Rs 93,847.64 crore budget for education sector
New Delhi, Feb 1 : The Centre Friday earmarked Rs 93,847.64 crore for the education sector for 2019-20, an increase of over 10 per cent from last budget allocation.
While Rs 37,461.01 crore has been allocated for higher education, an amount of Rs 56,386.63 crore has been earmarked for school education.
Last year, then finance minister Arun Jaitley had allocated Rs 85,010 crore for the education sector.
Presenting an interim budget for 2019-20 in Parliament on Friday, Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Piyush Goyal proposed the launch of a scheme named 'Revitalising Infrastructure and Systems in Education (RISE) by 2022' with a total investment of Rs 1 lakh crore in the next four years to step up investments in research and related infrastructure in premier educational institutions, including health institutions.
The government allocated Rs 608.87 crore for research and innovation, a massive increase from previous allocation of Rs 350.23 crore.
Goyal also proposed the setting up of two new full-fledged 'Schools of Planning and Architecture' (SPA) to be selected on challenge mode.
Additionally, 18 new SPAs would be established in the IITs and NITs as autonomous schools, also on challenge mode, he said.
"The proposal for setting up SPAs have been appraised by the Expenditure Finance Committee. Directors of IITs/NITs and Chief Secretaries of States/UTs have been requested to submit proposals," the minister said.
Goyal said technology will be the biggest driver in improving the quality of education and proposed to increase the digital intensity in education and move gradually from "black board" to "digital board".
A dedicated digital infrastructure for teachers, DIKSHA, has been developed with the aim to empower school teachers with access to innovative tech-based solutions, he said.
"Technology will also be used to upgrade the skills of teachers through the recently launched digital portal 'Diksha'.
"A committee has been set up by the Department of Higher Education to work out the modalities to support 'Operation Digital Board' in all schools and to provide quality education by effective use of technology and telecom services," the minister said.
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PM Modi speaks to Iranian president, discusses 'serious' situation in West Asia
New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday night spoke to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian over the phone and discussed the "serious situation" in West Asia.
Modi expressed deep concern over the escalation of tensions in the region and the loss of civilian lives as well as damage to civilian infrastructure.
The prime minister told the Iranian President that the safety and security of Indian nationals, along with the need for unhindered transit of goods and energy, remain India's top priorities.
“Had a conversation with Iranian President, Dr Masoud Pezeshkian, to discuss the serious situation in the region. Expressed deep concern over the escalation of tensions and the loss of civilian lives as well as damage to civilian infrastructure,” Modi said in a post on X.
The prime minister also reiterated India's commitment to peace and stability and urged dialogue and diplomacy to end the crisis.
The prime minister had spoken to leaders of several West Asian countries in the last 10 days in the wake of the coordinated offensive launched against Iran by the United States and Israel, in which the Islamic country's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, was killed last month.
In retaliation, Iran has fired drones and missiles at Israel and US military installations around the Gulf region, including the global business and aviation hubs of Dubai and Doha.
Modi earlier spoke to the leaders of Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Jordan, Israel and Qatar, and expressed concern over the attacks on their countries, and condemned the violation of some nation’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
He also discussed the welfare and security of the Indian community residing in those countries.
Around 1 crore Indians live in the Gulf and West Asia. While about 10,000 Indian citizens live, study and work in Iran, more than 40,000 live in Israel.
