Conducting the nationwide Census exercise, fast tracking police modernisation, giving the air wing of the Border Security Force (BSF) more funds to upgrade its fleet and helping the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh secretariats fast pace development in the twin Union territories are matters expected to be high on the agenda of the Union Budget 2022 when it sets aside funds for the Union home ministry.
The Union Budget allocates funds to the Census, Survey and Statistics and Registrar General of India which includes provisions for the office of the RGI and Census Commissioner as well as various schemes of RGI including NPR and expenditure on Census. The upcoming Union Budget is expected to shed light on how the government proposes to move ahead with its plan this fiscal year.
In 2021, the Union Budget had set aside Rs 3,768.28 crore for the Census but the Covid-19 pandemic had delayed the move once again. The unutilised funds are expected to be part of the home ministry's revised allocation this fiscal year.
The MHA is keen that the census enumeration is conducted soon and the National Population Register (NPR) can be updated alongside to help the welfare schemes to reach the poor. Although several states have been opposing clubbing the census enumeration exercise with the NPR, the government is of the view that updating the NPR is key to various welfare schemes of both the Central and state governments.
Meanwhile, as cross border tensions continue on the eastern border, with China showing military aggression, the focus is also expected to be on budgetary allocations for ITBP which is likely to see an increase as well as the BSF which guards the western border. The BSF also has its own air wing which is in need of constant upgrade to cater to the requirements of the central paramilitary forces involved in counter insurgency operations across the country as well as election duties and assisting states in law-and-order duties.
The MHA is also laying special emphasis on training and capacity building of state police forces which means that the Union Budget is expected to set aside substantial funds for its police modernisation programme. The home ministry has been of the view that instead of using central forces to control law and order problems, the state police forces require better equipment, training and manpower. For police forces of UTs like Delhi police, the budgetary allocation saw an increase last year at a time when farmers protests and anti-Citizenship Act demonstrations leading up to communal riots had kept the police on its toes and spelt the need for use of high-end technology for actionable intelligence and quick deployments.
At the central level, the setting up of a National Intelligence Grid, has been a pet project of the MHA for successive governments. This year, the project is likely to see some more allocation as the MHA is keen to set it rolling to combat terrorism and the latest threats from IED blasts in urban centres. One of the biggest beneficiaries of the Union Budget in the MHA is likely to be the cybercrime and coordination centre, national emergency response system as well as the cyber-crime prevention against women and children as the pandemic has led to an exponential rise in crime crimes in the country, including financial frauds and abuse of social media by inimical elements to stir trouble.
Lastly, the financial flow to the twin UTs of J-K and Ladakh is expected to continue as developmental activities continue to be monitored at the highest level in the ministry to plug the gap in resources.
