Budget 2024: Govt Policies 'Upskilled & Reskilled Youth' Says Sitharaman

In 10 years, Sitharaman said there has been an increase in higher educational institutes and women in STEM courses

"The Skill India Mission has trained 1.4 crore youth, upskilled and reskilled 54 lakh youth, and established 3000 new ITIs," Sitharaman said in her hour-long Budget speech.

(Photo: PTI)

As many as 1.4 crore youth have undergone training and upskilling initiatives under the Skill India Mission, announced Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during the presentation of the interim Budget on Thursday, 1 February.

"The Skill India Mission has trained 1.4 crore youth, upskilled and reskilled 54 lakh youth, and established 3000 new ITIs," Sitharaman said in her hour-long Budget speech.

The 'Skill India' mission was launched in 2015 with the goal of enhancing the skills of the Indian workforce.

In addition, the finance minister reiterated that there has been an increase in higher educational institutes and women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) courses in the last 10 years.

Here are the top highlights of youth-centric announcements from FM Sitharaman's speech:

• Sitahraman said that in the last 10 years, female enrolment in higher education has been up by 28 per cent in STEM courses.

"Girls and women make 43% of enrolment, one of the highest in the world. All these steps are reflected in the increasing participation of women in the workforce,"

FM Nirmala Sitharaman

• Sitharaman said that the PM Mudra Yojana has sanctioned 43 crore loans aggregating to 22.5 lakh crore for entrepreneurial aspirations of our youth.

• "Besides that, Fund of Funds, Start Up India, and Start Up Credit Guarantee schemes are assisting our youth. They are also becoming ‘rozgardata," she said.

• The finance minister said that 7 Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), 16 Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIIT), 7 Indian Institute of Management (IIMs), 15 All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), and 390 universities have been set up.

• According to Sitharaman, the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 ushered the transformational reforms empowering the youth. "PM ScHools for Rising India (PM SHRI) are delivering quality teaching, and nurturing holistic and well-rounded individuals," she said.

• In her speech, Sitharaman said that more medical colleges will. be set up and a committee will be forced to examine this purpose.

“Our government plans to set up more medical colleges by utilising the existing hospital infrastructure under various departments. A committee for this purpose will be set up to examine the issues and make relevant recommendations,”

FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Apart from medical colleges, for the education sector, Sitharaman said that there are plans for the “upgradation of aanganwadi centres” as well.