New Delhi, February 1: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday presented the Budget for 2020-21 in Lok Sabha and announced a slew of initiatives for the education sector. The government proposed Rs 99,300 crore for education sector in 2020-21 and Rs 3,000 crores for skill development. Apart from announcing measures to restore economic growth, the Finance Minister said the government proposes to start programme for urban local bodies to provide opportunities for internship to young engineers.

The Finance Minister added that steps have been taken to attract external commercial borrowing, FDI in education sector. She said since there is a shortage of qualified medical doctors, the government has proposed to attach a medical college to existing district hospitals under PPP mode. Catch Live Updates of Budget 2020 Here.  

In her budget speech, the Finance Minister announced the following for education sector:

  1. A national Police university and a national forensic science university is proposed to be setup.

  2. Degree-level full-fledged online education programme to be offered by institutes in top 100 in National Institutional Ranking Framework, says FM Nirmala Sitharaman.

  3. INDSAT exam will be held in Asian and African for scholarships to Study in India. Police Academy and Forensic Sciences will be set up, the FM added.

  4.  A total of 150 higher education institutes will have apprenticeship programmes by March 2021.

  5. Urban local bodies will provide fresh engineers a job opportunity for one year which will help engineers learn on the job, Sitharaman says.

  6. Sitharaman added saying that the Centre is set to announce new education policy soon; govt received over 2 lakh suggestions on it.

  7. Urban local bodies across the country to provide internships for young engineers for a period of up to one year.
    27,300 crore has been allocated for development and promotion of industry and commerce.

  8. The Finance Minister said special bridge courses to be designed for teachers, nurses, para medical staff, caregivers.

  9. Demand for teachers, paramedical staff abroad - special bridge course to bring in equivalence - special training package - 3,000 crores for skill development

  10. The Finance Minister stated that the National Police University and National Forensic University are being proposed by the government.

In 2019, the government had allocated 94,853.64 crore for the education sector. This was an increase of nearly 10,000 crore from 2018. The Finance Minister added that there is a huge demand for teachers, nurses, paramedical staff and care givers abroad, but as their skill-sets do not match standards, it needs to be improved. The FM said a total of Rs 3000 crore will be given for skill development.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 01, 2020 12:00 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).