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New Delhi (TIP)- In the highest-ever allocation for the Department of School Education and Literacy, the government has allotted more than Rs 73,000 crore for school education in the interim Budget for 2024-25 announced on Thursday. The allocation has increased to Rs 73,008.10 crore from Revised Estimates (RE) of Rs 72,473.80 crore in the previous fiscal. The government had allocated Rs 68,804.85 crore to the department last year. The budget for PM SHRI, a Ministry of Education (MoE) scheme which seeks to upgrade existing government schools to model schools, has risen from Rs 2,800 crore in 2023-24 (RE) to Rs 6,050 crore in 2024-25 — an increase of Rs 3,250 crore.
“The government is committed to empower Amrit Peedhi, the Yuva. Our prosperity depends on adequately equipping and empowering the youth. The National Education Policy 2020 is ushering in transformational reforms. PM Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) are delivering quality teaching, and nurturing holistic and well-rounded individuals,” Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said while presenting the interim Budget in the Lok Sabha. The outlay for all important schemes, such as the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, Kendriya Vidyalayas and Navodaya Vidyalayas has seen an increase this year.
According to the MoE, this is the highest-ever budget outlay for school education.
“The Budget allocation for the FY 2024-25 of Rs 73,498 crore is the highest-ever for the Department of School Education and Literacy,” the MoE said in a statement.

New Delhi (TIP)- The government on Thursday, Feb 1, announced an over seven-fold increase in allocation for the automotive industry’s production-linked incentive scheme for 2024-25 to Rs 3,500 crore, the interim budget documents showed. According to the Expenditure Budget, a sum of Rs 3,500 crore has been earmarked towards the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for automobiles and auto components in the financial year beginning March, up from a revised estimate of Rs 483.77 crore in the current fiscal. Additionally, the budget for the PLI scheme for advanced chemistry cell and battery storage has been hiked from Rs 12 crore to Rs 250 crore in 2024-25. The Ministry of Heavy Industries recently extended the tenure of the PLI scheme for automobile and auto components by one year, with incentives now applicable for five consecutive financial years starting 2023-24.
The Union Cabinet had approved the PLI-Auto scheme on September 15, 2021 with a budgetary outlay of Rs 25,938 crore for a period of 5 years (FY2022-23 to FY2026-27). The PLI-Auto scheme aims to boost manufacturing of Advanced Automotive Technology (AAT) products, help facilitate and promote deep localization for AAT products and enable creation of domestic as well as global supply chain.

New Delhi (TIP) – The government has allocated Rs 1.27 lakh crore budget for the Ministry of Agriculture for 2024-25, marginally higher than the current fiscal.
According to the budget document, the agriculture ministry has been allocated Rs 1,27,469.88 crore for 2024-25 financial year, of which the Department of Agriculture will get Rs 1,17,528.79 crore while the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) Rs 9,941.09 crore.
As per the revised estimates of the current fiscal, the department of agriculture has been allocated Rs 1,16,788.96 crore while the DARE Rs 9,876.60 crore.
The allocation for flagship PM-KISAN scheme under the department of agriculture remains unchanged for next fiscal at Rs 60,000 crore. Under this scheme, the government provides Rs 6,000 per year to farmers in three equal instalments.
According to the budget papers, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution has been allocated Rs 2.13 lakh crore for the next fiscal year, lower than the 2023-24 allocation. Under this ministry, the allocation for the department of consumer affairs has been earmarked at Rs 303.62 crore for 2024-25 from Rs 309.26 crore in the current year.
The Department of Food and Public Distribution has been earmarked Rs 2,13,019.75 crore as against Rs 2,21,924.64 crore in the current 2023-24 fiscal. This department has been tasked to provide free foodgrains to over 80 crore people through ration shops. The Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers has been allocated Rs 1.68 lakh crore for 2024-25 fiscal.
Under this ministry, the allocation for the department of fertilisers has been reduced to Rs 1,64,150.81 crore for the upcoming financial year from Rs 1,88,947.29 crore in the current fiscal. The department of chemicals and petrochemicals has been earmarked Rs 139.05 crore next fiscal as against Rs 572.63 crore in the current financial year.
However, the allocation for the department of pharmaceuticals has been enhanced to Rs 4,089.95 crore from Rs 2,697.95 crore in the current fiscal.
The Ministry of Cooperation, headed by Home Minister Amit Shah, has been allocated Rs 1,183.39 crore for 2024-25 from Rs 747.84 crore in FY24.
As per the document, the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying has been earmarked Rs 7,105.74 crore for the next fiscal.
Out of this, the department of fisheries’ allocation has been increased to Rs 2,584.50 crore in the next fiscal from Rs 1,701 crore in the current 2023-24 fiscal. The department of animal husbandry and dairying has been allocated Rs 4,521.24 crore in 2024-25 from Rs 3,913.93 crore in the current fiscal. The allocation for the Ministry of Food Processing Industries has been slightly raised to Rs 3,290 crore next fiscal from Rs 2,911.95 crore in the current fiscal.

New Delhi (TIP)- The defence budget was on Thursday, February 1, increased to Rs 6.21 lakh crore for 2024-25 in a modest hike of 4.72 per cent from last year’s allocation of Rs 5.25 lakh crore amid India’s continuing border row with China in eastern Ladakh as well as concerns over evolving security situation in the strategic waterways.
In the interim Union budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also announced plans to roll out an ambitious scheme for “deep-tech” technologies in the military domain.
A total of Rs 1.72 lakh crore was set aside to the military for capital expenditure that largely includes purchasing new weapons, aircraft, warships and other military hardware.
For 2023-24, the budgetary allocation for capital outlay was Rs 1.62 lakh crore while the revised estimates put the amount at Rs 1.57 lakh crore.
The defence ministry said, “the announcement regarding a rupees one lakh crore corpus for deep-tech for long term loan to tech-savvy youth/companies and the tax advantage to the start-ups will give further impetus to innovation in the defence sector.” The allocation for capital expenditure for 2024-25 in the defence budget is 20.33 per cent higher than the actual expenditure of 2022-23 and 9.40 per cent more than the revised estimate of 2023-24.
“In the current geopolitical scenario and with the twin objective of promoting self-reliance and exports, the defence budget has touched Rs 6,21,540 crore in the financial year 2024-25,” the defence ministry said.
“This comes out to be 13.04 per cent of the total Union budget,” it added.
The total revenue expenditure has been pegged at Rs 4,39,300 crore that included Rs 1,41,205 crore for defence pensions, Rs 2,82,772 crore for defence services and Rs 15,322 crore for the Ministry of Defence (Civil).
A total of Rs 6,500 crore has been earmarked to strengthen border infrastructure while Rs 7,651 crore was set aside for the Indian Coast Guard.
The allocation to the DRDO has been pegged at Rs 23,855 crore.
On the overall outlay, the ministry said the allocation is in line with the Long Term Integrated Perspective Plan (LTIPP) of the three services that aims to fill the critical capability gaps by implementing some big ticket acquisitions.
The enhanced budgetary allocation will facilitate in equipping the Armed Forces with state-of-the-art niche technology lethal weapons, fighter aircraft, ships, platforms, unmanned aerial vehicles and drones, it said.
It said the planned modernisation of the existing Su-30 fighter fleet along with additional procurement of aircraft, acquisition of advanced engines for existing MiG-29 jets, acquisition of transport aircraft C-295 and missile systems will be funded out of the budget.
Apart from this, to take the initiative of ‘Make in India’ further, the Light Combat Aircraft MK’“I IOC/FOC configuration will be additionally funded to ensure state-of-the-art technology in domestic production.
The Indian Navy’s major projects such as acquisition of deck-based fighter aircraft, submarines, next generation survey vessels will all materialise through this allocation, the ministry said.
Dr Laxman Kumar Behera, Associate Professor at Special Centre for National Security Studies at the Jawaharlal Nehru University described the overall allocation under the defence budget as modest which is reflective of the government’s priorities for the military.
“The allocations did not show any lack of commitment to the armed forces,” he told PTI.
Dr Behera also described as a “healthy sign” the increase of Rs 10,000 crore in the outlay under capital expenditure.
In the capital outlay for defence services, Rs 40,777 crore has been set aside for aircraft and aero engines while an amount of Rs 62,343 crore was allocated for “other equipment”.
An outlay of Rs 23,800 crore has been made for naval fleet and Rs 6,830 crore for naval dockyard projects.
The allocation on account of defence pensions is Rs 1,41,205 crore which is 2.17 per cent higher than the outlay made during 2023-24.
In the budget for 2023-24, the capital outlay for the Indian Air Force was the highest at Rs 57,137.09 crore that included Rs 15,721 crore for procurement of aircraft and aero engines and Rs 36,223.13 crore for other equipment.
The revenue expenditure for the Army has been pegged at Rs 1,92,680 crore for 2024-25 while the Navy and the Indian Air Force have been allocated Rs 32,778 crore and Rs 46,223 crore respectively.
On the allocation for infrastructure projects, the ministry said the projects such as development of Nyoma air field in Ladakh at an altitude of 13,700 feet, 4.1 km strategically important Shinku La tunnel in Himachal Pradesh, Nechiphu tunnel in Arunachal Pradesh and many other projects will be funded out of this allocation. Source: PTI

New Delhi (TIP)- Prioritising the urban public transport, the government proposed to allocate Rs 1,300 crore to procure electric buses and Rs 24,931 crore in the interim Budget to fund various metro projects in the country.
There is a 7.57 per cent increase in funds for the mass rapid transit system and metro projects in comparison to the last year’s allocation of Rs 23,175 crore. In the interim Budget presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Rs 26,170 crore has been set aside for the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) — an increase of 4.3 per cent.
The Prime Minister Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi), a micro-credit scheme that provides collateral-free working capital loans of up to Rs 50,000 to street vendors, has been allocated Rs 326 crore against Rs 468 crore in the last Union Budget.
The Smart Cities Mission received Rs 2,400 crore in the interim Budget while it had been allocated Rs 8,000 crore in the 2023-24 General Budget. The period of the mission is scheduled to end in June this year.
The Swachh Bharat Mission, another flagship programme of the Modi government, has been given Rs 5,000 crore.
The government has proposed to allocate Rs 1,300 crore to procure electric buses under the PM-eBus Sewa scheme. Under the scheme, 10,000 electric buses will be provided to 169 cities under the public-private partnership model.
Last month, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had said the government has floated tenders for procuring e-buses under the scheme. The scheme, which will continue till 2037, will have an outlay of Rs 57,613 crore, of which Rs 20,000 crore will be provided by the Centre and the rest will be borne by the states.
While presenting the interim Budget, Sitharaman said that rapid urbanisation is taking place in the country, asserting that metro rail and NaMo Bharat trains can be catalysts for the required urban transformation.
She said expansion of these systems will be supported in large cities focusing on transit-oriented development.
In October last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the country’s first Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS). It was named NaMo Bharat train. “We have a fast-expanding middle class and rapid urbanisation is taking place,” Sitharaman said.
According to the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, one crore passengers ride metro systems per day in the country.

New Delhi (TIP)- Hospitality industry cheered Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s focus on promoting island tourism in the interim budget, saying it reflects a strategic vision for the long-term growth of the travel and tourism sector, even as some players expressed disappointment over the sector not getting infrastructure status.
“Overall, a good nation-first budget. However, the hospitality industry is disappointed that infra status for the industry did not come through. A missed opportunity for an industry that can significantly grow contribution to the GDP and employment as well as the much needed foreign exchange for the country,” said Sanjay Sethi, CEO and Managing Director, Chalet Hotels Limited.
“We are optimistic about additional futuristic support from the government in granting infrastructure status to hospitality and tourism, which will help us achieve a long-awaited status. We foresee that this will have a multiplier impact and drive significant investment from the private sector,” said K B Kachru, Chairman Emeritus & Principal Advisor, Radisson Hotel Group, South Asia.
Rajesh Magow, Co-founder & Group CEO, MakeMyTrip, said the commitment to bolster domestic tourism through initiatives spanning rail and air travel, coupled with the ongoing emphasis on tourism-led destinations, particularly in the realm of island tourism and spiritual tourism, reflects a strategic vision for the long-term growth of the travel and tourism sector.
Pradeep Shetty, President, The Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India, said the enhanced focus of the government for promotion of MICE, religious tourism, iconic tourism centres and domestic tourism will lay the foundation of tourism development in the Amrit Kaal and equip the sector to achieve the ambitious target of welcoming 100 million tourists by 2047.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said projects for port connectivity, tourism infrastructure and amenities will be taken up “on our islands, including Lakshadweep” to address the “emerging fervour” for domestic tourism in the country. While presenting the interim Union Budget, she also said “our economic strength has made the country an attractive destination for business and conference tourism”. The mention of Lakshadweep by the finance minister is significant because Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited the island on January 4. He had tried snorkelling and said Lakshadweep has to be on the list of visit for those who wish to embrace the adventurer in them.
A row erupted on social media when a minister and some other leaders in the Maldives used derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Modi after he posted a video of him on a pristine beach in Lakshadweep.

New Delhi (TIP)- Moody’s Investors Service on Thursday, Feb 1, said the interim budget for 2024-25 firmly conveys the government’s commitment to its fiscal consolidation goals, set against a backdrop of healthy economic growth. Moody’s Investors Service Senior Vice President Christian de Guzman said the government demonstrated fiscal restraint in not resorting to large handouts or increasing discretionary spending ahead of this year’s elections. “The government anticipates that reduced spending as a percentage of GDP will largely drive the reduction in the fiscal deficit, despite ongoing increases in planned infrastructure spending,” Guzman said. Given the challenging global environment and the potential for climate-related shocks, emerging spending needs not currently included in the budget could restrict the government’s ability to meet its deficit target, he added.Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a Rs 11.11 lakh crore spending on infrastructure and vowed to continue reforms as she resisted resorting to populist measures in Modi government’s last Budget before general elections, instead choosing to stay on the path of cutting deficit while bolstering measures for focus groups. Fiscal deficit in next financial year is estimated at 5.1 per cent of GDP, lower than 5.8 per cent in current fiscal.
Budget focuses on making India USD 5 trn economy, developed nation: Assocham
The interim budget focuses on the government’s objective of making India a USD 5 trillion economy and a developed nation by 2047, Assocham President Ajay Singh said.
“It is an India-first budget. A confident budget of a confident government that focuses on the objective of ensuring that India becomes a 5 trillion-dollar economy by 2025 and a developed nation by 2047,” Singh told PTI in a post-budget interaction.
Speaking further, he said the government has focused on infrastructure, startups, and rail corridors in the Budget. The Finance Minister also announced a Rs 1 lakh crore fund for research and development and the startup sector which is a very significant move.
There is no question that the Budget will have a significant impact on the common man, Singh, who is also the CMD of airline company SpiecJet, said.

New Delhi (TIP)- The Parliament did a “half-hearted” job in amending the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) Act in 1981, the Supreme Court remarked on Thursday, February 1, pointing out though the amendments sought to include the Muslim voice in the administration of the institution, it fell short of conferring the “complete minority character” on AMU.
As the seven-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud reserved its judgment in the case relating to minority status of AMU, the court observed that the amendments made in 1981 changed the definition of the term “university” under the AMU Act to state that it was established by Muslims and made some other changes.
“So, it was really placating those sentiments. But when it actually came to the brass tacks, they did not go back to the position prior to 1951. And what they actually did was that it brought the Muslim voice into the AMU administration as we see it. But it still stopped short,” commented the bench, which also comprised justices Sanjiv Khanna, Surya Kant, JB Pardiwala, Dipankar Datta, Manoj Misra and Satish Chandra Sharma.
The court added that the 1981 amendments did not restore the position that existed prior to 1951. After the Constitution was enforced, the original AMU Act of 1920 was modified to remove provision for compulsory religious education; to provide for the University to be open to students of all caste, creed, sex, etc; remove the requirement of all the members of the Court (administrative body of the University) to be Muslims.
“In other words, 1981 amendment does a half-hearted job. We can understand if the 1981 amendments said, ‘Okay, we are going back to the position in 1920’, conferring a complete minority character. But they changed some definitions…Even the parliament, which had the power to do it, stopped short of taking us back to the 1920 Act. They made a few concessions, but they never took it back to 1920,” it observed.
Following wide-ranging arguments spanning eight day-long hearings, the Constitution bench on Thursday reserved its judgment in the matter. If declared a minority institution, AMU need not reserve seats for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes (OBC) and Economically Weaker Sections (EWS).
On Thursday, Feb 1, senior counsel Rajeev Dhavan, Kapil Sibal, Salman Khurshid and advocate MR Shamshad made submissions on behalf of AMU and other petitioners that have pressed for a reconsideration of the Supreme Court’s five-judge bench judgment in the Azeez Basha case in 1967.
The 1967 judgment declared that AMU was not a minority institution and could not enjoy protection for minorities to administer educational institutions under Article 30(1) of the Constitution. In 1981, Parliament passed amendments to the AMU Act to change the definition of “university” in its endeavour to grant minority status to AMU.
The Allahabad high court, however, junked these amendments in 2006, leading to AMU and the then United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government to challenge it before the Supreme Court. But in 2016, in a reversal of the previous stand, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government sought to withdraw the Centre’s appeal, maintaining that AMU is not a minority institution and that the Basha judgment was correct. The Centre also said that it does not support the 1981 amendments in the AMU Act. Source: HT

New Delhi (TIP)- The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, Feb 1, approved the signing and ratification of the Bilateral Investment Treaty between India and UAE. The government said that the treaty is expected to improve investor confidence and increase foreign investments and Overseas Direct Investment (ODI) opportunities. “The approval is expected to increase investments in India and is likely to help in realizing the goal of Atmanirbhar Bharat by encouraging domestic manufacturing, reducing import dependence, increasing exports etc, ” an official statement by the Cabinet said. The approval for the signing and ratification of the ambitious investment treaty comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s likely visit to the UAE this month.
Other announcements
In the meeting, the Union Cabinet also extended the Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF) till 2025-26.
The fund, worth Rs 15,000 crore, was approved by the government in June 2020.
According to an official statement, the Cabinet approved the “continuation of Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF) to be implemented under Infrastructure Development Fund (IDF) with an outlay of ?29,610.25 crore for another three years up to 2025-26.”
The scheme will incentivise investments for dairy processing and product diversification, meat processing and product diversification, animal feed plant, breed multiplication farm, animal waste to wealth management (Agri-waste management) and veterinary vaccine and drug production facilities, according to PTI.
Besides this, the Cabinet also extended the scheme of sugar subsidy for Antyodya Anna Yojna (AAY) families distributed through the Public Distribution Scheme (PDS) for two more years.
It also approved the determination of the marketing margin for supply of Domestic gas to Fertiliser (Urea) between May 2009 and November 2015 and the continuation of the scheme for Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies for the export of garments and made ups.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal skipped the Enforcement Directorate’s summons for the fifth time in connection with the money-laundering probe related to irregularities in the Delhi excise policy case. The fresh summons to the Delhi CM followed the fourth summons, which he had skipped on January 18.
While skipping the fifth summons, the party called it “unlawful”.
“Delhi CM and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal will not appear before the ED today as well. We will comply with the lawful summons. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s aim is to arrest Arvind Kejriwal and topple the Delhi government. We will not allow this to happen,” the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said.
Kejriwal earlier has skipped four previous summonses issued by the ED on January 18, January 3, November 2, and December 22, calling them “illegal and politically motivated”.
The ED wants to record Kejriwal’s statement in the case on issues like the formulation of policy, meetings held before it was finalised, and allegations of bribery.
While skipping the fourth summons issued by the ED, Kejriwal had termed it “illegal,” saying he was ready to cooperate, but the agency intended to arrest him and stop him from campaigning.
Source: ANI