The finance minister, Smt Nirmala Sitharaman in her fourth Budget speech has made some important announcements regarding the skilling and education sector.
The National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) will be aligned with dynamic industry needs, and the Digital Ecosystem for Skilling and Livelihood – the DESH-Stack e-portal – will be launched. This aims to empower citizens to skill, reskill or upskill through online training and provide API-based trusted skill credentials, payment and discovery layers to find relevant jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities. Udyam, e-Shram, NCS and ASEEM portals will be interlinked. They will now perform as portals with live, organic databases, providing G2C, B2C and B2B services. Drone Shakti’ through varied applications and for drone-as-a-service (DrAAS). In select industrial training institutes (ITIs), in all states, the required courses for skilling will be started. She also announced that a digital university will be established to provide access to world-class quality universal education to students across the country with a personalised learning experience at their doorsteps.
The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has welcomed the General Budget proposals presented in the Lok Sabha saying, “Hon’ble Finance Minister Smt Nirmala Sitharaman has presented a progressive Budget that looks to building India as a skill hub for the world.”