Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today presented the Interim Budget 2024-25, which was focussed on improving the conditions of the poor, women, youth and farmers. In her speech, Ms Sitharaman said, "India's economy is going through a profound transformation and the government is focused on improving conditions for the poor, women, youth and farmers."
Talking about the benefit plans to be introduced in the education sector, the minister highlighted that the government plans to increase the number of medical colleges in the country.
"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," the Finance Minister said in Parliament.
Sharing insights on the improved status of females in higher education and workforce in the country, she added, "Female enrolment in higher education is up by 28% in 10 years in STEM courses. Girls and women make 43% of enrolment in these courses which is one of the highest in the world. All these steps are reflected in the increasing participation of women in the workforce."
The minister also highlighted the new IITs and IIMs that have been setup in the country. "The Skill India Mission has trained 1.4 crore youth, upskilled and re-skilled 54 lakh youth, and established 3,000 new ITIs. A large number of institutional higher learning, namely 7 IITs, 16 IIITs, 7 IIMs, 15 AIIMS and 390 Universities have been set up."
This is an Interim Budget since it's an election year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed confidence that his party will win the General Election scheduled in a few months and present the full Budget after that.