Pre-Budget Expectation-2022 Quotes

Pre-budget Expectation

Institute of Risk Management, India Affiliate, Mumbai

Hersh Shah (

Spokesperson- Hersh Shah, CEO, Institute of Risk Management (IRM) – India Affiliate

“As we enter the third year under the pandemic, the Union Budget 2022-23 will be key in building further economic resilience even as we work towards more robust growth across different sectors. The NEP 2020 lays down the foundations for this goal through far-reaching initiatives on skill-building. The Finance Minister can take this opportunity to take it forward by enhancing budget spending on new-age skills and promoting lifelong learning to ensure our workforce remains competitive in a rapidly changing skill landscape. Other than tax benefits on education loans, private participation can be ensured by mandating continual training and development of employees in large enterprises. Such measures can help augment India’s position as a talent powerhouse even as it addresses unwanted layoffs and attrition within industries. As the pandemic exposed the lack of risk preparedness within the education sector, the government must take immediate action to ensure the long-term sustainability of higher educational institutions, especially in the face of increased competition by edtech companies. It can start by creating a viable structure for raising low-cost capital, similar to MSME financing schemes, thereby allowing legacy institutions to upgrade their teaching-learning methodologies and outcomes.”

Ampersand Group

Mr. Rustom Kerawalla

Spokesperson- Rustom Kerawalla, Founder – Chairman, Ampersand Group

“Switching between online, offline and hybrid models during successive waves of the pandemic has put a lot of stress on the educational system. This year’s Union Budget should prioritise widespread implementation of NEP2020 recommendations which would help to fill current gaps in infrastructure and pedagogy. Inclusion of a play-based approach at ECCE and Foundational Learning levels along with investment in digital resources and well-trained staff can boost learning outcomes to a great extent and ensures holistic development of the child in formative years. In addition, further implementation of the robust NSQF framework along with strengthening industry linkages to academia will boost employability and employment of Indian youth across sectors. Such government initiatives go a long way to support the education industry and will give every child, at every stage of “Education to Work” cycle, access to quality education and employability. Appropriate budgetary allocation will enable India to reap the benefits of its demographic dividend in the years to come.”

Times Professional Learning

Anish Srikrishna, CEO, Times Professional Learning

Anish Srikrishna, CEO, Times Professional Learning 

After a tumultuous two years, the education sector is looking to the government for increased support through the Union Budget 2022. The main focus should be on giving monetary impetus to initiatives that will help boost overall employability and upskilling, and increase the country’s Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER). Moves such as relaxation on GST for online classes, tax rebates for working professionals who wish to enrol for upskilling programmes, and direct bank transfers (DBT) to help learners procure mobile phones/tablets/laptops and internet connections to subscribe to educational services, must be explored. It is imperative for the education sector to help propel India’s millions to garner better employment opportunities and become more skilled to face a future that will be driven by technology-led changes, and appropriate budgetary allocations will be critical in achieving this.

Dr. Akhil Shahani, Managing Director, Thadomal Shahani Centre for Management, Shahani Group and CEO, Ask.Careers, “IMD’s World Competitiveness ranking places India’s education sector at a dismal 59th place out of 64 countries, with only 45% of all graduates being considered employable. Obviously, we cannot expect India’s government to bridge this education-employability gap by itself. It needs greater support from the private sector along with wider deployment of technology to ensure its goal of quality education for all is met. The union budget can facilitate this by reducing the GST rate for providing educational technology & ancillary services from 18% to at least 5%. In addition, it should allow private investors to set up schools & colleges with the ability to generate profits and equity returns. It should also allow foreign educational institutions to easily set up campuses in India, to promote healthy competition with local players. Collateral requirements for school/college educational loans should be reduced, along with interest rates, by public sector banks, to allow more families to afford the fees of quality institutions. Special sops need to be given for teacher training colleges, to enable them to expand & provide higher quality talent to institutions. None of these suggestions requires additional funds from the government, just need a practical and holistic approach to opening up education regulations.”