Social sector welcomes Economic Survey; a stronger education, health and employment infrastructure needed: SOS Children’s Villages of India

New Delhi, January 29, 2018: SOS Children’s Villages of India, India’s leading not-for-profit organisation working towards providing care and protection to parentless and abandoned children for over 50 years, has welcomed the economic survey 2018-19, with regards to the social development sector.

Anuja Bansal, Secretary General, SOS Children’s Villages of India, emphasised, “We are pleased to learn that the government will be placing consolidation and mending of the social infrastructure on its priority list. We do need a stronger education, health and employment infrastructure for the country’s children, to be able to reap the benefits of the demographic dividend at hand. Addressing the well-being of women children and youth will steer us in the direction of achieving the desired GDP targets.”

“A report, recently tabled at the World Economic Forum, highlighted the rising income inequalities in India. In this backdrop, a commitment from the government to focus on social infrastructure is a welcome step. We are hopeful that the ensuing union budget will reflect the same, and will have more for the social sector to look out for,” added Bansal.

The Economic Survey, tabled by the Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Shri Arun Jaitley, in the Parliament today, emphasised that utmost priority be given to social infrastructure including education, health and social protection, to engineer an inclusive and sustainable growth for India. Around social infrastructure, employment and human development, the government said that bridging gender gaps in education, skill development, employment, earnings and reducing social inequalities prevalent in the society have been the underlying goals of the development strategy to enhance human capabilities. The survey also noted that India is poised to grow as one of the leading knowledge economies where education, skill development and health will remain priorities for the Government.