Armed forces demanded Rs 1.60 trn, but granted only Rs 834.34 bn in budget

The government allocated Rs 767.6 billion less to the Army, Navy and Air Force in the defence budget than what they had sought to purchase new weapons, aircraft, warships and other military hardware.

The three forces had demanded Rs 1.60 trillion as capital outlay but were granted Rs 834.3 billion for the year 2018-19, according to the details placed before the Lok Sabha today by Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre.

In the revenue outlay, which covers payment of salary, maintenance of establishments and other related expenditure, the allocation was Rs 353.71 billion less than what was demanded.

Overall the three forces were given Rs 1.21 trillion less than what they had demanded.

The three forces were known to be unhappy over inadequate allocation of resources, particularly for buying new weapons and platforms when the challenges on the borders with China and Pakistan were growing.

Reflecting the Army's anguish, Vice Chief of Army Lt Gen Sarath Chand has told a Parliamentary panel that the funds given to the force for the next fiscal were insufficient to deal with various security challenges.

He said the Army was struggling to make emergency procurements when China and Pakistan were modernizing their defence forces in "full swing".

According to the details provided by Bhamre in the Lok Sabha while replying to a question, the Army was given Rs 177.5 billion less in the capital outlay and Rs 247.5 billion less under the revenue head than what was sought by it.

Similarly, the Navy's demand for capital outlay was Rs 379.32 billion, but it was given Rs 208.48 billion which was Rs 170.84 billion less than its demand.

Under capital outlay, the Indian Air Force was given Rs 419.24 billion less than what was demanded by the force.

The minister said that if required, the schemes will be reprioritised to ensure that urgent and critical capabilities of the three forces are acquired.

An outlay of Rs 2.95 trillion was set aside for the defence budget for the next fiscal.

The allocation, which was 1.58 per cent of the GDP, was the lowest since 1962 when India and China fought a war.

Chand had said the inadequate allocation of funds will hit the Army's modernisation plan when the Chinese military was competing to reach the level of the US.

He had said 68 per cent of the Army's equipment is in the "vintage category", and the fund crunch will also impact the serviceability of the existing equipment and may even affect payment of installments for past purchases.