New Delhi, Feb 28 (IANS) The central home ministry responsible for internal security of the country Monday received Rs.55,469 crore in the union budget, a hike of nearly 17 percent compared to last year.
In the last budget, the home ministry was allocated Rs.47,520 crore.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in his budget presented in parliament also proposed a new housing scheme for central paramilitary forces with an allocation of Rs.2,174 crore. The scheme is to be initiated soon, Mukherjee said.
He also proposed Rs.384 crore for the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network System (CCTNS) project. This project had last year received Rs.135.00 crore.
The plan allocation under National Population Register Scheme has increased from Rs.1,668.37 crore in 2010-11, to Rs.3,038.63 crore this year.
The finance minister also proposed a Rs.909.92 crore for the Intelligence Bureau — internal intelligence wing.
India’s premier terror probe body, the National Investigation Agency (NIA), also got over Rs.55.68 crore to meet its expenses. The funding is Rs.16.33 crore more than last year.
The NIA was established under the administrative control of the ministry of home affairs with an exclusive mandate to probe terror incidents in the country.
Mukherjee also proposed to earmark Rs.125 crore for Immigration, Visa and Foreigners Registration and Tracking (IVFRT) — that is looked after by the home ministry.
The project is aimed to develop a secure and integrated service delivery framework that facilitates legitimate travellers without compromising on national security.
The other allocations for the home ministry include:
– Rs.39.75 crore for the National Intelligence Grid.
– Rs.109.74 crore for criminal investigation and vigilance which is more than double of Rs.51.16 crore than last year.
– Rs.967.69 crore for improving coastal security, border work and for creating new border outposts.
– Rs.140 crore for special infrastructure in Maoist-affected states.
Home Minister P. Chidambaram complimented the finance minister ‘for a balanced budget’.
‘The finance minister has focused on high growth; on investing in, incentivising and increasing agricultural production in order to moderate inflation; and on fiscal consolidation,’ Chidambaram said.
He said Mukherjee has used the projected increase in revenues for augmenting investment and for larger outlays on education, health and security. ‘We are very happy and I compliment him on presenting a budget that will promote inclusive growth.’
