New Delhi, April 8 : In a bid to promote domestic industry, the Defence Ministry on Friday announced that 25 per cent of Domestic Capital Procurement and Acquisition Budget, which amounts to Rs 21,149.47 crore, will be earmarked for Domestic Private Industry in the Financial Year 2022-23. A statement from the Defence ministry said Rs 1,500 crore will be earmarked for procurement from Start-ups, including iDEX Start-up, from within the allocations for Domestic Capital Procurement. “These steps will foster the growth of private industry, MSMEs and start-ups in Defence ecosystem,” the Defence ministry said. Presenting the on Budget 2022-23 in the Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said 68 per cent of the capital procurement budget for Defence will be earmarked for domestic industry, to promote Aatmanirbhar Bharat and reduce dependence on imports of defence equipment. This is up from 58 per cent last fiscal, she added. The minister said an amount of Rs 84,597.89 crore was allocated specifically for Domestic defence industry in the current Financial Year. AO RJ