Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted during her budget speech on Thursday that female enrollment in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) courses has reached 43 per cent, marking one of the highest figures globally.
She remarked, "Female enrollment in higher education has increased by 28 per cent over 10 years. In STEM courses, girls and women constitute 43 per cent of enrollment-one of the highest rates worldwide. These measures reflect the growing participation of women in the workforce."
The Union minister also announced the establishment of a one lakh crore rupee corpus through a fifty-year interest-free loan. This corpus aims to provide long-term financing or refinancing with extended tenors and minimal interest rates to encourage research and innovation in emerging sectors. Additionally, a new scheme will be introduced to enhance deep-tech technologies for defense purposes and expedite self-reliance efforts.
"For our tech-savvy youth, this will be a golden era. A corpus of Rs 1 lakh crore will be established with 50 years interest-free loan. The corpus will provide long-term financing or refinancing with long tenors and low or nil interest rates. This will encourage the private sector to scale up research and innovation significantly in sunrise domains. We need to have programmes that combine the powers of our youth and technology. A new scheme will be launched for strengthening deep-tech technologies for defense purposes and expediting 'atmanirbharta'," the finance minister said.
In response to the budget, Poshak Agrawal, co-founder of Athena Education, said that it lays out a strategic blueprint for India's advancement, emphasising the integration of new-age technologies and data to drive economic growth.
He said that the budget reflects India's commitment to harnessing innovation and entrepreneurship for a brighter future. Mr Agrawal underscored the budget's focus on leveraging technology to promote economic inclusivity, particularly for marginalized communities, as India asserts itself globally.
"A notable achievement is the 28 per cent increase in female enrollment in higher education over the past decade, with 43 per cent representation in STEM courses-a global benchmark. This surge not only signifies gender inclusivity but also creates opportunities for young women to actively participate in historically male-dominated industries," said Mr Agrawal.
He hailed the budget's support for research endeavours and its promotion of entrepreneurship, believing it will empower youth to become agents of change, laying the groundwork for a self-reliant and competitive India.