Focus on skilling innovation in budget to help India become developed nation Patra

    New Delhi, Aug 1 (PTI) The special focus on skilling, entrepreneurship, innovation and employment in the Union budget will help India become a developed nation and a solution provider to the world, BJP leader Sambit Patra said on Thursday.
    Participating in a debate on the demands for grants for the Union education ministry in the Lok Sabha, the Puri MP also congratulated the Centre, saying the country's highest court had given its verdict in favour of the education ministry on the NEET issue.
    "I want to congratulate the government. Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had repeatedly said the law would take its own course and we would come out clean and the highest court of the country has given its verdict," Patra said, referring to the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) paper leak issue.
    The Union Budget for 2024-25 provided Rs 1.48 lakh crore for education, employment and skilling.
    The main reason for giving importance to skilling, entrepreneurship and innovation is that "India wants to go towards Viksit Bharat, we want to create the talent basket, we want to be a skill hub, we want to be a solution provider to the globe", he said.
    Patra cited data to state that allocations for school and higher education had been increased by 52.4 per cent in the past 10 years.
    He also accused the opposition parties of shedding crocodile tears in the name of reservation and claimed quotas for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes were ended in Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University during the Congress regime.
    "The Congress will have to answer (for this)," Patra said.
    On the paper leak issue, he said a number of such incidents occurred during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime.
    "How many paper leaks do you have in your pocket?" the Puri MP asked, adding that the Modi government was bringing a bill on the matter.
    He added that significant improvements had been registered in all key indicators of the education sector, such as gross enrolment ratio and pupil-teacher ratio, since the Modi government assumed power in 2014.
    Participating in the discussions, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Sudhakar Singh claimed that there had been a decline in the budgetary allocation for the education sector.
    He alleged that the funds for academic institutions, including the University Grants Commission, had been declining since 2014.
    The government is not focusing on increasing investments in the higher education sector, he said. "It will weaken the institutions."
    Abdussamad Samadani, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) MP from Kerala's Ponnani, accused the government of following a polarisation policy in education.
    He claimed the government had scrapped certain parts in some history books and said such actions were condemnable.
    Samajwadi Party MP Priya Saroj said paper leak incidents had serious implications on students and the government should strictly punish people involved in such activities.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)