Rs. 65,867 crore has ben allocated to the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MoHRD) – an increase of 17 % from the funds allocated last year
New Delhi: The Union budget for 2013-14 has one overarching goal – to create opportunities for the youth of India to acquire education and skills that will get them good jobs or self-employment.
Chidambaram has allocated Rs. 65,867 crore to the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MoHRD) – an increase of 17 % from the funds allocated last year.
Mentioning that the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and the Right to Education Act (RTE) are firmly in place, he has also proposed to provide Rs. 27,258 crore for the SSA in 2013-14.
Rs. 3,983 crore will be invested in the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) – an increase of 25.6 % from last year.
Rs.5,284 crore will be allocated to various Ministries for the purpose of providing thousands of scholarships to students belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes and Minorities and girl children, in 2013-14.
Rs.13,215 crore will be set apart for the Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDM).
A sum of Rs.1,650 crore will be provided to the 6 AIIMS-like institutions that have admitted their first batch of students in the academic session that commenced in September 2012. A sum of Rs 4,727 crore has been allocated for medical education, training and research.
Talking about the reconstruction of the Nalanda University, Chidambaram said that the government is committed to the creation of Nalanda University as a centre of educational excellence.
Addressing the youth of India to join skill development programmes to boost employability and productivity, the finance minister has asked the National Skill Development Corporation to set the curriculum and standards for training in different skills.
He further proposed that at the end of the training, a candidate should take a test that would be conducted by authorised certification bodies. Upon passing the test, the candidate will be given a certificate as well as a monetary reward of an average of Rs.10,000 per candidate.
Assuming that at least 10,00,000 youth will be motivated, Chidambaram has proposed to set apart Rs.1,000 crore for this scheme.
