Union Budget 2021: FM announces skill qualification benchmark with UAE, collaborative training with Japanese workforce

The Union government has already set in motion an initiative in collaboration with UAE to benchmark skill qualifications, assessment and certification accompanied by the deployment of a certified workforce, said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman while announcing the Union Budget 2021. "There will also be a collaborative training and inter-training programme between India and Japan to facilitate the transfer of Japanese vocational and industrial skills, techniques and knowledge," she said. More such initiatives with other countries have also been planned, she added.

The government also proposed to amend the Apprenticeship Act with a view to further improve apprenticeship opportunities for the youth, announced Sitharaman. She further stated that the existing scheme of National Apprenticeship Training Scheme will also be realigned for providing post-education apprenticeship of graduates and diploma holders in engineering. "Over 3,000 crore will be provided for this purpose," she said. 

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Nirmala Sitharaman presented her third budget this year at 11 am at the Lok Sabha. Amid the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, the Finance Minister presented a paperless budget. This is the first time in India's history that a paperless Union Budget was presented. As the budget papers will not be printed, the Finance Minister had also launched an official mobile app to provide complete access to all budget documents. The mobile app can be downloaded from the Union Budget Web Portal www.indiabudget.gov.in.

The Finance Minister had assured a budget “like never before”. The budget 2021 has a greater significance as it comes amid the COVID-19 pandemic which has caused economic disruption. FM Nirmala Sitharaman replaced the Swadeshi 'bahi khata' and switched to a tablet. She was seen carrying a tablet kept inside a red coloured cover with a golden coloured national emblem embossed on it. The Economic Survey 2020, presented by FM Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday pegged the GDP growth at 11 per cent in Financial Year 2022.