continuous professional development dipstick survey
- Information and Communication Technology (ICT) implementation
To provide teachers with top-notch training, the district institute of education and training will be transformed into thriving centres of excellence.
6.) PM Kaushal Vikaas Yoajna 4.0: PM Kaushal Vikaas Yoajna 4.0 will be introduced to train India’s youth in new-age courses for industry 4.0, including:
- Robotics
- Coding
- Drones
- Other soft skills
7.) National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme: Direct benefits transfer (DBT) pan-India National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme will be implemented in a bid to offer stipend to 47 lakh youth in three years.
8.) 100 Labs for 5G in Engineering Institutes: In order to build applications employing 5G services, 100 labs will be established in engineering institutions with different authorities, regulators, banks, and other businesses.
So as to realise the new range of options, business models, and employment potential, the labs will cover, among other things, applications such as:
- Smart classrooms
- Precision farming
- Intelligent transport systems
- Healthcare applications
9.) Dedicated Multidisciplinary Course for Medical Devices: Dedicated multidisciplinary courses for medical devices will be supported in the existing institutions to ensure that a skilled workforce is available for cutting-edge medical technologies, high-end production, and research.
10.) Promotion of Regional Languages: The National Book Trust, the Children’s Book Trust, and other sources will be encouraged to provide books and other materials in regional languages and in English to physical libraries in order to foster a culture of reading and make up for the time lost during pandemic for learning.
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Education Budget 2023: FAQs
Q1) What major announcements were made about education in the Union Budget 2023, as delivered by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman?
With highest-ever allocation, the central government plans to spend more than INR 1.12 lakh crore in the education sector in the fiscal year 2023–2024.
The Union Budget placed a major emphasis on advancing digital education with youth and underprivileged students in mind by establishing the National Digital Library for children and adolescents, three centres of excellence for artificial intelligence (AI), and 100 labs for 5G in engineering institutes, among other initiatives.
PM Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0 will also be introduced to train thousands of youths in the next three years.
Q2) When was India’s first Union Budget presented?
K. Shanmukham Chetty served as independent India’s first Finance Minister. On 26 November, 1947, he delivered India’s first Union budget. On 30 November, 1956, T. T. Krishnamachari presented the first mini-budget.
Q3) What does the Finance Minister bring in their briefcases when they go to present the Union Budget to the parliament?
The tradition of carrying a briefcase to present the annual budget dates back to William Ewart Gladstone’s time as Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1860. He was known for delivering speeches on the budget that went on for five to six hours.
He saw the need for a box to organise and transport the numerous files and paperwork necessary for such lengthy budget presentations before the parliament (House of Commons).
The Queen offered him a briefcase dubbed the “Budget Box” for this reason.
The traditional “Bahi Khata” with the National Emblem was substituted for the budget briefcase in 2019 by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Q4) Why is having a budget vital for India’s government?
Any political party that forms the government at the Center is bound by specific social, political, and economic obligations. The government must make sensible resource allocations in countries such as India that have significant economic, cultural, and religious diversity.
Focus needs to be placed on a number of issues, including improving impoverished groups in society, promoting financial inclusion, reducing regional imbalance, enhancing defence capabilities, offering adequate educational facilities, and much more.
Therefore, for any government to guarantee economic stability and prosperity, a well-planned budget is of the utmost importance.
