New Delhi: The budgetary allocation for the elite Special Protection Group (SPG), which guards the Prime Minister and other VVIPs, has been decreased by about Rs 35 crore to Rs 351 crore for the new fiscal.
The budgetary proposals presented by Finance Minister
Pranab Mukherjee in Lok Sabha today for the executive
protection agency, which has been bringing in modern
equipment, have been pegged at Rs 351 crore for 2012-13 as
against the revised expenditure of Rs 385.95 crore during
2011-12.
The SPG was allocated Rs 279 crore initially by the
Finance Minister in 2011 which was later increased by over Rs
100 crore to Rs 385.95 crore.
The proposed increase in the allocation for the SPG is
for technological advancement, training and skill development
of the nearly 3,500-strong force, sources had said.
The Special Protection Group provides proximate security
to the prime minister, former prime ministers and their
families besides guarding Congress president Sonia Gandhi, her
son Rahul and daughter Priyanka.
The force, which was earlier known as Special Protection
Unit, has been pressing for an aircraft and other equipment to
meet its requirements for carrying out security-related
duties.
PTI
