By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, MAR 03, 2021: ADDRESSING a webinar on Budget 2021-22 provisions, Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi said after health, the education sector has received the most focus with Rs. 93,223 crore earmarked for the sector.

The Prime Minister said that education, skill, research and innovation are the second biggest focus of Budget 2021, expanding efforts to link education with employability and entrepreneurial capabilities under the National Education Policy (NEP).

"For building an Aatmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India), confidence of the youth of the country is important. Confidence comes only when the youth has complete faith in their education and knowledge. Self-confidence comes when the youth has faith in their education, skills and knowledge," said the PM.

He also said that language should not become an obstacle in the manifestation of talent, and that is why the NEP has encouraged the use of more local languages. "It is the responsibility of the experts of every language, how the best content of the world should be made available in Indian languages," said the PM, adding "This is definitely possible in this era of technology."

Mr Modi said the emphasis placed in this budget on skill development, upgradation and apprenticeship is "unprecedented."

"This budget has broadened the efforts to link education with employability and entrepreneurial capability," he said. As a result of these efforts, India today is among the top three countries in terms of scientific publications, number of PHD scholars and startup ecosystem.

Women representation has improved in Research and Development (R&D), while incubation centres and hackathon culture is encouraging the youth and industry, said the Prime Minister. The National Research Foundation being set up will also see Rs. 50,000 crore allocated for research over the next five years.