Dr. Yajulu Medury, Director, Mahindra Ecole Centrale, Hyderabad 

“We welcome the budget and look forward to the continued focus on ensuring that we reap the demographic dividend. The FM has rightly focused on the youth of the country and education is the tool for development. The commitment to bringing in the new education policy and make sweeping changes in how education is imparted with the focus on learning outcomes will play a big role in bettering the education level. The focus on research and innovation and the setting up of a National Research Foundation with access to research funds from all Government schemes will help fund and promote research in the country. Bringing in legislation for finally setting up the Higher Education Commission of India is a step in the right direction. With all the sweeping changes in the education system, I will not be surprised to see the roaring success of the proposed Study in India programme.”.

 

Satyam Roychowdury, Founder and MD, Techno India Group and Chancellor, Sister Nivedita University  

This new budget is a great incentive for universities looking up and trying to improve higher education. The inclusion of fee waivers for meritorious foreign students would definitely boost the number of international students in India. The National Education Policy (NEP) would further strengthen the research funding in the academic institutes without worrying for external funds.

 

Chef Niklesh Sharma, Founder, Academy of Pastry Arts 

We welcome the Indian Government proposal on setting up a National Education Policy to transform and take India’s higher education system to global standards. Also, we appreciate the idea behind Study in India policy which will encourage the foreign students to intake their higher education in India.  This will not only boost the economy but will also open new channels of education in the country.

 

Beas DevRalhan, Co-founder and CEO, Next Education India Pvt. Ltd.

The Union Budget 2019 has proposed significant changes which have the capability to revitalise the education sector. Apart from focusing on improving research and higher education via the National Research Foundation, it has promoted play-based early childhood education and high-quality teacher training via the new National Education Policy. The government has also proposed to increase efforts in skills development of our youth by incorporating new technologies in education such as artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing, and new learning strategies such as virtual realities and robotics. Furthermore, in an admirable move, the National Sports Education Board for the development of skilled sportsmen is to be set up under “Khelo India” project, so as to promote enthusiasm in sports as an important part of the development of today’s learners.

 

 Amol Arora, MD – SHEMROCK & SHEMFORD Group of Schools

This budget is guided by the mission to strengthen the Education Sector especially the establishment of the ‘National Research Foundation’-which will definitely help in creating the right ecosystem for R&D in the country. And it was great to see the government finally taking notice of industry-relevant skills like AI, IoT, Big Data and reforms in the higher education sector. A humble yet notable announcement was the ‘Study in India’ Programme, which holds the potential to put India on the world map. However, we still need a series of fundamental structural reforms – which I hope will be addressed in the near future.

 

Dr. Jitin Chadha, Founder and Director of Indian School of Business & Finance (ISBF)

While it is heartening to see the Government finally focusing on the most crucial areas of higher education and research, through initiatives like the National Research Foundation and the allocation for developing world-class institutions which will pay rich dividends in the long run, I don’t think the problem of human capital formation in the next 5-10 years has been adequately addressed. The Budget has shown a willingness to bring in foreign funding and expertise in areas like aviation and insurance but is silent on steps to harness best-in-class higher education from across the world and make it accessible for our youth. This is crucial because we find ourselves faced with the contemporaneous challenges of a rapidly growing yet grossly under-skilled workforce. We must alleviate this relatively quickly so that they can start helping the country reap a demographic dividend. 

 

Nilesh Gaikwad, Country Manager, EDHEC Business School 

It is heartening to see the Government of India emphasize on skill-training through Skill Certification Schemes. The Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojna(PMKVY) will ensure our graduates are Industry-ready. Special initiatives like ‘Study in India’ will attract foreign students, thus increasing awareness of the rich and diverse Indian culture. In turn, such a diversity within an average classroom will ensure Indian students become globally-minded. Increasing the number of Indian Institutions within the Top 200 Global institutions will not only substantiate the presence of top foreign talent graduating from India but also give a shot-in-arm to the research activities within indian educational institutions. Through GIAN initiative, the government is also working to bring the best of international talent pool to work with Indian Institutions.

 

Divya Jain, Co-Founder & CEO, Safeducate

We have a strong government at the center which has the ability to drive positive reforms on the ground with considerable ease, something which it has also ably done in the past. The Government’s vision of Digital India and Startup India is incomplete without abled entrepreneurs who have both visions as well as skills to execute that vision. Finance Minister’s move to have 75,000 skilled entrepreneurs in India paves the way for this and will promote the development of cutting-edge and indigenous technological solutions, create high-tech jobs in India, upskill Indian professionals, and enable us to tap the ripening global market.