New Delhi, Feb 1: Presenting her eighth consecutive Union Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a slew of initiatives for the poor and marginalised sections including the gig workers. Her blueprint for ‘Viksit Bharat’ includes a social security plan for gig workers and a major thrust on addressing the educational gaps in government-run schools.

She announced that broadband connectivity will be provided in all government secondary schools, a move that will bring the students at par with their private counterparts and also open new vistas of opportunities for them.

“50,000 Atal tinkering labs will be set up in schools to foster curiosity and scientific temper. Broadband connectivity to be provided to all government secondary schools,” she said.

“We propose to implement the Bharatiya Bhasha Pustak scheme, to help students understand subjects in their language,” she added.

The Finance Minister also spoke about the expansion capacity of higher education institutions.

“Additional infrastructure will be created in 5 IITs created after 2014 for 6,500 students,” Sitharaman announced.

She also announced a social security scheme for the gig workers.

The Finance Minister said that the gig workers of online platforms will be provided with ID cards on the e-Shram portal and will be extended healthcare benefits under the PM Jan Arogya Yojana. This is expected to help about 1 crore gig workers.

The PM SVANidhi scheme, benefiting the street vendors, will also be revamped with enhanced loans from banks and UPI-linked credit cards with Rs 30,000 limit.

Earlier, the Finance Minister reiterated the government’s thrust on meeting and realising the aspirations of the GYAN (Garib, Yuva, Annadata and Nari shakti) poor, farmers, women, and youth.

New Delhi, Feb 1: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday announced 10,000 additional seats in medical colleges as well as daycare cancer centres in all district hospitals.

Presenting her eighth consecutive budget and the NDA government’s second full Union Budget of its third term, the Finance Minister said that India has seen remarkable growth in medical education in the last 10 years.

“10,000 additional seats to be added in medical colleges next year and 75,000 seats to be added in next five years,” she said.

“All district hospitals to have daycare cancer centres. About 200 daycare cancer centres will be established in 2025-26,” the FM said.

Further, “broadband connectivity to primary health centres will help in expanding telemedicine consultation for rural patients at village level”, she added.

In the last 10 years, medical colleges in the country have doubled to 780 in 2024-25 from just 387 in 2013-14 — a 102 per cent growth.

During the same period, the seats for MBBS also rose from 51,348 to 1,18,137 — a 130 per cent surge.

In the last budget, the government made custom duty exemptions and a reduction in GST rates on three anti-cancer medications.

The three anti-cancer drugs were Trastuzumab, Osimertinib and Durvalumab.

The government also slashed the GST rate from 12 per cent to 5 per cent on these three cancer medicines.

Cancer cases are rising significantly in India. According to a Lancet study, India registered about 12 lakh new cancer cases and 9.3 lakh deaths in 2019 — the second-highest contributor to the disease burden in Asia.

The number climbed to 13.9 lakh in 2020, which further soared to 14.2 lakh and 14.6 lakh in the years 2021 and 2022, respectively, the study showed.

New Delhi, Feb 1: Ahead of presenting the Union Budget in Parliament, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met President Droupadi Murmu in the Rashtrapati Bhawan on Saturday.

The President fed her ‘dahi-cheeni’, a ritual performed by elders in Indian families to bestow good luck before undertaking important tasks.

This year’s Budget is the eight consecutive Budget for Finance Minister Sitharaman and the Modi government’s 14th straight Budget.

Earlier in the day, FM Sitharaman and her team posed for a traditional picture outside the Finance Ministry. She wore an off-white coloured handloom silk saree with fish-themed embroidery and a golden border – a tribute to Madhubani Art. She wore a red blouse with the saree and displayed the red ‘bahi-khata’ tablet with the national emblem.

In 2019, FM Sitharaman broke the long-standing tradition of a Budget briefcase with a ‘bahi khata,’ a red-coloured Indian accounting ledger. In 2021, the Finance Minister presented the Budget in a paperless format, using a ‘Made in India’ tablet.

Nirmala Sitharaman, who surpassed the record of former Prime Minister and Finance Minister Morarji Desai last year, is set to present the Union Budget for 2025-26 in Parliament on Saturday.

Finance Minister Sitharaman will deliver the Budget speech in the Lok Sabha from 11 a.m. on Saturday.

The Budget Session of Parliament which commenced on Friday, will be conducted in two phases – the first started on January 31 and will conclude on February 13, while the second phase will begin on March 10 and end on April 4.

This year’s Union Budget is expected to maintain the government’s focus on promoting economic growth while ensuring equity.

The government is expected to prioritise improving the quality of life in rural areas to ensure equitable and inclusive development.

According to the Economic Survey 2024-25, financial inclusion is a key focus, with rural households and small businesses getting easier access to credit through microfinance institutions, self-help groups and other intermediaries.