Digital connectivity kept India’s education system going during the pandemic, Prime Minister Modi said

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday lauded the 2022 Union Budget for its positive impact on the education sector.

“Our young generation is the future leader of the country. So empowering today’s young generation means empowering India’s future,” PM Modi said while addressing webinar in the topic ‘Post Budget Seminar: Fostering Strong Industry-Skill Linkage’

Speaking on the topic of digital connectivity for the education sector in the country, PM Modi said that digital connectivity is what has kept the education system alive in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We are seeing how the digital divide has rapidly shrunk in India as innovation has ensured inclusion in the country. Whether that be e-Vidya, One Class One Channel, digital labs, or digital university, these infrastructures will help the young population a lot," he pointed out.

The Prime Minister added that setting up of the National Digital University is an unprecedented step that will play a pivotal role in the development of a virtual education system and address the challenge of shortage of seats for students in educational institutions.

He also noted that Union Budget 2022’s key focus is on the implementation of the National Education Policy and which will shape the future of the country.

PM Modi highlighted 5 key measures or focus areas that have been introduced in the Union Budget 2022 which will empower the youth and prepare them to cater to India’s needs of tomorrow.

These include:

* Universalization of Quality Education: Offer quality education solutions to the students and enhance the scope and capability of existing institutions to increase the reach of education.

* Skill Development: Build a digital skilling ecosystem to provide resources that are in sync with the industry’s demand.

* Urban Planning and Design: Bring together the knowledge treasure trove from India’s cultural past and synergize them with modern-day technologies to bring out India-specific solutions.

* Internationalization: Promote and Set-up World Class Global Universities at GIFT city and other industrialization hubs across the country.

* ABGC: Focus on Animation, Visual effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC) industry, which has tremendous potential for employment and business opportunities among the youth.

PM Modi said “dynamic skilling is critical from the point of view of global talent demand for Aatmnirbhar Bharat.”

He highlighted the need to prepare the ‘demographic dividend’ of the country as per the demands of the changing job roles. Digital Ecosystem for skilling and Livelihood and e-Skilling labs were announced in the budget with this vison in mind.

Speaking on the occasion of International Mother Language Day today, the Prime Minister underlined the link between education in the medium of mother language and the mental development of children. He informed that in many states, medical and technical education is also being imparted in the local languages.

The Prime Minister called for momentum in creating the best content in digital format in local Indian languages. He emphasized that such content needs to be available via the Internet, Mobile phones, TV and radio.

He reiterated the requirement to keep the work with regard to content in sign languages going with due priority.

PM Modi further asked the stakeholders to ensure optimum outcome from the budget provisions. “In the context of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav and National Education, this is the first budget, which we want to implement quickly for laying down the foundation of the Amrit Kaal," he said.

“Budget is not just an account of statistics, budget, if implemented properly, can bring great transformation even with limited resources”, he added.