Presenting her seventh consecutive budget, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted nine major areas, including employment and skills development, inclusive human resource development, social justice, infrastructure improvement, and the promotion of innovation, research, and development, among other next-generation reforms.
In a significant move to enhance skill development and employment the Finance Minister allocated Rs 1.48 lakh crore for education and skill development. This marks a substantial increase from the 2023 budget when the Modi government allocated Rs 1.12 lakh crore for education.
The emphasis on education and skills is attributed to youth concerns regarding employment and education, which are said to have influenced the BJP’s performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
The Finance Minister announced loans up to Rs 10 lakh for higher education in her budget speech. She stated that the government will provide financial assistance in the form of e-vouchers amounting to up to Rs 10 lakh for higher education. However, the scheme will be limited to students who are not beneficiaries of any other central government scheme.
“To help our youth who have not been eligible for any benefits under government schemes and policies, the government will provide financial support for loans up to Rs 10 lakh for higher education in domestic institutions. E-vouchers for this purpose will be given directly to one lakh students every year with an interest subvention of 3 per cent of the loan amount,” Sitharaman added.
Another major highlight of the Union budget was internship opportunities for 1 crore students. During her presentation, the Finance Minister announced that the government will launch a scheme to provide internship opportunities with top 500 companies to over 1 crore students.
The students will receive an internship allowance of Rs 5000 per month along with a one-time allowance of Rs 6000. Companies are expected to recover training costs and 10% of the internship allowance amount from CSR funds.
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