India has announced its fiscal 2012 budget, which takes effect April 1. The budget for the Ministry of Science and Technology would increase 9.1% to INR 7,857.61 crore ($1.6 billion). Within the Ministry, the largest increase would be for the Department of Science and Technology’s budget, which is set to jump 10.3% to INR 2,873.2 crore. However, budgets for the Department’s Science and Engineering Research Council, and the National Mission on Nano Science and Nano Technology would decline 23.1% and 5.1% to INR 316.5 crore and INR 85.0 crore, respectively. The Department of Biotechnology’s budget would receive a 9.0% boost to INR 1500.4 crore. The Department of Scientific and Industrial Research’s budget would increase 8.3% to INR 3,484.0 crore. The budget for the Department’s Council of Scientific and Industrial Research would get a boost of 6.6% to INR 3,360 crore, despite a 3.1% cut for the National Laboratories Scheme to INR 2,146.0 crore. Within the Department of Agricultural Research and Education, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research’s budget would receive a 32.7% increase to INR 102.8 crore. Within the Department of Pharmaceuticals, the budget for the National Institute of Pharmaceuticals Education and Research would soar 69.5% to INR 102.6 crore.

Source: India Ministry of Finance