New Delhi, Feb 1:

Presenting her eighth consecutive Union Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a slew of initiatives for the poor and marginalised sections including the gig workers. Her blueprint for ‘Viksit Bharat’ includes a social security plan for gig workers and a major thrust on addressing the educational gaps in government-run schools.

She announced that broadband connectivity will be provided in all government secondary schools, a move that will bring the students at par with their private counterparts and also open new vistas of opportunities for them.

“50,000 Atal tinkering labs will be set up in schools to foster curiosity and scientific temper. Broadband connectivity to be provided to all government secondary schools,” she said.

“We propose to implement the Bharatiya Bhasha Pustak scheme, to help students understand subjects in their language,” she added.

The Finance Minister also spoke about the expansion capacity of higher education institutions.

“Additional infrastructure will be created in 5 IITs created after 2014 for 6,500 students,” Sitharaman announced.

She also announced a social security scheme for the gig workers.

The Finance Minister said that the gig workers of online platforms will be provided with ID cards on the e-Shram portal and will be extended healthcare benefits under the PM Jan Arogya Yojana. This is expected to help about 1 crore gig workers.

The PM SVANidhi scheme, benefiting the street vendors, will also be revamped with enhanced loans from banks and UPI-linked credit cards with Rs 30,000 limit.

Earlier, the Finance Minister reiterated the government’s thrust on meeting and realising the aspirations of the GYAN (Garib, Yuva, Annadata and Nari shakti) poor, farmers, women, and youth.–(IANS)

By SNS KASHMIR

Shaharbeen News Service Kashmir is a news service which covers, gathers, writes, and distributes news to newspapers, periodicals, radio and television broadcasters, government agencies, and other users. We at SNS Kashmir believe in fair and independent journalism to inform our masses or subscribers and readers about the happenings around the world. The prime focus of the news gathering and reporting is focused on Jammu and Kashmir state.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.