The capital budget of the Indian Army should be increased to facilitate enhancing its deterrent capacity to ward off challenges from the two “hostile” neighbours, a parliamentary panel has said in an apparent reference to Pakistan and China. The committee appreciated the efforts made by the Defense Ministry towards the indigenization of military platforms and hoped that the country would see “100 percent of the contract value” go to Indian vendors in the years ahead.
Referring to the challenges before the Army, the parliamentary standing committee cited proxy wars in an apparent reference to Pakistan-backed cross-border terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. The committee was of the view that funds slated for modernization of the armed forces should always be incremental.
“The committee also desired that there be a separate allocation for committed liabilities and new schemes under the modernization/capital budget,” it said. “Our expenditure should be in proportion to the increase in defense spending of our neighbours.” Therefore, the committee recommended that the capital budget of the Army should be increased to have a deterrent capacity to ward off at least two hostile neighbours,” it said, in an indirect reference to Pakistan and China.
The committee noted that the capital outlay for the Navy for 2023–2024 was projected at Rs 52,804.75 crore. “Against this projection, the committee found that this year’s allocation is pragmatic and supportive for the Navy, as the ministry actually allocated the same amount as projected, although this projection is Rs 14,818.21 crore less than the projection it made in the years 2022–23,” it said.
The committee recommended that from next year onwards a separate statement of the net budget be provided after taking into account inflation, noting that it is a recurring and unavoidable phenomenon in all aspects of economic theory, which applies to the Navy also.
