31. Education is the key vehicle for social transformation. Universalisation of elementary education and eradication of illiteracy are central elements of our social policy. Government also plans to implement the Consitutional provision for making primary education free and compulsory up to fifth standard and for girls up to the college level.

32. This budget provides for a nearly 50 per cent increase in the total budgetary allocation to Education, from Rs.4,716 crore in RE 1997-98 to Rs.7,047 crore in this budget. We are committed to raising the total resource allocation for Education to 6 per cent of GDP in a phased manner.

33. The allocations under the Kasturba Gandhi Shiksha Yojana and the Mahila Samiridhi Yojana will be integrated to support a unified Action Plan for accelerating female education.

34. Swami Vivekanand while exhorting the youth had said "A far greater work is the sacrifice of yourself for the benefit of your race, for the welfare of humanity." In order to harness the limitless energy of the youth, government will formulate a scheme for creation of a National Reconstruction Corps, which will mobilise youth for community-based nation building activities. The scheme will also promote self-employment of youth whereby the volunteers would simultaneously be given training in vocations and entrepreneurship development for taking up self-employment vocations. An inter-Ministerial Committee is being set up to work out the details.