Union Budget 2021 | MHA budget increases 11.4 % compared to last fiscal

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) was allocated ₹1,66,547 crore for fiscal 2021-22 as compared to ₹1,67,250 crore allotted last year, a reduction of ₹703 crore if compared to budget estimates.

However, the MHA’s budget was revised in 2020-21 and the actual budget stood at ₹1,49,387 crore. So the budget estimate announced for fiscal 2021-22 is 11.4 % more than the previous year.

A major jump in the budget for the MHA in 2020-21 was due to the parking of separate fund in its kitty for the newly created Union Territories (UTs) of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and Ladakh. UTs are administered by the MHA. A total grant of ₹30,757 crore was allocated to J&K, while Ladakh got ₹ 5,958 crore then that has remained the same this budget.

The office of the Principal Scientific Advisor, which is at the forefront of handling the COVID-19 pandemic, has seen a huge jump in budget from ₹ 56 crore spent last year against the budget estimate of ₹ 78.62 crore to ₹ 580 crore in the upcoming fiscal.

The office of the National Security Council Secretariat also saw a jump in budget, with ₹ 228 crore being allocated now against ₹ 130 crore actually spent last fiscal against the budget estimate of ₹ 170.73 crore.

The budget for the Special Protection Group (SPG) that protects only the Prime Minister now has increased marginally from ₹ 426 crore to ₹ 429 crore this fiscal. Its budget estimate for 2020-21 was ₹ 592.55 crore.

The budget for maintenance of border infrastructure has seen an increase, with ₹ 2,130 crore allocated in 2021-22 fiscal, against ₹1,495 crore revised estimate and budget estimate of ₹1,996.51 crore last year.

The budget for the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), deployed along the China border, has been enhanced to ₹6,567 crore from ₹ 6,150 crore last fiscal.