Union Budget 2021 and the Need for Upskilling

The Union Budget 2021-22 is a forward-looking budget that is revolutionary and aimed at creating much-envisioned USD 5 trillion economy. In tandem with the ongoing pandemic, a great emphasis has been given to the healthcare sector, financial capital, education and R&D have been given. A plethora of new schemes have been launched by the government and the most notable of them has been in the healthcare sector such as the PM Atma Nirbhar Swasthya Bharat Yojana. This particular scheme is aimed at creating a foundation for preventive healthcare, curative healthcare and overall wellbeing. The Finance Minister announced a government spend of ₹2,23,846 crore alone in healthcare with Rs 35,000 crore alone on the vaccines and Rs 60,030 crore on facilitating the availability of clean drinking water.

Budget 2021-22 and Education Segment 

The Union Budget 2021 spells an allocation of Rs 93,224 crore. Some of the key highlights of the budget towards education are:

1. This budget will be dedicated to strengthening school education through the implementation of NEP components in almost 15000 schools. Along with this, 100 Sainik schools will be established in the partnership with the NGOs/private schools/states.
2. In terms of higher education, the legislation will be introduced for setting up the Higher Education Commission of India with four regulatory bodies taking care of setting policies & standards, accreditation, regulation, and funding. A Central University will be established in the remote Leh for the proliferation of higher education in Ladakh.
3. In terms of upskilling, the Government has proposed the following:

• The Apprenticeship Act 1961 will be amended to provide opportunities for a greater number of youths. For this, an amount of Rs 3000 crore has been dedicated. 
• A training programme (TTIP) has been launched in partnership with Japan for facilitating the knowledge transmission of industrial and vocational skills from Japanese experts to Indian youths.

Though the allocation towards education is not that great there is a silver lining. The government has allotted almost double the amount for MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises)for the year 2021-2022, which is Rs15,700 crore. Furthermore, there is an allocation of Rs300 crore for the establishment of new technologies for the MSMEs. This itself calls for a great deal of upskilling and fostering of new-age leaders who can seamlessly drive growth and innovation in the country. 

Upskilling Trends in 2021 vis-à-vis Budget 2021-22

1. Digital skills will come to the forefront with the emphasis on improved governance and ushering higher levels of automation and productivity. The proliferation of courses that foster digital skills. 
2. Analytics and Big Data would replace the traditional means of accumulating and predicting data. So, a lot of emphases will be on Analytics and Big Data courses.
3. Game-based learning will assume new heights with e-learning courses taking on traditional classroom teaching.

So, the top B-schools of the country are currently offering futuristic course that aim to prepare the new age professionals to trailblazer and create this big dream of USD 5 trillion economy.