Indian Defence Budget: Challenging Times

The past decade, and in particular the Twelfth Plan period, have been challenging times for the Indian defence budget. Strategic foresight demands that India’s military strength and capabilities relate to diverse challenges by way of a not unlikely two-front war, the attendant imperatives for a ‘Cold Start’ capability, non-conventional challenges from non-state actors, counter-terrorism capabilities and unavoidable internal security responsibilities. However, the funds allocated in the annual Union Budget have not been adequate to be able to keep up with the unique inflationary pressure on the defence budget. Among the factors contributing to the limited resource available are the implementation of the FRBM Act and the inability of the defence eco system to fully utilise the allocated resources. This paper addresses some of these issues.

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