Budget Allocation On Education Sector Crosses Rs 1 Lakh Crore For The First Time: MoS Education

The government has increased the budget on education, crossing Rs 1 lakh crore for the first time, Minister of State for Education, Subhas Sarkar said.

The government has increased the budget on education, crossing Rs 1 lakh crore for the first time, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Wednesday. Replying to queries during the question hour in the Upper House, Minister of State for Education, Subhas Sarkar said the 15th Finance Commission provided a grant of Rs 6,143 crore for online learning and development of professional courses besides other grants.

"This is the first time in education (sector), the budget has crossed Rs 1 lakh crore," he said in response to a supplementary question by CPI(M)'s Jharna Das Baidya on the Union budget announcements regarding increase in investment in the sector.

Replying to another supplementary question on what are the recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission on education sector, Sarkar said, "A grant of Rs 4,800 crore, and to incentivise six states, each year (there will be) Rs 200 crore incentive per year per state, and also a grant of Rs 6,143 crore for online learning and development of professional courses. These are for incentivising our education field."

In a statement laid in the Upper House in response to a question by Baidya on whether any time limit has been fixed to achieve the target of GDP allocation for education, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said, "The Centre and states work together to increase the public investment in education sector to reach 6 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at the earliest."