Budget 2021: Dept of Space allocated Rs 13,949 Cr, almost Rs 4,500 Cr higher than last fiscal

After a steep cut last year, the Department of Space (DoS) has been allocated Rs 13,949 crore in the Union Budget, of which Rs 8,228 crore is earmarked for capital expenditure.

New Space India Limited, a newly formed public sector undertaking (PSU) under DoS, has been allocated Rs 700 crore.

"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," Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her Budget speech.

The total allocation of Rs 13,949.09 crore to DoS in the Budget for fiscal 2021-22 is nearly Rs 900 crore higher than in 2019-20 and Rs 4,449 crore more than in 2020-21.

Last year, Rs 13,479.47 crore was earmarked for DoS, but this was later revised to Rs 9,500 crore. In 2019-20, the department was allocated Rs 13,017.61 crore.

Sitharaman said that 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.

The launch was scheduled for December 2020, but had to be postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In another development, the government on Monday proposed tax exemption for aircraft-leasing companies.

Sitharaman proposed tax exemption for aircraft-leasing companies and also for notified affordable housing for migrant workers.

She said the Rs 1.5 lakh deduction on payment of interest for affordable housing has been extended by a year.

Stating that there were record goods and services tax (GST) collections in the last few months, the finance minister said the government will take every possible measure to reduce anomalies, including the inverted duty structures in GST.

She also announced a proposal to review more than 400 old exemptions in indirect taxes, for which the government will begin extensive consultation from October.