Cut in outlay for higher education

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 1

The Education Ministry sees a hike of 6 per cent in the budget allocation. The ministry has been allocated Rs 1,20,627 crore in FY 2024-25, up from Rs 1,12,898 core for 2023-24.

A large number of new institutions of higher learning — seven IITs, 16 IIITs, seven IIMs, 15 AIIMS and 390 universities — have been set up since 2014 while 3,000 new ITIs have been established, says FM

Even as the outlay to school education has seen a marginal increase of over Rs 500 crore or 6.1 per cent, the grant for higher education has been reduced by over Rs 9,600 crore from the previous fiscal’s Revised Estimate (RE).

Road infra gets Rs 1.68l cr boost

Allocation to state-owned National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has been increased to Rs 1.68 lakh crore for 2024-25 from last year’s revised allocation of Rs 1.67 lakh crore. A marginally enhanced outlay of Rs 2.78 lakh crore was made for the highways sector.

Jan Aushadhi strengthened

For the Jan Aushadhi scheme, the initiative to provide affordable generic medicines in the country, the outlay has been hiked to Rs 284.5 crore for FY25, up from Rs 110 crore in the revised estimate for FY24. Total outlay for pharmaceutical industry pegged at Rs 1,300 crore.

EC gets Rs 385 cr to conduct polls

The Election Commission has been granted Rs 385.67 crore for conducting elections this fiscal. The Lok Sabha elections are due this summer and could be announced sometime in March. The Law Ministry has been provided over Rs 2,500 crore for procurement of EVMs.

The Department of School and Literacy has been allocated Rs 73,008.10 crore against the previous fiscal’s RE of Rs 72,473.80 crore.

Of the total funds for school education, a major share of Rs 6,050 crore has been allocated to PM Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI).

Self-reliance in edible oils: The government will form a strategy to make India self-reliant in edible oils by boosting domestic output of oilseeds. In 2022-23, India imported nearly 165 lakh tonnes of cooking oils, valuing Rs 1.38 lakh crore.

The allocation for higher education has dropped from Rs 57,244.48 crore (RE) to Rs 47,619.77 crore. Though the government had allocated Rs 44,094.62 crore in FY 23-24, it was overshot by Rs 13,150 crore.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has faced a budget cut this year with the Centre reducing its grant by over 60 per cent from the previous year’s RE of Rs 6,409 crore to Rs 2,500 crore.

However, the support grant for Central Universities has increased by over 28 per cent.

The allocation for Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) has been slashed for the second consecutive year. Last year, the budget for IIMs was slashed from Rs 608.23 crore (RE) to Rs 300 crore. This year, the budget has been brought down further to Rs 212.21 crore from the RE of Rs 331 crore.

The budget for Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) has also seen a marginal dip to Rs 10,324.50 crore from the RE of Rs 10,384.21 crore last year.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, “Our prosperity depends on adequately equipping and empowering the youth. The National Education Policy 2020 is ushering in transformational reforms. PM Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) are delivering quality teaching and nurturing holistic and well-rounded individuals.”

“The Skill India Mission has trained 1.4 crore youth, upskilled and reskilled 54 lakh youth and established 3,000 new ITIs. A large number of new institutions of higher learning, namely seven IITs, 16 IIITs, seven IIMs, 15 AIIMS and 390 universities have been set up,” she added. (with PTI inputs)

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LEADERSPEAK

Step towards viksit bharat

It’s a roadmap to achieve PM’s vision of a developed Bharat by 2047. The Budget speech sheds light on milestones on which edifice of a Viksit Bharat is being built. — Amit Shah, union Home Minister

India bright spot amid challenges

Despite global challenges, India continues to be a bright spot in terms of economic growth. I think, the Indian story is a story of resilience, and strength. — Piyush Goyal, commerce minister

Boost to research & innovation

A corpus of Rs 1 lakh crore for research and innovation in sunrise domains will be a ‘game-changer’. The fund will be of great help in making India an economic superpower. — Dharmendra Pradhan, education minister

No word on state funds

The Budget is an election gimmick. There was not a word on funds to states in the speech. They are cheating federalism and committing financial terrorism with states. — Derek O'Brien, TMC leader

It’s bjp’s farewell budget

The BJP government has created a record by completing a decade of anti-people budgets, which will never be broken because now the time has come for a positive government to be formed. This is the BJP’s farewell budget. — Akhilesh Yadav, Samajwadi Party President

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QUICK NOTES

Target to ensure 1 crore more ‘Lakhpati Didis’

To empower rural women, the FM enhanced the target for ‘Lakhpati Didi’, self-help group workers who earn sustainable income of at least Rs 1 lakh a year, from 2 crore women to 3 crore women. “Nearly 83 lakh SHGs with nine crore women are transforming the rural socio-economic landscape with empowerment and self-reliance. Their success has been assisting women to become ‘Lakhpati Didis’. They are an inspiration. Buoyed by its success, the target for 'Lakhpati Didi' has been enhanced,” she said. TNS

Rs 1,300 cr to buy e-buses, Rs 24,931 cr for Metros

Prioritising urban public transport, the government proposed to allocate Rs 1,300 crore to procure electric buses and Rs 24,931 crore to fund Metro projects. There is a 7.57 per cent increase in funds for the mass rapid transit system and Metro projects in comparison to the last year’s allocation of Rs 23,175 crore. In the interim Budget, Rs 26,170 crore has been set aside for the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) ,an increase of 4.3 per cent. PTI

#University Grant Commission UGC