NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the creation of the `Prarambhik Shiksha Kosh' (PSK) with the money collected from the education cess since the last fiscal. A non-lapsable fund, the PSK will be maintained by the Department of Elementary Education & Literacy in the Human Resource Development Ministry and will be used to finance elementary education and the mid-day meal scheme.

Besides approving the creation of the PSK, the Cabinet also decided that ``the elementary education sector shall be assured annual plan allocations based upon need and would be provided as far as possible budgetary resources to the full extent of the gap between the requirement and the estimated cess revenues for the year.''

The PSK would be set up on ``a proforma basis'' on the lines of the Non-Lapsable Central pool of Resources for the North-Eastern Region.

Besides the cess money, unspent balances related to elementary education in `Major Head 2552' meant for North-East States will be parked in the PSK instead of the NLCPR.

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