To ramp up the cycle of investment and job creation, the Union Budget 2023-24 increased the capital expenditure outlay by 37.4 percent in BE 2023-24 to Rs 10 lakh crore over Rs 7.28 lakh crore in RE in 2022-23.
Concerning logistics and regional connectivity, 100 critical transport infrastructure projects for last and first-mile connectivity for ports, coal, steel, fertiliser, and food grains sectors have been identified. They will be taken up on priority with an investment of Rs 75,000 crore, including Rs 15,000 crore from private sources.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman further said that 50 additional airports, heliports, water aerodromes and advanced landing grounds will be revived for improving regional air connectivity.
Staffing firms believe this step would give the required impetus to India’s ability to generate employment opportunities, especially for youth.
“The establishment of 100 transportation infrastructure projects and the provision of a capital outlay of Rs 2.40 lakh crore for railways, which is approximately nine times the outlay made in 2013-14, are both welcome moves because these initiatives will create a large number of job opportunities for both skilled and unskilled labour in the industry,” said Ajoy Thomas, VP and business head at staffing firm TeamLease Services.
5G and tourism sector
On 5G Services, the FM announced that 100 labs for developing applications using 5G services will be set up in engineering institutions to realise a new range of opportunities, business models, and employment potential.
The labs will cover, among others, applications such as smart classrooms, precision farming, intelligent transport systems, and health care applications.
Sachin Alug, CEO, of NLB Services feels these steps will be an impetus to push the country's youth towards emerging opportunities in 5G and Industry 4.0. “The 5G services will also be leveraged to develop applications across a hundred labs to explore new business and employment avenues,” he said.
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The finance minister said that the country offers an immense attraction for domestic as well as foreign tourists, as there is a large potential to be tapped into tourism.
She added that the sector holds huge opportunities for jobs and entrepreneurship for youth in particular and emphasised that the promotion of tourism will be taken up on mission mode, with the active participation of states, the convergence of government programmes and public-private partnerships.
Green growth and focus on apprenticeship
In her Budget speech, the FM explained that the “green growth” priority sector will include multiple programmes on green fuel, green energy, green farming, green mobility, green buildings and green equipment. This will also include policies for the efficient use of energy across various sectors, Sitharaman said.
“With the impetus on green growth efforts, we will not only fast forward the country on its net-zero mission but also open up large-scale green job opportunities,” said Binu Philip, CHRO, Greater India Zone at Schneider Electric.
The minister announced the rollout of the direct benefit transfer (DBT) under a pan-India National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) to provide stipend support to 47 lakh youth in three years.
Welcoming the step, Sumit Kumar, Chief Business Officer, TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship, highlighted that the litmus test is in execution.
“We must reflect on our past performance as PMKVY and DBT have been operational for some time, executives of these initiatives at the ground level would need effective and efficient systems and close monitoring to ensure the success,” he said.
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