The 2023-24 Budget Promises The MoYAS 3397.32 Crore Funding

The announcement of the 2023 budget is as pivotal for India’s youth as it is for the country and its economy as a whole. The budget is a reflection of upcoming focus areas, projects and priorities of the government. Youth Power is amongst the budget’s top priorities with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports receiving an allocation of 3,397 Crore rupees. Apart from this, various Ministries that have a direct impact on the 67 crore young Indians below the age of 25, such as the Ministry of Education; Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship; Ministry of Women and Child Development, have been allocated a significant share of the budget. The emphasis on the youth is an acknowledgement of the fact that young people need to be empowered on several fronts - access to education; employment and skill development; as well as exposure to rapidly advancing technologies. 

The budgetary allocation and launch of schemes encompass a range of focus areas. From skill development in the areas of coding, 3D printing, drones and artificial intelligence, to essential professions such as nursing, the government plans to invest in the training of young people, not only to secure employment but to support the entrepreneurial dreams of young people through industry partnerships. Access to education for young people from marginalised communities, recruitment of teaching staff and a direct transfer scheme offering 47 lakh youth a stipend are amongst the initiatives taken up in this year’s budget. Below you will find a detailed list of all youth related schemes and allocations as per the 2023 budget.

Key schemes and allocations for the youth:

Centre to launch PM Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0

Sitharaman announced PM Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0 to provide skill training to the youth for the next three years. 

The Establishment of the National Digital Library for Children and Adolescents 

States will be encouraged to set up physical libraries at panchayat and ward levels and create infrastructure for people to access National Digital Library Resources. Financial sector organisations will be requested to provide reading material for people of all ages to promote financial literacy.

3 Centres of Excellence for Artificial Intelligence to be set up

Three Centres of Excellence for Artificial Intelligence will be set up in top educational institutions for realising the vision of Make AI in India and Make AI work for India, Sitharaman said.

Recruiting 38,800 teachers support staff for Eklavya Model Residential Schools

In the next 3 years the Centre will recruit 38,800 teachers and support staff for 740 Eklavya Model Residential Schools serving 3.5 lakh tribal students, according to Nirmala Sitharaman.

Learning from the pandemic: building of 157 new nursing colleges

The finance minister announced the establishment of157 new nursing colleges in co-location with the existing 157 medical colleges established since 2014. 

7  Priorities of the 2023 Budget

1. Inclusive Development

2. Reaching Last Mile

3. Infrastructure and Investment

4. Unleashing Potential

5. Green growth

6. Youth Power

7. Financial Sector

Youth Power figures as an important priority here—it is an attempt to ‘empower the youth’ and help them ‘realise their dreams’ through budget support directed towards the implementation of the National Education Policy, job creation efforts, and business opportunities. There is emphasis placed on the skilling of the youth, especially through digital platforms that enhance access.

Ministry Budget Allocations

1. Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare: 125035.79 cr.
2. Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers: 178481.99 cr.
3. Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports: 3397.32 cr.
4. Ministry of Women and Child Development: 25448.75 cr.  
5. Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment: 14072.17
6. Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship: 3517.31 cr.
7. Ministry of Panchayati Raj: 1016.42 cr.
8. Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises: 22137.95 cr.
9. Ministry of Law and Justice: 4752.58 cr.
10. Election Commission specifically: 340.00 cr.
11. Ministry of Labour and Employment: 13221.73 cr.
12. Ministry of Education: 112899.47 cr.

What outcome are ministries aiming to achieve concerning youth development?

Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports: 

1. Increasing access to adequate sporting infrastructure by sanctioning projects in States/UT's, Universities, other eligible entities (target: 10,000)

2. Providing a robust competitive platform to encourage talented athletes across the country by funding 50 competitions organized by NSFs, and organizing 3 national level competitions 

3. Enhancing the physical fitness of citizens by:

1. Conducting 10,000 events under the FIT India movement 

2. Training 20,000 Physical Education Teachers 

3. Increasing FIT India school certifications by 5 lakhs

4. Providing support to 1,200 academies/ centres and 20,000 athletes to strengthen talent development initiatives 

5. Promotion of inclusion through sports through: 

1. Supporting 50 Women’s competitions

2. Supporting 100 para-athletes directly/indirectly

3. Supporting 325 athletes in rural/indigenous disciplines

4. Supporting 56 competitions under Ek Bharat Shreshta Bharat 

5. Organizing 15 events in extremism affected areas

Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers:

1. Construction of regular campus for NIPERs - Guwahati, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Raebareli, Kolkata and Hajipur

2. Organization of 25 Conferences/ Seminars/ Workshops on issues relevant to growth of pharmaceutical industry

Ministry of Women and Child Development: 

1. Largest allocation for Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0 (which focuses on maternal nutrition and child feeding)

2.  Operationalizing 14,00,000 Anganwadi Centres to improve nutritional and health status of children in age group 6-72 months

3. Expanding the number of one stop centres (intended to support women affected by violence)  to 818

4. Improvement of child-sex ratio through the Beti Padhao Beti Bachao campaign by organizing 15,260 awareness generation activities

5. Expansion in number of beneficiaries enrolled in Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (conditional cash transfer scheme for pregnant or lactating women to compensate for wage-loss)

6. ‘Mahila Samman Saving Certificate' proposed for women with a fixed interest rate of 7.5% for 2 years

7. Increasing availability of Shakti Sadan (relief and rehabilitation homes for women in distress and difficult circumstances)

Ministry of Education:

1. Increasing universal access, retention and infrastructural activities by “strengthening” 18,700 schools under PM SHRI scheme

2. Sarva Skisha, RMSA, Strengthening of teacher institutions schemes merged into Samagra Shisksha Scheme which has been provided the largest allocation

3. Expanding coverage for reimbursement schemes under RTE act for 25 lakh children

4. Providing sports facilities to 7 lakh schools

5. In the Higher Education Budget, the centre has allocated ₹1,554 crore for PM Uchchatar Shiksha Protsahan (PM-USP) Yojna and ₹400 crore for PM Research Fellowship.

6. For Digital India e-learning, the government has allocated ₹420 crore

7. The government plans to spend ₹11,600 crore under Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM POSHAN). PM Poshan is a replacement of the mid-day meal scheme

Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment:

1. The allocation for the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities increased to ₹1,212.42 crore.

2. Crucial budget cuts for schemes such as Support for Marginalized Individuals for Livelihoods and  Enterpreise (SMILE), SHREYAS, Scheme for Economic Empowerement of DNTs, PM DAKSH, and Self Employment Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers

3. Allocation for central sector schemes declined by 425.5 cr

Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship:

1. New skilling initiatives announced, such as providing stipends to 47 lakh youth, setting up of Skill India Digital Platform, and building 30 Skill India International Centres across different states 

2. PMKVY 4.0, and apprenticeship scheme announced

3. Government wants India to become the largest skill bank in the world as part of Vision 2047

Ministry of Panchayati Raj:

1. Major increase in allocation to Svamitva scheme which distributes property cards to villagers enabling them to use property as financial assets and apply for loans 

2. Construction 100 new Panchayat Learning Centres (PLCs) approved

Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises:

1. Credit Guarantee Scheme will lower the cost of credit by 1% for MSMEs

2. Government aims to help set up  77,000 new  projects to generate self employment opportunities and provide financial assistance to aid micro enterprises in scaling up 

3. 666 new worksheds to be constructed for artisans 

Ministry of Labour and Employment:

1. Funds for social security schemes for workers decreased while expenditure for pensions increased 

2. Bima Yojana for unorganized workers stopped

3. Allocation for Aatmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana which reimbursed employers to incentivize them to hire more workers significantly reduced 

4. Allocation for National Database of Unorganized workers also reduced