Page 65 - EW March 2025

Resource mobilisation schema for public education

Through a national multi-partisan consensus it is possible for the Union government to mobilise substantial addi-
tional resources to provide high-quality public education for the world's largest child and youth population as under:

Expenditure allocation Budgeted Savings Comment
2025-26 (Rs. lakh crore) (Rs. lakh crore)
Establishment expenditure 8.68 1.23 At 17.13 percent of total expenditure, it's too high.
Reduce to 14.13 percent.
Interest payout 12.76 1.28 Reduce public debt by privatisation of PSEs. 10 percent.
Food, fertiliser & petroleum
subsidies 3.82 0.19 Reduce by 5 percent through better targeting,
reducing gold plating etc.
Non-merit middle class
subsidies (higher
education, electricity,
piped water etc) ___ 3.56 Non-merit subsidies are estimated at 10 percent of GDP.
(Rs. 357 lakh crore). Prune by 1 percent.
Sub-total 25.26 6.26

Budget 2025-26 receipts Budgeted Mobilisation Comment
(Rs. lakh crore) (Rs. lakh crore)
Corporate tax 10.82 0.11 1 percent education cess
Income tax 14.38 0.10 Rs.1,000 flat tax on all IT assesses (104 million)
PSE privatization ___ 2.18 Market cap of listed Central govt. PSEs estimated at
Rs.43.65 lakh crore. Raise by accelerating privatisation
Sub-total 25.20 2.39
Grand total: 8.65

EW recommendations for human capital development
1) Invest additional Rs.1.16 lakh crore for drinking water, libraries, laboratories and lavatories in deficient government schools
(needs-based calculus by Dr. A.S. Seetharamu)
2) Invest additional Rs.1.49 lakh crore in ICDS/anganwadis
3) Invest additional Rs.1 lakh crore in digital infrastructure in public schools
4) Invest additional Rs.1 lakh crore in skilling centres & AI labs
5) Invest Rs. 1 lakh crore in Atal Tinkering Labs
6) Invest Rs 1 lakh crore in foundational teacher training
7) Invest additional Rs.1 lakh crore in making 20 public universities world-class
8) Invest additional Rs.1 lakh crore in national primary health care centres network

abundant and high-potential human lays, have been slashed. At this junc- rary political leaders to dream big is
resource. ture in the nation’s history, it may commendable, it’s high time they and
“Finance minister Nirmala Sith- have been a more beneficial trade off the establishment as a whole, became
araman needs to be commended for to suffer a larger fiscal deficit to make aware that big dreams such as Vish-
persisting with her focus on hard greater provision for education and waguru, Viksit Bharat and $30 trillion
infrastructure development, a force health,” says Dr. Narendar Pani, GDP by 2047, require to be built on the
multiplier for economic growth. But JRD Tata Chair Professor of Econom- strong foundation of a well-educated,
hard infrastructure — roads, bridges, ics at the prestigious National Insti- high productivity human resource
rail connectivity, energy and high- tute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore base. Building this strong foundation
ways construction — needs to be (estb.1988). necessitates urgent transformation —
supplemented by soft infrastructure A determined — even if belated even at risk of excess — of India’s 1.47
— human resources — to optimise in- — effort to develop India’s untapped million schools, 45,000 colleges and
frastructure capital expenditure. The human resource to optimise sustained 1,100 universities into shining, show-
downside of Budget 2025-26 is that to investment made in hard infrastruc- piece institutions in which the world’s
reduce the fiscal deficit, social welfare, ture, is excellent advice. Although the largest child and youth population is
i.e, human resource development out- capability of former and contempo- attracted to learn deeply and joyfully.

MARCH 2025 EDUCATIONWORLD 65