New Delhi, Feb 2 (IANS): Education Ministry's Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSEL) has been allocated Rs 73,498 crore for the 2024-25 fiscal year in the Interim Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday, a Ministry official said.

The Ministry of Education said that this Budget is the highest ever for the DoSEL.

There has been an overall increase of Rs 12,024 crore (19.56 per cent) in the Budget allocation of DoSEL in the 2024-25 fiscal year from Revised Estimates 2023-24, the official added.

The Ministry of Education added that the highest ever Budget allocation may be seen in the autonomous bodies of Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) and Navodaya Vidyalaya Sangathan (NVS) at Rs 9,302 crore and Rs 5,800 crore, respectively.

Allocation in KVS has increased by Rs 802 crore while allocation in NVS has increased by Rs 330 crore with respect to Revised Estimates 2023-24.

Budget allocation in flagship schemes have increased that are Samagra Shiksha (by Rs 4,500 cr), PM-POSHAN (by Rs 2,467 crore) and PM Schools for Rising India (PM-SHRI) by Rs 3,250 crore as compared to Revised Estimates 2023-24, the official said.

While highlighting the success of Skill India Mission, the Finance Minister informed that under the mission 1.4 crore youth have been trained, 54 lakh youth were upskilled and reskilled, and 3,000 new ITIs were established.

She also said that the recently launched PM Vishwakarma Yojana provides end-to-end support to artisans and craftsmen engaged in 18 trades.

Sitharaman added that a large number of new institutions of higher learning, namely 7 IITs, 16 IIITs, 7 IIMs, 15 AIIMS and 390 universities have been set up in the country.