Budget 2013: Finance minister ups spends on education

MUMBAI: Finance Minister P Chidambaram today proposed a significant increase in the spends on education, stating in his speech that the budget for 2013-14 had one overarching goal: creating opportunities for youth to acquire education and skills that would get them decent jobs or create self-employment with decent incomes.

Chidambaram announced that the allocation for the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) would be Rs 65,867 crore, a 17% increase from the last budget.

He proposed to provide Rs 27,258 crore for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) in 2013-14, as well as Rs 3,983 crore for the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), which in an increase of 25.6% over the RE of the current year. The Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDM) would be provided Rs 13,215 crore, he said.

The finance minister also added that Rs 5,284 crore would be allocated to various ministries for thousands of scholarships for students belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes and Minorities, and girl children, in 2013-14.

He also proposed to provide Rs 1,650 crore for the six AIIMS-like institutions as well as Rs 1,069 crore to the Department of Ayush.