Will seek 2x of usual rise in military modernisation budget: Defence secretary

India’s outlay for procuring new equipment and weapon platforms for the armed forces in next financial year’s Budget is likely to increase.

- BHASWAR KUMAR

Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh said on Friday that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) will seek a 20 per cent rise in the defence modernisation component for the coming financial year, double the usual 10 per cent increase seen in previous years.

Speaking at Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry’s (Ficci’s) 98th annual general meeting and annual convention in the capital, Singh said, “We have been comfortably getting a 10 per cent increase in our modernisation or capex budget every year. Next year, we will probably be asking for something closer to the 20 per cent mark.”

Citing the ongoing geopolitical turmoil, the rearmament underway in European and Asean countries, and the situation in India’s immediate neighbourhood as reasons for seeking such an increase, Singh added, “I don’t see any difficulties in getting that kind of an allocation from the Ministry of Finance.”

Underscoring that defence expenditure has been shrinking as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) — and now stands below two per cent — the secretary said that, in his view, a 20 per cent year-on-year (Yo-Y) increase in the modernisation component of the defence Budget is required for the next few years.