Budget expands efforts made to link Education with Employability: PM

New Delhi, 3 March (HS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday addressed a webinar on effective implementation of budget provisions regarding the education sector.

Addressing the webinar, the Prime Minister pointed out that to build a self-reliant India, confidence of the youth of the country is equally important. “Confidence comes only when the youth has complete faith in their education and knowledge and when they realize that their studies are giving them the opportunity to do their work and also the necessary skills and the new National Education Policy has been made with this thinking,” the PM said.

The Prime Minister said the second biggest focus after health in this year’s budget is on education, skill, research and innovation. He called for a better synergy between Colleges and Universities of the country. PM Modi further said the emphasis placed in this budget on skill development, upgradation and apprenticeship is unprecedented. This budget has further expanded the efforts made to link Education with Employability and Entrepreneurial Capabilities over the years.

He stressed upon the need to implement all the provisions of the National Education Policy from pre-nursery to PhD quickly and said that the Budget will be of immense help in this regard.

As a result of these efforts, he said, today India has come in the top three countries in terms of scientific publications, number of PhD scholars and start-up ecosystem. He said India has joined the top 50 ranks in Global Innovation Index and is continuously improving. He said new opportunities are growing for the students and young scientists with the constant focus on higher education, research and innovation.

The Prime Minister said for the first time, the focus is on issues ranging from Atal Tinkering Labs in schools to Atal Incubation Centers in higher institutions. He further informed that through the National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovation, more than 3500 startups are being nurtured. Similarly, under the   National Super Computing Mission, three supercomputers: Param Shivay, Param Shakti and Param Bramha have been established in IIT BHU, IIT-Kharagpur and IISER, Pune. He informed that more than a dozen institutes in the country are proposed to get such supercomputers. Three Sophisticated Analytical and Technical Help Institutes (SATHI) are serving from IIT Kharagpur, IIT Delhi and BHU, he said.

Modi said with the thinking that restricting knowledge and research is a great injustice to the country’s potential, many avenues in sectors like space, atomic energy, DRDO and agriculture are being opened for talented youth. He said for the first time, the country has met the international standards related to Metrology which leads to R&D and improving our Global Competency a lot.

Geo-spatial data has been opened up recently and this would lead to immense opportunity for the space sector and the youth of the country. The entire ecosystem will benefit immensely. He said the National Research Foundation is being built for the first time in the country. As much as 50 thousand crore rupees have been allocated for this, the PM said.

PM Modi said, more than 100 per cent increase in Biotechnology research is indicative of the Government’s priorities. He called for increasing the scope of Biotechnology research in the service of food security, nutrition and agriculture.

Noting the demand for Indian talent, the Prime Minister emphasized the need for mapping of skill sets and preparing the youth accordingly through adoption of best practices, inviting international campuses and industry ready skill upgradation. Ease of Doing Apprenticeship Program envisaged in this Budget will be of great benefit for the youth of the country, The Prime Minister said.

Modi said Future Fuel and Green Energy are essential for our self-reliance on Energy. For this Hydrogen Mission announced in the Budget is a serious pledge. He informed that India has tested Hydrogen vehicle and called for concerted efforts for making hydrogen as a fuel for transport and to make ourselves industry ready for this.

The Prime Minister said the new National Education Policy has encouraged the use of more and more local language. He added, now it is the responsibility of all the academics, experts of every language, how the best content of the country and the world should be prepared in Indian languages. This is completely possible in this era of technology.