New Delhi: In the Interim Union Budget 2024, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has allocated Rs 6.1 lakh crore to the Defence Ministry while Railways got Rs 2.55 crore. The lowest allocation of Rs 1.27 lakh is for the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.
Here are allocations for specific ministries
• Defence Ministry: Rs 6.1 lakh crore
• Ministry of Road Transport and Highways: Rs 2.78 lakh crore
• Ministry of Railways: Rs 2.55 lakh crore
• Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution: Rs 2.13 lakh crore
• Ministry of Home Affairs: Rs 2.03 lakh crore
• Ministry of Rural Development: Rs 1.77 lakh crore
• Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers: Rs 1.68 lakh crore
• Ministry of Communications: Rs 1.37 lakh crore
• Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare: 1.27 lakh crore
The Finance Minister said a new scheme will be launched to strengthen deep tech for the defence sector. She promised economic reforms to drive growth in a speech on the Narendra Modi Government’s budget, the last before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections due by May. The Interim Budget for 2024-25 is being seen as an economic manifesto for the Bharatiya Janata Party and will give clues to the market on its plans for fiscal consolidation, borrowings and future taxation policy.
India’s capital spending for 2024-25 has been raised 11 per cent to ₹11.11 lakh crore, or 3.4 percent of GDP, Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday. She said the tripling of capex in the last four years has resulted in a multiplier effect on economic growth and employment generation.
The Minister said the Indian air carriers have placed orders for 1,000 new aircraft. Sitharaman also said a new scheme will be launched to strengthen deep tech for the defence sector. She said the government will promote public and private investment in post-harvesting agriculture activities.
