Budget 2020: Education sector gets Rs 99,300 crore

India has the world’s largest population of about 500 million in the age bracket of 5 to 24 years and this provides a great opportunity for the education sector. Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, in her Budget speech on Saturday said that Rs 99,300 crore has been proposed for the education sector, showing an increase of 4.68 per cent and Rs 3,000 for skill development. The allocation for education sector in the Budget 2019-2020 was Rs 94,854 crore.

Finance Minister also added that steps will be taken to attract External Commercial Borrowing (ECBs) and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the education sector. India is set to have the largest working age population in the world by 2030. Government also plans to start full-fledged online education programmes till degree-level to be offered by the top 100 institutions. The country has become the second-largest market for e-learning after USA. The sector is expected to reach US$ 1.96 billion by 2021 with around 9.5 million users. The government is also planning to provide internship opportunities for young engineers in the urban local bodies. Nirmala Sitharaman said that the new courses will be introduced in 150 universities by 2026. Police Academy and Forensic Sciences will be set up, she added. Sitharaman announces the introduction of 'IND-SAT', an exam for Asian and African countries to help make India, a higher education destination.