During her budget speech, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted India's significant progress in female enrollment in STEM courses, reaching 43%, one of the highest rates globally. She announced the establishment of a one lakh crore rupee corpus to encourage research and innovation in emerging sectors through interest-free loans. Poshak Agrawal, co-founder of Athena Education, praised the budget's focus on integrating new-age technologies for economic growth and promoting entrepreneurship. He particularly commended the increase in female enrollmentin higher education and STEM courses, which he sees as promoting gender inclusivity and creating opportunities in traditionally male-dominated fields. Agrawal highlighted the significance of the budget's emphasis on female enrollment in higher education and STEM courses, which not only promotes gender inclusivity but also opens doors for women in historically male-dominated industries. He lauded the budget's support for research and entrepreneurship, believing it will empower youth to contribute to India's self-reliance and competitiveness.

Source-PTI