Budget 2025: Who gets what? A look at ministry-wise fund allocations

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) saw its allocations remain unchanged in first full budget of Modi 3.0 with an allocation of Rs 2.72 lakh crore for 2025-26, which is largely unchanged from the previous year. 

The Centre has set aside Rs 6,81,210 crore for defence expenditure in 2025-26, marking a 9.53 per cent increase from the Rs 6.22 lakh crore allocated in the current fiscal, amid the military’s push to procure new weapon systems in response to security challenges from China and Pakistan.  

The government has approved a budget allocation of Rs 2.52 lakh crore for the Railways for 2025-26, nearly the same amount as allocated for 2024-25. 

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) was allocated a total of Rs 20,516 crore as against the current fiscal's budget estimate of Rs 22,154 crore and revised estimate of Rs 25,277 crore.

The Ministry of Education has been allocated over Rs 1.28 lakh crore, up from the revised estimate of Rs 1.14 lakh crore for 2024-25.  

FM Nimala Sitharaman allocated Rs 99,858.56 crore for the healthcare sector, reflecting a 9.78 per cent increase from Rs 90,958.63 crore in FY24.  

The Ministry of Rural Development has been allocated Rs 1.88 lakh crore, reflecting a 5.75 per cent increase from the previous budget.  

The budget for the tourism ministry has nearly tripled, rising by 199 per cent from Rs 850 crore to Rs 2,541 crore, indicating a push for tourism development, infrastructure enhancement, and global promotion of India as a travel destination.  

The budget for this ministry has seen a significant increase of 972 per cent, rising from Rs 1,078 crore in 2024-25 to Rs 11,561 crore in 2025-26.

The government has allocated Rs 100 crore for the National Geospatial Mission in the Union Budget, focusing on developing foundational geospatial infrastructure and data. Space and UAV startups in the sector are set to benefit from this initiative.

 The national capital has been allocated Rs 1,348 crore in the Union Budget 2025-26, an increase of Rs 100 crore from Rs 1,248.01 crore in the current fiscal.

A total of Rs 3,350 crore has been allocated for the Ministry of Minority Affairs in the Union Budget this year, which is about Rs 166 crore more than the budgetary estimate of the previous financial year and Rs 1,481 crore more than the revised estimate of 2024-25.

To enhance urban infrastructure, the Centre on Saturday increased the allocation for the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry by approximately 18 per cent, setting aside Rs 96,777 crore in the Union Budget 2025-26.