15% rise to keep borders safe, secure

THE Centre has allocated ₹7.85 lakh crore for defence in the Union Budget, marking a 15% jump from ₹6.81 lakh crore last year, even as defence spending remains at 1.9% of the 2026 GDP.

- JAVARIA RANA @New Delhi

In a push to strengthen national security and focus on indigenous defence production, the allocation, the first since the Operation Sindoor, comes amid a three-front security challenge from Pakistan, China and Bangladesh.

In November, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh had indicated that the ministry was seeking an increase of around 20% in the 2026 Budget, along with a longer-term objective of raising defence expenditure to at least 2.5% of GDP, a level the current allocation does not meet. Nonetheless, defence continues to receive the largest allocation among all ministries in absolute terms.