Civil aviation ministry gets Rs 2,357 cr budgetary allocation for 2024-25

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

In the revised budgetary allocation for 2023-24, the amount for the ministry was at Rs 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 Rs 2,357.14 crore.

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

The amount is for revival of 22 airports as well as 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 component will receive a higher allocation of Rs 57 crore this fiscal compared to Rs 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 Rs 302.64 crore and Rs 89 crore, respectively.

In the Budget, an amount of Rs 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 Rs 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 Rs 51 crore.