'Our problem is not a budget deficit but a trust deficit. We need to trust our institutions and industries to innovate and lead. That is the way forward for India.'
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.
The defence budget was increased to Rs 3.37 lakh crore for 2020-21 against last year's Rs 3.18 lakh crore.
A hike in China's defence budget has got defence experts and analysts debating the country's rising military power and clout.
Only experienced investors with a high risk appetite, a grasp of market cycles, and comfort with volatility and timing risk should invest.
Lots to look forward to in Indian sports as packed 2026 calender awaits
'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.
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.
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.
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."
'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).
That would result in the military under-spending about Rs 80,000 crore over the financial year.
Creating a powerful new chief of defence forces has split the Pakistan military into four competing factions, points out Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
Israel's government has approved a proposal to bring all the remaining 5,800 Jews from India's north-east, commonly referred to as Bnei Menashe, over the next five years.
The ministries of Road Transport & Highways and Railways have exceeded the national average capital expenditure (capex) by spending 63 per cent and 57 per cent of Budget estimates (BE), respectively, in the first half of 2025-26 (FY26). The total capital expenditure for April-September of FY26 stood at 52 per cent of the BE, according to the latest data by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA).
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.
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
After lagging behind the broader market over the past three and six months, defence sector stocks have regained ground, reversing their performance from the past month. Concerns about slowing order inflows, execution hurdles, supply chain disruptions, and high valuations had weighed on the sector.
Defence stocks have been on a tear, with the Nifty India Defence index hitting all-time highs. Over the past week, the index jumped around 7 per cent, far outpacing the flat performance of the Nifty 50. Over the past month, its 12 per cent gain has trebled the benchmark's return.
China showcased its latest military hardware, including hypersonic and ballistic missiles, during a parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of its victory against Japanese aggression in World War II. President Xi Jinping called for world peace and national rejuvenation.
'Our vision is to innovate as many products as we can and solve as many problems as possible.'
After Operation Sindoor, the Army and Navy now view the IAF as not a supporting arm, but the spearhead of India's warfighting capability, capable of decisive outcomes across domains, explains Air Commodore Nitin Sathe (retd).
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh emphasizes the need for India to remain prepared for uncertainty, even during peacetime, and highlights the increasing importance of the defence sector as an economic driver.
Coming down hard on the government for meagre increase in allocation for armed forces in the last few years, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence said the outlay cannot even fulfill the basic requirements of the armed forces.
Of the allocation provided, Rs 60,000 crore (Rs 600 billion) would go for capital expenditure, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said presenting the Budget for 2010-11 in the Lok Sabha.
The defence ministry is not very hopeful about getting an additional Rs 40,000 crore for modernisation of the armed forces, with Defence Minister A K Antony on Thursday saying he was struggling to get even the Rs 1.93 lakh crore allotted by the government in the budget. "Now I am struggling to get the budgetary amount," he told reporters when asked if he was hopeful of getting the additional Rs 40,000 crore sought by his ministry for the modernising of the three services.
Pakistan has announced the creation of a new Army Rocket Force equipped with advanced technology to strengthen its combat capabilities. The announcement was made by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who also commented on the recent military confrontation with India and expressed gratitude to various countries for their support.
'The preparedness of our defence forces and positioning of intelligence assets were very different in 2008, so we had to rebuild our assets and preparedness.'
'Currently, it takes between two and three years to formulate the request for proposal for procuring specific military equipment for the armed forces. It should not be this way.'
The disbursement of the second tranche comes on a day when the International Monetary Fund is holding virtual discussions on Pakistan's upcoming budget, as the visit of its mission to Islamabad was delayed due to security concerns in the region.
France today increasingly resembles the Italy of the past, when governments fell with bewildering regularity, prime ministers came and went in rapid succession, and political instability became the norm rather than the exception, point out Krishnan Srinivasan and Manoj Mohanka.
Stagnant defence expenditure in India and set back to modernisation would be music to the ears of Gen Kayani and Hu Jin Tao.
The defence allocation will be increased by 10 per cent from Rs 96,000 crore to Rs 1,05,600 crore.
The MiG-21 episode demonstrates that procurement is always strategic.
Choices about what aircraft to acquire, who builds them, who supplies the spares, who trains the pilots and technicians are decisions with political consequences lasting for decades.
India has allocated Rs 1.72 trillion, or 27.67 per cent of the total defence budget to cater to modernisation of the country's arsenal. Modern militaries spend up to 50 to 60 per cent of their total defence budget so that they go into combat with superior weaponry and equipment.
Mrs Gandhi's power ebbed and peaked with the times. Mr Modi's has almost been constant, barring the few months of hard dip after the 240 seats of 2024, points out Shekhar Gupta.
The increase in military spending is almost twice its pace of economic growth, and is the largest in 10 years
Most think tax-saving deductions exist only in the old regime. But the New one quietly retains 40+ ways to ease your tax load
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced reservation for Muslims in supplying goods and services up to a value of Rs 1 crore to various government departments, corporations and institutions in the state budget for 2025-26. The budget also increased the value limit of government contracts in which Muslims can avail reservation to Rs 2 crore. The reservation to Muslims under 2B category is in addition to the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, and Castes coming under Category-1, Category-2A. The budget also included various welfare schemes for minorities, including Rs 50,000 to support simple marriages and Rs 1,000 crore under the Chief Minister's Minority Colony Development Programme.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances