After a year of challenges, health concerns, lockdown, work-from-home, study-from-home, and many first-of-its-kind experiences, we finally moved into the new world. As days passed by, we realized the fact that we have to adapt with agility and figure out ways of surviving COVID-19. Though we faced several hindrances, yet together we all emerged as a winning team.

One of the important events that we all were patiently waiting for was the Union Budget 2021. We were glad to witness that this year’s Budget announced some of the most appropriate measures which will provide an impetus to the economy post a difficult year. Its focus on health & well-being, financial capital & infrastructure, inclusive development for aspirational India, reinvigorating human capital, innovation & R&D, and minimum government, maximum governance, ensures a stronger growth trajectory for the Indian economy in FY22.

The Budget announcements will create a long term impact on the economy through strategic capital expenditure and fitting reforms. It is a progressive move to focus on a longer tenure vision for growth, by investing in the economy’s productive capacity, creating economies of scale and improving the overall labour market. This is an extremely courageous measure implemented to revive the economy and take it to next level. This Budget will provide every opportunity for our economy to raise and capture the pace that it needs for sustainable growth. This offered a huge sigh of relief to all citizens and this relief is being witnessed across both domestic and global markets.

Vaccines indicate several positive outcomes. We will gradually go back to our normal way of living, corporates will start working with their full potential, educational institutes will start conducting in-person classes, students will pursue their pre-pandemic academic dreams, so on and so forth. The vaccines will boost international confidence in our country impacting our overall economy at large. This is one of the vital measures to fasten our economy’s recovery.

This announcement has the potential to go a long way in promoting and boosting Fin-tech start-ups and other organizations to further develop in our country. It highlights the government’s focus in providing this sector a platform to grow and enable the industry to attract investor interest going forward. This will in turn promote entrepreneurial spirit among millions of youth and create job opportunities accordingly.

The National Education Policy 2020 outlines the vision of the higher education system in India and hence, holds massive importance in providing the necessary impetus of the overall development of this sector. Keeping this in mind, the government will invest in equipping educational institutes to fall in line with the policy, thus boosting education in India. The policy is structured to create a symbiotic environment for the educational aspirants and help them achieve their academic goals.

The Higher Education Commission of India will be able to add structural reform and streamline the processes in a much synchronized manner. This commission will also ensure proper quality of the higher education system in India. The idea of creating nine clusters of academic and research institutions, keeping their autonomy intact, will enable quality knowledge creation & dissemination and strengthen collaborative learning among students.

Government’s collaboration with UAE to benchmark skill qualifications, assessment and certification and the implementation of collaborative training programme with Japanese will up-skill our youth and provide vocational and industrial skills along with proper techniques and knowledge. The amendment of the Apprenticeship Act to improve the opportunities for the youngsters of our country will build the necessary confidence in them and assist them to be future-ready. These initiatives combined with the proposed regulatory mechanism for collaborations with foreign higher education institutes will enable students to develop global skills and prepare them for a bright career once they complete their education in India.

Did you notice that honourable Finance Minister replaced traditional Bahi Khata with a tablet? This shift is a perfect representation of the ‘New India’. This paperless Budget is also indicating an impetus to our ‘Digital India’ mission.