India to invest more in job training for youth, cut spending on schools

India will invest more in job training for the youth, while cutting spending on schools to make them more performing in producing skilled labor force, according to a new budget announced by the government on Saturday.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley set aside 15 billion rupees (242 million U.S. dollars) for helping rural youth develop job skills.

"Disbursement will be through a digital voucher directly into qualified student's bank account," he said.

The government will also launch a national skills mission to increase employability of the youth in line with the government policy to attract business.

Meanwhile, the new budget slashed funds for education sector by 16.5 percent, while the government announced new plans to boost learning, including upgrading 80,000 senior secondary schools and 75,000 junior secondary schools.

The plans also intend to ensure that a senior secondary school is within a 5-km reach of each child, according to the budget.

India has one of the highest school dropout rates in the world with poor quality of primary education, according to non- government organization reports.

The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship said only 1.5 percent of India's work force have an education of up to senior secondary school, compared with 53 percent of China. Endi