The interim budget 2024-25 presented by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday set aside ₹2,02,868.70 crore to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) marking an increase of 3.48% than what was pegged in 2023-24 budget estimate.

The allocation for 2023-23 was ₹1,96,034.94 crore. The highest share has been set aside for paramilitary forces – CRPF ( ₹32809.65 crore) and BSF ( ₹25027.52 crore).

Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is India’s largest paramilitary force, which is primarily involved in internal security and VIP protection duty.

With a strength of over 300,000, CRPF is primarily posted in Jammu and Kashmir, Northeast and the left-wing extremism (LWE) areas.

Tens of thousands of CRPF personnel will be posted across the country during the general elections this year. The Border Security Force (BSF) guards the country borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh.

₹32,809.65 crore was allocated to the CRPF in comparison to ₹31,772.23 crore in 2023-24.

The revised estimate for 2023-24 was ₹31,389 crore.

₹25,027.52 crore was allocated to BSF in comparison to ₹24,771.28 in 2023-24. The revised estimate for 2023-24 was ₹25,038 crore.

The allocation to the Union Home Ministry under the interim budget for education, training, and research of police personnel was raised from ₹442.17 crore in 2023-24 to ₹887.58 crore in 2024-25, an increase of 110.72%.

With the Centre set to implement the three new criminal laws and adopt the new justice delivery process, the BPRD, police training institutes and forensic institutions will be majorly involved in preparing infrastructure and training police personnel throughout the year.

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The amount covers expenditure on the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy, Hyderabad, Central Detective Training School, National Institute of Criminology and Forensic Science, North East Police Academy, Central Academy of Police Training, Central Detective Training School, Bureau of Police Research and Development (BRRD), Central Armed Police Forces Institute of Medical Science.

The provision is also for the BPRD’s training intervention, research and development projects for better efficiency and public reach out.

The Special Protection Group (SPG) has been allocated ₹506.32 crore, a slight increase in comparison to ₹433.59 crore in 2023-24.

The SPG is the country’s elite security force that is responsible for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s security.

₹3,195.09 crore has been allocated to the Intelligence Bureau, a decrease from ₹3,418.32 crore in 2023-24. The revised estimate for 2023-24 was ₹3,268.94 crore.