Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed an exclusive TV channel to set up solely for start-ups under Doordarshan bouquet to provide a platform for start-ups to disseminate information in the industry. "A draft legislation being prepared for setting up the Higher Education Commission of India. We propose to increase focus on new-age skills like artificial intelligence, virtual reality and big data. We also propose to start a channel for start-ups (in DD bouquet)," said Nirmala Sitharaman at the Lok Sabha.
She added that the Government enables 10 million youth to take up industry relevant skill training through the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana. "We will increase our efforts to improve the skills of our youth in newer areas such as Artifical Intelligence, Big Data, Robotics, etc valued highly within and outside the country to ensure they can secure high paying jobs both in India and abroad," said Nirmala Sitharaman.
India's first full-time woman finance minister presented her maiden union budget at 11 am on July 5. Sitharaman reached the Parliament an hour ahead of time with the budget document folded in a red traditional cloth sealed with the government seal. Analysts and the media had predicted that her first budget will be focused on the middle class and the poor and that it will take the SoPs presented in the interim budget by Piyush Goyal in February further. Sitharaman has to deal with income tax exemption slabs, unemployment and form a pro-Janta budget with the added task of pulling the country out of a five year low. With former Education Minister Prakash Javadekar promising that the government will try its best to spend six per cent of the GDP on education and the PM stressing on the youth development and innovation, eyes are on Sitharaman's budget to bring the change.
