Union Budget Announcement for Youth of India 2025

The establishment of a Centre of Excellence for Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Education, with a substantial allocation of Rs.500 crore was also announced during the budget 2025.

Union Budget Announcement for Youth of India 2024

The Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, announced during the Budget 2024:

1. The launch of an internship scheme aimed at providing on-the-job training for one crore youth in the top 500 companies over the next five years.
   1. During this internship, interns will receive a monthly allowance of ₹5,000, with companies covering the training and 10% of training costs from their Corporate Social Responsibility funds.
   2. Section 135 of the Companies Act 2013 mandates companies to spend 2% of their average net profit from the past three years on CSR activities.

1. In her Budget speech, Sitharaman proposed creating employment for about 4.1 crore youth over five years, allocating ₹2 lakh crore for this initiative.
   1. Additionally, ₹1.48 crore will be allocated for skilling 20 lakh youth over the same period.
   2. She announced the upgrade of 1,000 industrial training institutes and proposed a one-time wage incentive for all first-time employees through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
   3. Employment, skilling, MSMEs, and the middle class are key focus areas of this Budget.

Interim Union Budget 2024-25 Update

1. During the presentation of the Interim Budget, 2024–25, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman emphasised the government's constant dedication to youth empowerment, particularly through the Amrit Peedhi - the Yuva.
2. The PM SHRI initiative was highlighted because it guarantees high-quality education. Under the Skill India Mission, 3,000 new ITIs were established, 1.4 crore youth were trained, and 54 lakh individuals were upskilled and reskilled.
3. The establishment of several higher education institutions such as 390 universities, 15 AIIMSs, 7 IITs, 16 IIITs, and 7 IIMs was also mentioned. This indicates a significant advancement in educational opportunities.
4. The Department of School Education & Literacy's budget allocation for the financial year 2024–2025 is Rs.73,498 crore, which is the highest amount ever. 
5. The Department of School Education and Literacy's overall budget allocation increased by Rs.12,024 crore (19.56%) in the financial year 2024–25 compared to the financial year 2023–24.
6. In comparison to RE 2023–24, the budget allocation for the flagship schemes Samagra Shiksha (Rs.4,500 crore), PM-SHRI (Rs.3,250 crore), and PM-POSHAN (Rs.2,467 crore) has been raised.
7. For the Autonomous Bodies of KVS & NVS, the budget allocation has been the highest, with a value of Rs.9,302 crore and Rs.5,800 crore, respectively.
8. Regarding RE 2023–2024, the allocation in KVS has gone up by Rs.802 crore, whereas allocation in NVS has grown by Rs.330 crore.

Desired Reforms - Union Budget 2021-22

For Startups the union Budget 2021-22 allocation provides a lot of useful values to grow their business and services with aim to increase economy.

Some of Announcements Listed Below for Startups

1. Tax holiday for startups extended by one more year to till March, 2022
2. Tax Relief on Employee Stock Ownership Plans from startups
3. Setup world class Fintech Digital Transformation
4. Government of India has proposed changes in companies law provisions
5. Startup will get Dedicated Early Stage Funds

Desired Reforms - Union Budget 2020-21

Rs 99,300 crore for Education sector and Rs 3,000 crore for Skill Development assigned in Union budget 2020-21. And also they tried to offer the professionals, upcoming entrepreneurs and youngsters with new skillful announcements.

The Following are few key announcements for youth of India

1. For entrepreneurs FM proposed to set up an investment clearance cell.
2. Apprenticeship Embedded degree and diploma courses will provided by 150 Top Educational institutions by Mar, 2021
3. Students of deprived sections of the society will get Degree level online education programmes.
4. Steps will be taken to encourage for financing education infrastructure.
5. Special Courses for nurse and para medical staff
6. Internships for engineer freshers period of up to one year
7. Encourage Top hospitals to offer Courses for resident doctors

Desired Reforms - Union Budget 2019-2020

New training programmes will be introduced to train students in the areas of artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, language training, Internet of Things (IoT), 3D printing, virtual reality, and Big Data. These new-age skills will make the youth in India ready to be employed in the country or in foreign countries. 

Other Highlights of the Union Budget related to the Youth  

1. A National Research Foundation will be established to fund, co-ordinate, and promote activities related to research in India. The proposed body is targeted at taking the Indian research ecosystem on to the next level. 
2. A budget of Rs.400 crore has been allocated by the government under the title 'World Class Institutions" which is a three-fold increase over the previous year's estimates. 
3. A new programme called 'Study in India' has been proposed as an attempt to attract foreign students to India for higher education.  
4. A Higher Education Commission will be set up to radically reform the regulatory mechanism of India's higher education. 

Desired Reforms - Union Budget 2018-19

The expectations from the Union Budget 2018 are many; some of these are associated with the empowerment of the youth, as described below:

1. Tax deductions for educational donations - The government should encourage sponsorship or donations for educational purposes through complete tax deductions on such transactions. This is particularly relevant because the contribution is for a social cause. At the moment, the tax deductions allowed for donation to educational institutions are in the range of 50% of the contributed amount. These figures need to be revamped as it would lead to the empowerment of the youth, the pillars of the nation.
2. Separate tax relief for educational expenses - The tax deductions that are currently in place for educational purposes correspond to children's education and hostel facilities. This is, however, offered only to the salaried class of the economy. If there was a blanket tax deduction for this purpose, the larger mass would benefit greatly. Also, a separate deduction can be established for expenses related to computer-aided learning, transportation, infrastructure, lodging, special coaching, mess, etc.
3. Savings scheme for education purposes - There are several savings schemes for the backward sections of the society. The introduction of the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana for the empowerment of the girl child is a notable social security initiative. However, there are no such provisions for the educational needs of children. A robust strategy for education of the youth will be an encouragement to parents to fulfill their children's educational aspirations.
4. Impact of GST - The Goods and Services Tax Act exempts some basic educational services from tax, while majority of the others are levied 18% GST. This implies that input services such as maintenance and repairs, canteen facilities, placement services, etc. are liable to be taxed at 18% and the tax credit for the same cannot be claimed. Additionally, when youngsters opt for higher education at private institutions, 18% GST is levied. Tax is also levied for education at coaching institutions that train students for competitive exams. Since the government stresses on the importance of education for the youth, there should be reforms to exempt educational and associated services from the ambit of GST.
5. Foreign investments - With the government's focus on increasing the number of research and innovation centres in the field of education, private investment will be of utmost importance. The government currently allows 100% foreign direct investment in the field of education; however, the inflows are still insufficient. The hierarchy of approvals and multiple regulations are some of the obstacles in the process. Simplification of the process will be helpful in achieving the milestones. Since the government's tax policy projects a clear message of its priorities, an overall reduction in the cost of education will be the right way to go.
6. National Employment Policy - The government is looking to introduce the first National Employment Policy (NEP) in the country. This policy will provide a comprehensive roadmap for the generation of job opportunities across various segments. This is likely to be introduced in the Union Budget 2018. The policy is expected to incentivise employers to create quality job opportunities, apart from introducing reforms for attracting small and medium enterprises that provide ample jobs in the economy.

The Union Budget 2017 had created job opportunities in the textile sector and facilitated the launch of 100 international centres from where youngsters could seek international jobs. There were also several measures taken to strengthen the skills of employees. The metro rail segment and tourism sector were other areas where employment opportunities were created. The 2018 Union Budget is expected to focus on the empowerment of the youth by offering similar reforms.