Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. (PTI)
The meagre jump in defence Budget, which continued the trend of the past few years, has driven home a point for the Defence Ministry — it will have to resort to alternative means to generate funds for military modernisation.
“Let us note two facts. First, 57 per cent of the allocation for the ministry (of defence) goes towards salaries and pensions — defence pensions alone are 4.4 per cent of total CGE (central government expenditure). And second, one-third of the central government's capital expenditure goes towards ministry's capital expenditure. This is the double-bind to which there is no easy answer,” a top ministry official told The Indian Express.
Senior military officials say modernisation of the forces has taken a backseat because of shortage of funds. This issue has been repeatedly highlighted by the parliamentary standing committee on defence in its reports but an economic slowdown has meant that enough funds are not available for existing contracts and no major new contracts for military equipment have been inked.
“The ideal military equipment profile is…
