The Union Budget 2025-26 on Saturday allocated Rs 2,33,210.68 crore to the Ministry of Home Affairs with the majority of the fund -- Rs 1,60,391.06 crore -- being given to central police forces like Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF) and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) which are responsible for internal security, border guarding and security of vital installations.
The Union Budget 2024-25 had allocated Rs 2,19,643.31 crore to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), helmed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has allocated Rs 41,000.07 crore to Jammu and Kashmir, which became a union territory after the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019.
In the Budget, Rs 6,212.06 crore has been given to Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Rs 6,187.48 crore to Chandigarh, Rs 2,780 crore to Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Rs 4,692.15 crore to Ladakh, Rs 1,586.16 crore to Lakshadweep and Rs 3,432.20 crore to Puducherry.
The Budget also allocated a meagre Rs 574.80 crore (Rs 572 crore in 2024-25) towards work related to the census, giving a clear indication that the decadal exercise will be further delayed. The census was supposed to be carried out in 2020-21 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Among the paramilitary forces, the CRPF got Rs 35,147.17 crore, up from a revised estimate of Rs 34,328.61 crore in 2024-25, the BSF got Rs 28,231.27 crore (Rs 27,895.73 crore in 2024-25), the CISF was allotted Rs 16,084.83 crore (Rs 15,272.22 crore in 2024-25), the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) got Rs 10,370 crore (Rs 9,861.14 crore in 2024-25), the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) was given Rs 10,237.28 crore (Rs 9,834.59 crore in 2024-25) and the Assam Rifles was allotted Rs 8,274.29 crore (Rs 7,855.23 crore in 2024-25).
The CRPF is mostly deployed for internal security duties, operations against terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir, Naxals in central and eastern India and insurgents in the northeast.
The BSF guards India's borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh and it is also deployed for internal security duties.
The CISF guards vital installations like nuclear plants, airports and metro networks.
The ITBP guards the India-China border, the SSB guards the India-Nepal and India-Bhutan borders while the Assam Rifles protect India's border with Myanmar.
The Intelligence Bureau (IB) has been allocated Rs 3,893.35 crore (Rs 3,966.21 crore in 2024-25), the Delhi Police got Rs 11,931.66 crore (Rs 11,467.62 crore in 2024-25) and the Special Protection Group got Rs 489.00 crore (Rs 510.97 crore in 2024-25).
The IB is India's internal intelligence agency, the Delhi Police guards the national capital and the SPG provides security to the prime minister.
The Jammu and Kashmir Police, which now comes under the direct control of the central government, has been allocated Rs 9,325.73 crore (Rs 8,665.94 in 2024-25).
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) was allocated Rs 1,922.59 crore (Rs 1,838.38 crore in 2024-25) and the Modernisation of Police Forces was allocated Rs 4,069.24 crore (Rs 2,623.74 crore in 2024-25).
Meanwhile, Rs 5,597.25 crore has been allocated to the Border Infrastructure and Management, Rs 4,379.20 crore has been given for developing police infrastructure, Rs 960.12 crore for schemes related to women's safety, Rs 12,491.17 crore for various central sector projects and schemes sponsored by the home ministry, Rs 4,876.34 crore for security-related expenditure and Rs 1,056.40 crore for the Vibrant Villages Programme.
The Budget allotted Rs 1,024.30 crore to the Cabinet, under which the expenditure on the council of ministers, cabinet secretariat, Prime Minister's Office, hospitality and entertainment of the government comes, while Rs 2,721.20 crore has been given for various social service activities, including relief on account of natural calamities.
The Safe City Project has been allotted Rs 215.34 crore, grants-in-aid to state governments Rs 3,494.39 crore, grants-in-aid to union territory governments Rs 1,515.02 crore and capital outlay on the northeastern area is Rs 810.00 crore.
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