Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that education (including skill, research and innovation) is the second biggest focus for the Government in the recently announced Union Budget, after the health sector.

He said with the formulation of the new education policy, the country now needs a collaborative effort to swiftly implement various reforms in the education sector at the ground level.

“For building an Atmanirbhar Bharat, it is important that the youth of the country have self-confidence. Self Confidence comes when the youth have faith in their education, knowledge and skills,” the Prime Minister said while addressing a webinar to discuss budget provisions for the education sector.

Pointing out that India is among the top 50 countries globally in the Global Innovation Index, he added that India is among the top three countries in terms of scientific publications. He also said the number of PhD holders in the country is rising, the start-up ecosystem is becoming stronger and women’s participation in research is also growing.

He added that the Union Budget has broadened the country’s efforts to link education with employability and entrepreneurial capability.

Emphasising that language should not become a barrier in harnessing the talent of the country, PM Modi said, "There is talent in every household of the country. In the new National Education Policy (NEP), the use of the Indian languages has been encouraged. It is the responsibility of the experts of every language, now to ensure the best content of the world should be made available in Indian languages."

Stating that limiting knowledge and research is a big injustice to the country's potential, the Prime Minister said that with this thought process doors are being opened for talented youth in several sectors such as space, atomic energy and agriculture to harness their talent.

He also said that future fuel and green energy are important for the country’s self-reliance in the energy space and therefore the announcement of the Hydrogen Mission in the Budget is an important initiative.

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