Interim Budget 2024: Boost For PM SHRI Program As School Education Dept's Overall Allocation Increases By 6.11%

The Central government’s flagship Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) programme to establish a National Education Policy (NEP)-compliant system across the country got a shot in the arm in the interim budget 2024-25, as the overall allocation for schools increased by 6.11%.

Outlay for the school education department

The outlay for the school education department increased from Rs68,804 crore in the budgetary estimate (BE) for 2023-24 to Rs73,008 crore – an addition of Rs4,203 crore. The allocation is slightly higher than the Rs72,474 crore earmarked in the revised estimates (RE) for the last fiscal. Around half of this hike went to PM SHRI, whose planned expenditure increased by almost 51% from Rs4,000 crore in 2023-24 (BE) to Rs6,050 crore, even though it has been brought down to Rs2,800 crore in the revised estimates.

PM SHRI, a centrally sponsored scheme launched in September 2022, seeks to develop 14,500 existing government-run schools across the country to be developed as exemplar schools showcasing all NEP components. An amount of Rs27,360 crore will be spent on the scheme, with the Centre contributing Rs18128 crore, over the five-year period from 2022-23 to 2026-27.

Most key heads in dept’s budget witnessed increase in allocation

Most of the key heads in the department’s budget have witnessed an increase in allocation, except for Samagra Shiksha, the Centre’s overarching scheme to improve government-run and aided schools around the country. The expenditure on the scheme is pegged at Rs37,500 crore, which is marginally more than Rs37,453 crore allocated in 2023-24 (BE). In revised estimates, the scheme’s outlay has been slashed to Rs33,000 crore, a difference of Rs4,500 crore compared to the amount announced during the budget presentation last year.

The grants for autonomous bodies, including Centre-run Kendriya Vidyalaya (KV) and Navodaya Vidyalaya (NV) schools, also saw an upward revision from Rs14,391 crore in 2023-24 (BE) to Rs15,639 crore, a rise of 8.67%. The allocation for Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM POSHAN), commonly known as the mid-day meal scheme, also got hiked from Rs11,600 crore in 2023-24 (BE) to 12,467 crore, despite the downward revision to Rs10,000 crore.