MHA sees 10.58% rise in budget allocation

The allocation for the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) increased by 10.58% for 2019-20 fiscal with the expenditure for paramilitary forces showing an increase in the interim budget presented on Friday.

The MHA will get 1.18 lakh crore in the next fiscal compared to Rs 1.07 lakh crore allocated in the last budget. If one compares the latest allocation to the revised budget estimates, the increase is only 5.12% as the MHA had spent Rs 1.13 lakh crore this fiscal.

In 2017-18, the allocation of Rs 97,187.17 crore and In 2016-17, it was Rs 77,383.92 crore.

The large portion of the allocation, as usual, in the interim budget is going to the paramilitary, border security and intelligence agencies among others with Finance Minister Piyush Goyal allocating Rs 98,202.23 crore as against last February's allocation of Rs 87,886.50 crore and revised estimates of Rs 92,498.12 lakh.

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There was also an increase in the funds for modernisation of police forces and spending on security-related expenses and infrastructure development in Naxal-affected states as well as for border infrastructure and management, the budget document showed.

To tackle cybercrime, Rs 100 crore has been allocated for the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre. Already this fiscal, Rs six crore has been spent.

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), which leads the anti-Naxal operations and anti-militant operations in Jammu and Kashmir, and the Border Security Force (BSF), which guards the sensitive Indo-Pak and Indo-Bangla borders, have been allocated the highest owing to their operational expanse.

The CRPF has been allocated the highest of Rs 23,742.04 crore from last Rs 20,268.03 crore while BSF's rose from Rs 17,118.64 crore to Rs 19,647.59 crore.

The Intelligence Bureau's allocation has risen to Rs 2,198.35 crore from Rs 1876.44 crore while Special Protection Group, which guards Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Prime Ministers, Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul will get Rs 530.75 crore, up from Rs 385 crore.

The allocation to MHA also includes funds for union territories, including Delhi and Puducherry as well as expenditure on the Cabinet.