“The purpose of education is to make good human beings with skill and expertise. Enlightened human beings can be created by teachers.” – A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

The Union Budget is an annual financial statement of projected receipts and expenditures of the Government for the financial year. Union Budget 2023-24 intends to build an empowered, inclusive economy. This year it focuses on skilling, quality education and infrastructure to build a robust education ecosystem. Let’s dive in to find interesting information about the budget to understand how it will impact students.

Key highlights

• What students must know about Union Budget 2023-24
  • National Education Policy
  • Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0
  • Skill India Digital Platform
  • Nursing colleges
  • Centres of Excellence for Artificial Intelligence
  • National Digital Library for Children and Adolescents
  • Teacher’s Training
• How will education loans in India support the youth?

What students must know about Union Budget 2023-24
Nirmala Sitharaman’s Union Budget speech was delivered on 1 February 2023. The Government has designed various policies to empower the young minds of our nation. Let’s look at the key highlights.

National Education Policy
To prepare our young nation with the largest population in the age bracket of 5-24, National Education Policy (NEP) stresses skilling programs. These programs will empower the youth to be career ready, which will act as a key enabler in reducing the unemployment rates. This will induce job creation and thriving businesses as students will be well-equipped with industry-specific skills.

Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0
This scheme aims to skill lakhs of students in the next 3 years. Areas such as coding, Artificial Intelligence (AI), robotics, mechatronics, IoT, 3D printing and drones are well-covered. Also, you will benefit from initiatives such as on-job training and industry tie-ups that will give you hands-on experience. 30 Skill India International Centres will be established to prepare the aspirants to grab international opportunities.

Skill India Digital Platform
Considering the changing dynamics of businesses, the need for demand-based skilling is recognised through this strategy. It will open new pathways for the youth by allowing them to access various entrepreneurship schemes.

Nursing colleges
The healthcare sector is at the forefront and has received immense support in this budget. Nirmala Sitharaman, in the budget, has announced that 157 new nursing colleges will be established. This will be crucial in training the aspirants to manage the medical equipment.

Centres of Excellence for Artificial Intelligence
In order to build a flourishing Artificial Intelligence (AI) industry in our country, the Union Budget has mentioned that 3 centres of excellence for Artificial Intelligence will be established in reputed varsities. This will bring together educational institutions and leading businesses to conduct research and innovate the AI industry. The students can benefit from this initiative to develop their skills in this area and also leverage the tie-ups of universities and organisations. Well-trained human capital will have the endless potential to transform the AI industry.

National Digital Library for Children and Adolescents
The student fraternity can access quality books under this initiative. This will also help in reducing the learning loss caused due to pandemic. It will be the virtual platform through which the community can access resources to gain knowledge and information.

Teacher’s Training
Union Budget for education sector also has emphasised on developing pedagogical methods to address the short attention span of students. The students will benefit from innovative ways of learning and engaging learning content that will enhance the student experience.

How will education loans in India support the youth?
The Union Budget stresses skilling programs, quality education and holistic development of the education infrastructure to chisel young and receptive minds to be future-ready. Students may experience difficulty achieving their academic goals due to the lack of finances. Education loans can effectively bridge this gap between students and their academic aspirations.

Benefits of an education loan

• The Union Budget has put a spotlight on skilling, upskilling and reskilling programs. More students will enrol for such courses to enable career progression. Hence, many financial institutions, including Avanse Financial Services, offer education loans for skilling programs in addition to mainstream courses.
• A loan for education allows easy access to quality education whether you plan to study in India or abroad.
• The education institution loans will provide funds to the varsities to enable them to provide effective infrastructure to provide a conducive learning environment.
• You can earn a self-made badge with student loans by financing your education independently.

So, this is what you must know about Union Budget 2023-24. If you have more questions, please remember we are just a call away. We wish you all the best!