New Delhi, Feb 1 (SocialNews.XYZ) 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.
Source: IANS
About Gopi
Gopi Adusumilli is a Programmer. He is the editor of SocialNews.XYZ and President of AGK Fire Inc.
He enjoys designing websites, developing mobile applications and publishing news articles on current events from various authenticated news sources.
When it comes to writing he likes to write about current world politics and Indian Movies. His future plans include developing SocialNews.XYZ into a News website that has no bias or judgment towards any.
He can be reached at gopi@socialnews.xyz