New Delhi: The Union Government will present Budget 2019-20 on 01 February 2019. The education, jobs and skills sector has high expectations from the Budget.
Sanjay Bahl, CEO and MD, Centum Learning, urge the government to have greater push in this budget, towards skilling. He expects a greater financial intervention in Skilling, in order to realize the Skill India’s mission 2022.
Mr Sanjay Lakhotia, Co-Founder, Noble House Consulting Pte said “The HR sector is looking forward to some conducive policies during the union budget this year. We hope it will become easier for startups to pay salary / commissions / incentives in the form of ESOPs. Allowing startup HRs to pay out salaries to vendors, consultants, etc. will help them find the right talent and in wealth creation.”
Mr. Prashant Gupta, Executive Director, Sharda University:
“While the upcoming Budget is crucial for all sectors, it is pivotal for the education sector. We expect to witness a higher allocation towards the education sector and provide useful and elementary education for all in the following budget. The Government must emphasize on education at all levels and rationalize taxes, including e-learning education programs and make them affordable for the masses. More government schemes for the education sector are expected to be introduced in order to provide the benefits to the faculty as well as the masses of the country. Rapid advancement in technology and business models are creating demand for reskilling of the workforce the Government should address this issue in the forthcoming budget . The Government should also reconsider GST rates on higher education and make education loan cheaper and the term period bigger, also partially exempt GST on outsourced services in higher education from 18 per cent to 5 per cent, to create low-cost educational institutions that offer services at all levels — primary, secondary and higher education.”
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Vice-Chancellor, World University of Design:
“Given the current economic situation globally, it is time for the Asian economies particularly India and China to become front runners in progress. In order for us to keep maintain this growth momentum, continued impetus and allocations need to be given to the education sector. In order to improve the quality of education and keep up with the current technology trends, the government focus on encouraging existing & future faculty to take up research & doctoral studies is welcome. We expect to witness introduction of a government schemes in the higher education sector to provide benefit to the faculty opting for re-skilling, up-skilling, e-education and doctoral studies. The Government must also increase allocation towards the education sector and strengthen teacher training programs across the country to improve the overall quality and capacity of the education ecosystem. The Government should reconsider GST rates on higher education and make education loans.
Sanjay Bahl outlined the Skill India’s mission 2022, which should include:
Since Skill Development is a key ingredient in nation building, hence GST should not be applicable on revenue incurred through skill development courses, especially those which are funded under any government or CSR donor.
In order to encourage wider industrial acceptance of Skill India certified candidates, those companies who hire such candidates above a certain number, should be offered incentives as deemed appropriate by the government. This will help make skills aspirational and acceptable among youth and motivate a lot of organizations from the private sector to lay emphasis on certified candidates.
An industry wide ask by all the training partners, who are registered with NSDC or other state and central ministries etc. is to have a single window support for setting up centres. This will ensure speedy implementation of Skill India Mission as well as greater transparency in training delivery.
Those Skill training providers who have proven track record should be offered soft loans as part of working capital to help them scale and expand Skilling pan-India. Additionally, ministries and government agencies should streamline funding, its shortage or delays in payments, since it is directly affecting the related skilling interventions.
Mr Mr Sanjay Lakhotia commented creation of equal opportunities for people with disabilities who are not part of the traditional workforce. This will ensure diversity and inclusivity at the workplace. The government should also step up efforts in the area of offering post-retirement support and benefits. Incentives towards investment in retirement savings and making schemes like NPS more attractive should also be considered.
