New Delhi: The Union Budget 2024-25 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Parliament on Tuesday marked a huge increase in the allocation of funds for India’s internal security.
The estimated funds allocated to the Ministry of Home Affairs has increased to Rs 2,19,643.31 crore from the previous allocation of Rs 196034.94 crore made in 2023-24.
Funds allocation for Intelligence Bureau (IB) has been increased from Rs 3418.32 crore to Rs 3823.83. However, funds allocated to Delhi Police have decreased from Rs 11662.03 crore in 2023-24 to 11180.33 crore in 2024-25.
Funds allocation under the Border Area Development Programme has also witnessed a decrease from Rs 600.00 crore in 2023-24 from Rs 335.00 crore in 2024-25.
The Centre has also decided to focus on supporting displaced communities through rehabilitation and relief efforts for migrants and repatriates, including the rehabilitation of refugees from Sri Lanka, settlements from Tibet, and former West and East Pakistan.
The funds under the central sector project of relief and rehabilitation for migrants and repatriates category also witnessed a marginal increase. For the year 2024-25, the budget for Relief and Rehabilitation for migrants and repatriates has been increased to Rs 539.72 crore from Rs 301.61 crore allocated for 2023-24.
This increased funding will support several key initiatives, including the rehabilitation of refugees from Sri Lanka, the management of refugee settlements from Tibet and former West and East Pakistan, and relief efforts for North-eastern states such as Tripura, Assam, Mizoram, and Manipur.
Following the overhaul of Indian judicial system with the introduction of three new laws including Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, the Budget presented by Sitharaman has also witnessed a 300 per cent increase in funds for education, training, and research. The funding has seen a massive three-fold increase, from Rs 442.17 crore in 2023-24 to Rs 1,348.35 crore in 2024-25.
The central assistance to Union Territories in J&K has increased by 30 per cent. For the year 2024-25, the government allocated Rs 40,619.30 crore for J&K, up from Rs 33,923.00 crore in 2023-24.
The Budget allocation for the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) has also witnessed an increase. The allocation for the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has jumped from Rs 13,214.68 crore in 2023-24 to Rs 14,331.89 crore in 2024-25, a rise of nearly Rs 900 crore.
It is worth mentioning that CISF has recently been assigned with Parliament security after responsibilities were shifted from the CRPF and Delhi Police due to last year’s security breach.
Additionally, funding for the BSF Air Wing, including aircraft, river boats, and heli bases, has increased from Rs 78 crore to Rs 164 crore.
However, for Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) has increased from Rs 8096.89 in 2023-24 to Rs 8634.21 crore, Border Security Force (BSF) from Rs 24771.28 crore in 2023-24 to Rs 25472.44 in 2024-25.
