The Ministry of Science and Technology has been allocated Rs 14,793.66 crore in the budget 2021-22, a 20 per cent increase from the current fiscal. Separately, the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) has been allocated Rs 1,897.13 crore. The Ministry of S&T has three departments — Department of Science and Technology (DST), Department of Biotechnology and Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR). All these departments played a key role in combating the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. In the budget 2021-22, the DST has been earmarked Rs 6,067.39 crore, while the DBT has been given Rs 3,502.37 crore, and the DSIR Rs 5,224.27 crore.
In 2020-21, the Ministry of S&T was allocated Rs 14,473.66 crore but it was eventually revised to Rs 11,551.86 crore. The allocation of the previous fiscal was Rs 12,637.43 crore.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget speech said a ‘Deep Ocean Mission’ will also be launched.
“Our oceans are a storehouse of living and non-living resources. To better understand this realm, we will launch a Deep Ocean Mission with a budget outlay of more than Rs 4,000 crore over five years. This mission will cover deep ocean survey exploration and projects for the conservation of deep-sea biodiversity,” she said.