New Delhi (India), February 10: The development of a knowledge-based economy is a prominent goal for governments and policymakers since it is seen to contribute towards better productivity and economic growth. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced Union Budget 2023 which allocated 1.12 lakh crores for the education sector, the highest in decades. Pranav Gupta Ashoka University Founder commended the Budget for being inclusive, focusing on the needs of the people, and encouraging progress. “It is an all-encompassing framework for India’s future, one that will significantly advance education, skill development, infrastructure, and entrepreneurship. The aim of making India a knowledge-based economy can be significantly achieved through such revolutionary steps,” states Pranav Gupta Ashoka University Founder

This budget has allocated adequate funding for higher learning, research and innovation, and skill building. Additionally, it seeks to foster innovation in the educational field and improve the standard of teaching and learning. It also seeks to ensure that all segments of society have access to quality higher education. The government intends to establish new colleges and universities with an emphasis on research-based education and technological development.

Furthermore, the budget includes initiatives to address the digital gap between rural and urban regions through the launch of new programmes like the Digital India Education Mission. Along with that, it includes measures for the establishment of specific training programmes for teachers and the provision of scholarships for students from economically disadvantaged groups. It is anticipated that all of these initiatives would help India establish a knowledge-based economy that will promote economic expansion.

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Pranav Gupta shares, “It is perhaps the first time that teacher training and recruitment programmes, capacity-building initiatives, and reading culture have found prominence in the union budget. Being an educationist, it gives me great hope to see the budget’s emphasis on education and its implication for the entire higher education sector. This budget can guarantee that the NEP is implemented efficiently, starting from the micro-level.”

The budget establishes the groundwork for converting India into a knowledge-based economy that is powered by technology and provides a comprehensive roadmap for the country. The National Digital Library will be established in order to make high-caliber books accessible across regions, languages, genres, and educational levels. States would also be pushed to establish physical libraries at the panchayat level to offer the necessary infrastructure for easy accessibility of the digital library. In addition, teacher training would be re-imagined through new pedagogy, curriculum, and professional development along with other means. For this reason, the District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs) will be transformed into thriving centers of excellence. The teaching community will benefit from this budget’s innovative teaching strategies, curriculum reform, ongoing professional training, and the use of ICT.

It is undeniable that Artificial Intelligence will be one of the most important trends in the future and that targeted investments in AI are essential for maintaining and generating employment. Consequently, the establishment of three new centers of excellence for AI is a significant reform that is required to ensure that India advances in the IT sector. The budget as a whole represents a step in the right direction for the development and expansion of futuristic learning and vocational education in the field of higher education.

“We support the Budget 2023’s emphasis on developing skills in line with the NEP and fiscal measures intended to provide employment opportunities for the next generation. The focus on developing public and digital infrastructure with a strong emphasis on sustainability provides a boost for entrepreneurship and education. The idea of establishing national skill centers, centers of excellence for AI, and incentives to embrace cutting-edge educational programmes will undoubtedly go a long way toward bridging the gap in skills and employability,” highlights Pranav Gupta Ashoka University Founder.

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