Bengaluru, 23 July
The education sector gets a huge boost on Tuesday with the Union Budget, 2024 announcing a slew of measures to boost employment through multiple skilling initiatives, many of which are paid internship programmes.
The Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman proposes a financial package of Rs 1.48 lakh crore for promoting skilling and employment.
Among the initiatives, the government now proposes to provide a one-month wage to all persons newly entering the formal workforce. This employment incentive for first-timers will benefit 2.1 crore youth in the country.
A direct benefit transfer (DBT) of one month’s salary, up to Rs 15,000, will be provided in three instalments to these new comers. The eligibility limit for receiving this benefit will be a salary up to Rs 1 lakh per month.
Similarly, a central government-sponsored scheme will skill 20 lakh youth over the next five-year period. This move is expected to skill the nation’s workforce in key areas where new jobs are getting created.
Moreover, an ambitious internship scheme will be launched under which over 1 crore youth will be provided internships in 500 top companies in the next 5 years. These interns will be provided a one-time assistance of Rs 6,000 and a monthly stipend of Rs 5,000 during their training period.
“I am glad to see Budget 2024’s focus on youth employment and skilling. The Rs 2 lakh crore allocation for employment schemes is the beginning to a brighter future. The incentives for job creation and the plan to skill 20 lakh youth over five years is what we needed. The support for higher education loans and the push for women in the workforce is also a big plus. It feels good to see the government recognising the need to focus on key areas that can make our journey towards a skill-based economy smoother,” Ankit Aggarwal, Founder and CEO of digital hiring platform, Unstop told the Education Bytes.
The Union Budget also proposed to the revision of model skilling loan scheme to facilitate loans up to Rs 7.5 lakh. Such revision is likely to help 25,000 students every year.
Additionally, e-vouchers for loans up to Rs 10 lakh for higher education in domestic institutions will be given directly to 1 lakh students every year. As annual interest subvention of 3 per cent of loan amount will be provided under this scheme, this will ensure affordable education for all. Students who have not yet benefited from any government schemes will get this support loans of up to Rs 10 lakh for education in domestic institutions, the Finance Minister said.
The government will also upgrade 1,000 Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) using a hub-and-spoke model, aligning course content with industry skill needs, the minister announced.
“We are glad to see the budget‘s focus through financial packages and loans on higher education, youth employment, internships and skilling, which will help India become a technology hub. The decision to upgrade 1000 ITIs, along with course content and design to align to the skill needs of varied industries will go a long way in building skilled workforce in trending areas,” Shweta Sastri, Managing Director, Canadian International School, Bengaluru said.
Commenting on the budget provisions, Niru Agarwal, Managing Trustee, Greenwood High International School said, “The budget has offered a boost to R&D and education leading to uniformity in high-quality education, and training of a competent workforce across the nation. We also believe that the provision for 1 crore youth to gain industry experience through internships with leading companies will bridge the gap between theory and practice.”