The govt hiked defence budget by 7.81 per cent over last year's Rs 2.74 lakh crore.
The capital outlay to cover the modernisation programmes have got a hike of 10.05 per cent.
The defence budget for this year, which is 1.79 per cent of the GDP, has come under criticism from former Army generals and military experts who say it is not adequate in view of the present security environment.
Top Pentagon leaders have warned US lawmakers against including their "pet projects" in the annual defence budget, particularly at a time when it is struggling to save money in view of the tough economic environment.
The hike in the budget is the lowest increment in recent years apparently due to the heavy disruption caused to its economy by the COVID-19, according to the official media.
'We won not (only) because we were able to carry out long-range precision strikes.' 'That is, of course, one of the reasons but we had better situational awareness about what's happening than Pakistan.'
Presenting the Budget for 2019-20 in the Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal also said Rs 35,000 crore has been given under the One Rank One Pension scheme in the last three years.
Last year, the country's defence budget was $175 billion.
Under Mission Sudarshan Chakra, the country's national security shield is to be expanded by 2035 to ensure comprehensive protection of both strategic and civilian critical infrastructure.
The Lok Sabha's monsoon session concluded on Thursday, marked by relentless opposition protests over critical issues like the NEET paper leak and police action on students, yet saw the passage of several key bills without extensive debate. Home Minister Amit Shah expressed readiness to debate the student protest issue, urging the speaker to allocate time.
The conflict may disrupt Budget 2026-2027 projections, squeezing revenues and raising subsidies, prompting fiscal adjustments and potential reforms, echoing lessons from the Covid-era shock, points out A K Bhattacharya.
India's defence expenditure surged to $92.1 billion in 2025, making it the world's fifth-largest military spender, according to SIPRI data. This 8.9 per cent year-on-year rise was primarily driven by operational and procurement needs following heightened regional tensions with Pakistan in May 2025.
A hike in China's defence budget has got defence experts and analysts debating the country's rising military power and clout.
The defence budget was increased to Rs 3.37 lakh crore for 2020-21 against last year's Rs 3.18 lakh crore.
The defence budget was increased to Rs 5.94 lakh crore for 2023-24, up from last year's allocation of Rs 5.25 lakh crore.
Pakistan's cash-strapped new government announced a hefty 15 per cent hike in its defence budget to Rs 627 billion, with the powerful army getting the lion's share of the outlay.
'While China has been hiking its defence spending, India has done precious little in implementing the Manmohan Singh government's decision of raising a 90,000-strong China-centric Mountain Strike Corps,' says Rajeev Sharma.
China on Wednesday announced a 12.2 per cent increase in its defence budget taking the military spending for this year to $132 billion, far above India's $36 billion.
Even as the benchmark and broader indices were down sharply on Monday due to escalating tensions in West Asia, the Nifty Defence index ended the session in the green.
Making a policy statement in parliament, Gilani said, "As a measure of our tangible display to seek peace with our neighbours, we have decided to freeze, actually reduce, the defence budget when seen in the context of inflation and the rupee-dollar parity." Without naming India, he added: "We hope to see a reciprocal gesture from our neighbour for the sake of peace and prosperity of the region."
Even as Chinese troops continue squatting on territory that we claim as our own -- this was the lowest allocation for defence in percentage terms since the 1950s, reveals Ajai Shukla.
History may remember Takaichi Sanae not as the leader who simply accelerated Japanese rearmament, but as one who governed during Japan's transition from an industrial-age security model to a post-industrial strategic member of the global order, points out Varun Arya.
A lesson for India is to clearly define objectives beforehand, so that the adversary or other parties do not attempt to mitigate them midway.
'At 1.58% of GDP, the defence budget is one of the lowest since the Chinese aggression of 1962.' 'The government of the day has lost sight of the fact that defence of the country is as important as its growth,' says Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
Among the handful of countries with large defence budgets and armed forces, India is matched only by Saudi Arabia in the level of its import dependence. For revenge to be served cold, go beyond import bans and correct these long-term failures -- if we're up to it, notes T N Ninan.
The fiscal tilt towards capex benefits companies in investment-related sectors like capital goods, defence equipment, engineering & construction and metal & mining. The planned cut in revenue expenditure will weigh on companies in consumption sectors like FMCG, consumer durables and retail.
'The BJP has all the instruments with them and they do have a sense of purpose, so I don't think there will be a challenge.'
How does the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation's budget compare with the budget of other Indian cities?
That would result in the military under-spending about Rs 80,000 crore over the financial year.
Lachit Borphukan is revered as one of Assam's greatest military commanders and a symbol of courage, patriotism and selfless leadership.
The hike in the defence spending was announced as the Chinese legislature, the National People's Congress opened its annual session, which this year also marks the once-in-a-decade power transfer.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's biggest challenge will be to find a new growth driver, particularly against the backdrop of a global economy ravaged by heightened uncertainty and fragmentation, financial markets on a precipice, and global commodity prices on a continued uptrend.
As many as 17 cancer drugs, along with medicines and food for special medical needs for seven rare diseases, components for microwave ovens are some of the items that are set to become cheaper with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announcing cuts in customs duty in the Union Budget 2026-27.
Around 24 paise will come from borrowings and other liabilities, 10 paise from non-tax revenue like disinvestment, and 2 paise from non-debt capital receipts, the Budget documents showed.
The remarkable rise of smallcaps reflects the emergence of a broad set of specialised businesses operating in industries where the sectoral tailwinds remain considerably stronger than macroeconomic headwinds, points out Debashis Basu.
Defence ministry officials concede that many plans across the three armed forces will witness a definite setback because of this austerity measure, reports R S Chauhan
A report indicates that mid-tier banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) entities in India are highly exposed to cyberattacks due to aggressive digitisation coupled with insufficient cybersecurity investments.
The idea of back-loading the target of fiscal consolidation is perhaps guided by the government's desire to be prepared for any adverse developments in the coming year, points out A K Bhattacharya.
The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has recently approved procurement proposals worth Rs 79,000 crore across three services and it has cleared AoN (Acceptance of Necessity) of Rs 3.3 trillion in financial year 2026 (FY26).
India fully utilised its military modernisation budget in 2024-2025 -- the first time in five years -- and signed a record Rs 2 trillion defence contracts.
