Civil aviation ministry gets ₹2,357 crore budgetary allocation for 2024-25

The budgetary allocation for the civil aviation ministry has been reduced to ₹2,357.14 crore for the current fiscal ending next March, with the regional air connectivity scheme set to get ₹502 crore during the same period.

In the revised budgetary allocation for 2023-24, the amount for the ministry was at ₹2,922.12 crore.

As per documents of the Union Budget 2024-25 that was presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament on Tuesday, the ministry will get an allocation of ₹2,357.14 crore.

The money set aside for the regional air connectivity scheme has been cut to ₹502 crore from ₹850 crore in the revised budgetary allocation for 2023-24.

The amount is for the revival of 22 airports as well as the commencement of 124 RCS routes and Viability Gap Funding for North East Connectivity.

To improve connectivity in the northeast region, a new scheme has also been formulated for providing air connectivity and aviation infrastructure, as per a document.

However, the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for drone and drone components will receive a higher allocation of ₹57 crore this fiscal compared to ₹33 crore in the 2023-24 revised estimates.

For 2024-25, the allocations for the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) have been cut to ₹302.64 crore and ₹89 crore, respectively.

In the Budget, an amount of ₹57.14 crore has been allocated for the Hotel Corporation of India Ltd, which will be utilised to meet its statutory and other obligations under the ministry.

According to the documents, an amount of ₹85 crore has been allocated this fiscal for providing medical benefits to retired employees of Air India, which was sold by the government to Tata Group in 2022.

In 2023-24, the amount stood at ₹51 crore.