Education sector gets 445 bn

Updated on: Tuesday, July 07, 2009

New Delhi: Indian Govt on Monday allocated Rs.44,528 crore (Rs.445.28 billion) for both school and higher education which is around 20

percent more than the last fiscal year.

According to the union budget 2009-10 proposals, while school education gets over Rs.29,099 crore (Rs.290.99 billion), the higher education

bags Rs.15,429 crore (Rs.154.29 billion).

Keeping its promise to boost higher education, the government allocated the sector over Rs.40 billion more than the last fiscal, including a

package of over Rs.10 billion for the implementation of quota for other backward castes (OBCs).

Last fiscal, the total budget outlay for education was Rs.37,366 crore.

While budget hails both the schemes and allocates more money for strengthening them, it also has made provision of Rs.350 crore to set up

6,000 model schools as benchmark of excellence.

An outlay of Rs.750 crore has been kept for disbursing 100,000 scholarships for students in class 11-12 under the national means-cum-merit

scholarship scheme.

The higher education budget for the current fiscal has been pegged at Rs.15,429 crore (Rs.154.29 billion), including a planned allocation of

Rs.9,600 crore.

'The demographic advantage India has, in terms of large percentage of young population, needs to be converted into a dynamic economic

advantage by providing them the right education and skills,' the finance minister said.

However, Sushil Kumar, a former professor at IIM-Lucknow, is not impressed even as he hoped that higher education infrastructure will be

improved.

'But I believe the budget allocation for higher education institutes like IITs and IIMs will improve the infrastructural bottlenecks in the existing

and upcoming ones,' Kumar said.

The University Grant Commission (UGC) has been provided an allocation of Rs.4,374.95 crore, which includes expenditure for both central and

deemed universities.

'The government shall take forward its intent of having one central university in each uncovered state and for this purpose I am allocating

Rs.827 crore,' the minister announced in his budget speech.

The provision for setting up and up gradating polytechnics under the skill development mission has been increased to Rs.495 crore.
Announcing a special package for the Panjab University, Mukherjee said: 'The facilities at the Panjab University, Chandigarh, need to be

improved. I therefore, propose to make an allocation of Rs.50 crore for this university.'

The budget has also allocated Rs.90 crore for Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) and state open universities to promote distance

education. The budget further underlined that there is a provision of Rs.3,902 crore for technical education that includes provision towards

assistance to IITs, IIMs and NITs.

Education sector gets 445 bn

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