'Given China's past behaviour and their territorial claims, should we be sceptical regarding China's willingness to adhere to these agreements fully? The answer is yes.' 'As Ronald Reagan famously said in the context of the SALT talks, 'Trust, but verify!' India should also do the same.' 'This has already begun with foot patrolling, drones, satellite imagery and so on. India's military deployment did mirror China's and will continue to do so in the future.'
The defence allocation will be increased by 10 per cent from Rs 96,000 crore to Rs 1,05,600 crore.
The Agency said it has delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale on Thursday.
With the armed forces going on a fast-track modernisation drive after 26/11 terror strikes, Defence Minister A K Antony on Wednesday said that the "Unnecessary procedures, bottle-necks and red-tape should be cut down for hastening procurement procedures." Antony was addressing the "Jumbo" Majumdar Seminar on 'Dominance of Aerospace Power', in New Delhi.
Most of the scanty 6.35% rise in the defence budget is accounted for by manpower and running expenses.
Officials hint the visit could finally see a formal defence industrial road map being adopted by both nations.
India-France synergy is poised to open vistas of collaboration between the two countries, notes Rup Narayan Das.
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.
This would be the first time that the Indian artillery would have these types of 105 mm mounted howitzers and would add to the strength of the formations deployed in forward positions, they said.
The deal was announced in April under which French manufacturer Dassault Aviation will sell 35 of these jets to India in a deal estimated at over $5.5 billion.
The PM's vision of a lean, agile, mobile and technology driven force requires more than 1.7 percent of GDP that it now gets.
A hike in China's defence budget has got defence experts and analysts debating the country's rising military power and clout.
'Tata A&D, when formed, will be better equipped to execute larger and more complex projects and be more globally competitive as part of the global supply chain.'
Finance Minister Jaswant Singh while presenting the Interim Budget for fiscal 2004-05 in Parliament on Tuesday said 50 per cent of dearness allowance of the pay will be merged with basic salary of central government employees.
The nation has the fifth largest defence budget in the world, at $52.5 billion in 2017 ($51.1 billion in 2016), overtaking the UK whose defence budget fell from $52.5 billion in 2016 to $50.7 billion in 2017.
'It is the government's most important duty to ensure that when war breaks out, the armed forces are absolutely ready to face the adversary -- well equipped, well trained and in high spirits,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
The defence ministry is expecting a 15 to 20 per cent increase in its budget allocation for the next fiscal due to rise in expenditure on its modernisation drive and commitments following pay review.
Sources in the military establishment also said the present global scenario "necessitates a flexible and adaptive approach" to tackle defence and national security challenges.
'Like every Budget, this time, too, there is chatter around tinkering with the long-term capital gains tax.' 'Investors may not want to jump into the markets until there is clarity on this front.'
The ministry had spent 82 per cent of that amount till the start of this month.
The finance minister hiked the total defence expenditure from Rs 203,672 crore in FY 2013-2014 to Rs 229,000 crore for FY 2014-2015. Though the increase appears substantial, it is insufficient to undertake the military modernisation necessary to meet the emerging threats, feels Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
The report also revealed that the United States was still king with its expenditure representing about 40 per cent of the total Global Defence budget. India overtook Saudi Arabia and Russia to become one of the top five defence spenders globally.
From the time he first rose to prominence during the movement against the then UPA government, Arvind Kejriwal has regularly grabbed headlines for his surprise moves and decisions. Here are 10 such instances.
The senior defence official, however, refrained from describing the kind of responses that the two countries would respond to their common challenges.
'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).
"The meeting demonstrated the depth of India-France bilateral partnership, especially in the defence sector, that has significantly strengthened in recent times. Both leaders resolved to take the relationship to the next higher level," said a statement issued by the ministry after the 35-minute meeting.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said the people have given his government a mandate for stability and continuity for the third consecutive term after seeing its work of 10 years and accused the Congress of trying to build a narrative that it has defeated the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance in the Lok Sabha polls.
Its 'failure not just affects the military's effectiveness but could also be politically vulnerable for the BJP,' observes Ajai Shukla.
The Uttar Pradesh Defence corridor is estimated to attract Rs 20,000 crore investment and create 250,000 jobs.
Three people were killed after the MiG-21 fighter aircraft crashed into a house in Hanumangarh in Rajasthan shortly after it took off for a routine training sortie from the Air Force Station at Suratgarh.
For the modernisation of the armed forces, the Finance Minister allocated an additional Rs 5,000 crore.
Jaitley can make his innings -- notwithstanding its likely length -- to be a watershed tenure, or just add to the image of the MoD drifting rudderless, says Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
Expressing determination to eliminate "all delays" in modernisation of the armed forces, the government on Thursday hiked the defence budget by a whopping 23 per cent to Rs 77,000 crore as against the revised estimates of Rs 63,000 crore.
'The debate is not whether the Indian defence apparatus is in a state of disrepair, but whether it is capable of securing the defence of the country if any envisaged threat becomes real.'
Moving ahead with the economic reforms, the Cabinet tonight cleared the long-delayed proposal for raising FDI limit in defence to 49 per cent and fully opened up the railway infrastructure segment, like high-speed trains, for foreign investment.
Parrikar had moved to the South Block at the insistence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November 2014.
China is the second largest spender on defence after the US. T
The defence sector is seeing renewed interest by Indian corporates, says Jyoti Mukul
