Reflecting the Modi government's priority to internal security, the Union Budget on Tuesday allocated Rs 1.85 lakh crore to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, with the majority of spending on central police organisations like the CRPF, BSF and for improving the infrastructure along the international borders.
The 2022-23 budget allocation to the MHA, helmed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, is Rs 1,85,776.55 crore, nearly Rs 20,000 crore or about 11.5 per cent more than the current fiscal when it was allocated Rs 1,66,546.94 crore.
Modernisation of police forces, intelligence gathering apparatus, women safety, cyber security and the decennial census also got priority in the budget.
The budget allocated the bulk of the MHA funds to the police - Rs 1,17,687.99 crore in comparison to Rs 1,09,266.30 crore given in 2021-22.
Among the central police organisations, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), mostly responsible for internal security duties and fighting militancy in Jammu and Kashmir, has been allocated Rs 29,324.92 in comparison to Rs 27, 307.42 crore given in 2021-22.
The Border Security Force (BSF), which guards India's border with Pakistan and Bangladesh, besides often handling internal security assignments, has been given Rs 22,718.45 crore in comparison to Rs 21,491.14 crore given in the current fiscal.
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which protects vital installations like nuclear projects, airports and metro networks, has been given Rs 1,2201.90 crore in comparison to Rs 11372.54 crore allocated in 2021-22.
The Shashastra Seema Bal (SSB), which guards India's borders with Nepal and Bhutan, has been allocated Rs 7,653.73 crore in comparison to Rs 6,940.42 crore given in 2021-22.
The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), which guards the Sino-Indian border, got Rs 7461.28 crore in comparison to Rs 6,965.02 crore given in the current fiscal.
The Assam Rifles, which is deployed along the India-Myanmar border and for anti-insurgency duties in the Northeast, has been allocated Rs 6,658.41 crore in comparison to Rs 6,046.25 crore given in the current fiscal.
The National Security Guard (NSG), the elite commando force to tackle any emergency security situation, has been allocated Rs 1,293.37 crore in comparison to Rs 1,151.16 crore given in 2021-22.
The Intelligence Bureau, a key domestic internal agency, has been given Rs 3,168.36 crore in comparison to Rs 2,793.02 given in the current fiscal.
The Special Protection Group (SPG), which protects the Prime Minister, has been allocated Rs 385.95 crore in comparison to Rs 386.50 crore given in 2021-22.
The Delhi Police, which is responsible for the security of the national capital, has been allocated Rs 10,096.29 crore in comparison to Rs 11,136.22 crore given in 2021-22.
While Rs 200 crore has been allocated for special schemes related to women security, Rs 2,744.52 crore has been given for border infrastructure and management and Rs 2,754.16 crore for modernisation of police forces.
A sum of Rs 3,659.84 crore has been allocated for improving police infrastructure.
The budget also allocated Rs 3,676 crore for the census-related work, which has been stalled for nearly two years due to the coronavirus pandemic, and Rs 565.72 crore has been allocated for the border area development programme.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
