New Delhi: The defence budget, including outlay for payment of pensions, was increased to Rs 4.78 lakh crore for 2021-22 as against last year’s Rs 4.71 lakh crore. Excluding the pension outgo the allocation in the Union Budget for Armed Forces stands at Rs 3.62 lakh crore.
Out of total allocation, Rs 1.35 lakh crore in the Union Budget has been set aside for capital outlay to purchase new weapons, aircraft, warships and other military hardware. The Union Budget was presented in the Lok Sabha by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The capital outlay in the defence budget 2020-21 was Rs 1.13 lakh crore.
The total revenue expenditure, which includes expenses on payment of salaries and maintenance of establishments, has been pegged at Rs 3.37 lakh crore. The total revenue expenditure included Rs 1.15 lakh crore for payment of pensions.
The space segment also received a huge boost with the Department of Space being allocated Rs 13,949 crore in the Union Budget. Rupees 8,228 crore have been earmarked for capital expenditure. A total of Rs 700 crore has been allocated for the New Space India Limited (NSIL). It is a newly formed public sector undertaking under the Department of Space.
Also read: Union Budget 2021-22: Main highlights
“The New Space India Limited, a PSU under the Department of Space, will execute the PSLV-CS51 launch, carrying the Amazonia Satellite from Brazil, along with a few smaller Indian satellites,” Sitharaman said.
In the 2021-22 Budget the Department of Space has been allocated Rs 13,949.09 crore, of which Rs 8,228.63 crore has been earmarked for capital expenditure. This is nearly Rs 900 crore more than what was allocated in 2019-20 and Rs 4,449 crore more than fiscal 2020-21.
Last year, Rs 13,479.47 crore was earmarked for the DoS, but it was later revised to Rs 9,500 crore. In 2019-20, the DoS was allocated Rs 13,017.61 crore.
Sitharaman said as part of ‘Gaganyaan’, India’s manned space mission, four Indian astronauts are being trained on Generic Space Flight aspects, in Russia. “The first unmanned launch is slated for December 2021,” she said.
