Shweta Sastri, Managing Director, Canadian International School, Bengaluru
The union budget of 2019-20 is definitely a progressive one to revive the economy and create positive business sentiments. It has ushered in policies that will help in the growth of the overall economy. It would act as a catalyst for higher demands and spur spending across bottom-of-pyramid consumers.
The government proposed a range of major changes for India’s education system in the budget and laid emphasis on the importance of not only providing literacy but improving the quality of education. The decision to set up a National Research Foundation to fund and coordinate research in India is welcome. The plan of the Government to launch ‘Study in India’ programme is meant to make India an attractive education destination for international students. The allotment of 400-cr to develop world class institutions is to be highly appreciated. The enhancement of budget allocation for education is an appreciating move. This increased allocation of fund will ensure better quality government schools that educate majority of children in India. With the aim of the government to make India’s schools future-ready with a deeper focus on research and new age skills such as robotics, AI, IoT etc, not only integration of technology in classrooms is expected to get a considerable boost, but also education will become more accessible for all. The decision to treat education holistically is also a welcome move and will lend greater synergy in planning and execution of important schemes and programmes.
This is a balanced budget as far as education sector is concerned. Overall, we feel that the measures taken should meet the expectations of the common man, which will lead to higher consumption, enhanced liquidity in the market, increase in investment and savings, imperative to fuel India’s growth engine.
Mr. Sadiq Sait, Founder and CEO, uLektz Learning Solutions
We are pleased with the Government’s effort to increase efforts to improve the skills of our youth in newer areas such as Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Robotics, etc.
The government’s Kaushal Vikas Yojana is a good initiative for the country’s youth to take up industry-relevant skill training and bodes well with uLektz’s mission to address the crucial issue of unemployment and underemployment. The proposal of ‘Study In India’ scheme will further aid the growth of the higher-education. Furthermore, to have a television channel exclusively for start-ups, will help to promote entrepreneurship, funding and tax planning. One of the main challenges plaguing the start-up industry is the lack of funding. Now, with the government’s initiative to resolve the angel tax issue by removing the scrutiny on start-ups and by extending the period of exemption for capital gains tax, there would will be good impetus for accelerated growth and hassle-free conduct of business for start-ups in the country”