Pakistan has increased its defence budget by 17.6 per cent to PKRs 3,000 billion for the upcoming fiscal year, as announced by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb. The federal budget, estimated at PKRs 18,771 billion, targets 4 per cent GDP growth, with significant allocations for debt service and pensions. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif highlighted economic stability and ongoing discussions with the IMF, while the opposition protested Imran Khan's incarceration during the budget session.
The Union government has informed the Bombay High Court that Agniveers are not "similarly situated" as regular soldiers and hence, cannot claim parity in pensionary benefits for their next of kin in the event of death in action.
AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami has announced a series of welfare measures, including free refrigerators for rice ration cardholders, if the party wins the 2026 Assembly election in Tamil Nadu.
As he settled down to his job as army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa -- who died last week; his passing did not merit even an obituary in major print or electronic media in Pakistan! -- developed a vision of reducing his country's and his institution, the army's traditional hostility toward India, points out Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
The Delhi High Court has dismissed petitions from the Ministry of Defence challenging disability pension orders for armed forces personnel, emphasizing that such pensions are a right, not an act of generosity, and should not be denied based solely on the location of disability onset or claims of lifestyle diseases.
The army has been behind the other two forces in capex since FY21.
In 2025-26, the government allocated Rs 6,81,210 crore for defence budget.
India and Canada solidify their partnership with a landmark uranium supply agreement and discussions to finalise a comprehensive economic partnership, signaling stronger ties and cooperation on key global issues.
'If you go by the capital expenditure, this is a good defence budget. But we will have to see if the government can keep defence spending at 2 per cent or higher in 2027-2028.'
The Supreme Court on Tuesday imposed a cost of Rs 50,000 on the Centre for filing an appeal against an order of the Armed Forces Tribunal, which granted a liberalised pension to the widow of a soldier who died during a counter-terrorism patrol in Jammu and Kashmir.
The full grant of OROP would raise annual military pensions to Rs 75,000 crore, only slightly less than the salary bill of Rs 93,216 crore.
'There is uncertainty regarding job opportunities for our children after they serve for just four years under the Agnipath scheme.'
Pakistan on Tuesday increased its defence budget by 20 per cent, allocating PRs. 2,550 billion ($9 billion) for the fiscal year 2025-26, amid tensions with India.
A bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur rejected the petition by the Indian Army Lieutenant, who served as a 'Troop Leader' of a squadron, against the termination order passed on March 3, 2021, that dismissed him from the Indian Army without pension and gratuity.
When we look at the pension expenditure of the states, so far, there has been no gain from the NPS reform. Pension expenses as a share of total state revenue expenditure rose from 4% in 1991-1992 to 10% at the time of the NPS reform, and have risen further to about 12%, observes Ajay Shah.
Referring to an action against farmers by the security personnel deployed by the Haryana authorities at the Punjab-Haryana border, Pandher slammed paramilitary personnel for using "force" against farmers, leaving many injured.
'The CBI did a wonderful job of tracking down the killers, but at the end of the day, all the hard work went for a toss.' 'If we had caught them alive, the operation would have been successful completely.'
We need to equip the Indian Armed Forces, not 'commercial' as Trump wants, but 'operationally' looking at growing Chinese military capabilities, asserts Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
Under capital expenditure, Rs 48,614 crore has been set aside for aircraft and aero engines while Rs 24,390 crore has been allocated for the naval fleet.
It is worrisome that salaries are consuming as much expenditure as equipment.
Such public domain discussions affect their morale and dedication -- and that, if anything, will definitely affect combat-effectiveness, asserts Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta (retd).
In a slew of new reforms related to manpower in the armed forces initiated by Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, the retirement age of officers and jawans from technical branches is proposed to be increased.
Rs 111,294 crore has been allocated for army salaries. The Rs 113,278 crore allocated for army pensions surpasses that. Army planners are worried about this drain on funds that could otherwise go towards equipment modernisation.
Once rolled out, theaterisation will be the biggest military reform in the country. It will see the creation of unified theatre commands within the 1.7 million-strong Indian armed forces.
This Women's Day Week, we pay tribute to the extraordinary courage, resilience, and leadership of three iconic Indian queens -- Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi, Rani Chennamma of Kittur, and Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar of Malwa.
'Instead of joining us in celebrating the strikes, the MoD has stabbed us in the back,' says a top general.
The Centre is likely to announce the Agnipath recruitment scheme for the defence forces under which troops would be recruited only for four-year tenures.
There was widespread criticism from opposition parties and the military establishment over a letter issued on September 30 which had introduced a slab-based system
With the PMO itself spearheading a re-evaluation, the Director General of Defence Accounts has been asked to justify its earlier contention that the 'slab based' system would benefit a larger number of disabled veterans -- something the army flatly denies, reports Ajai Shukla.
While we seem to want soldiers on short-term engagement, warfare itself is getting more technical and needs skilled manpower. The world has seen the dismal performance of armies that rely on short tour of duty soldiers or have outsourced war to 'contractors' in Afghanistan and now in Ukraine, points out Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the Agnipath scheme is an example of necessary reforms undertaken by the Army and accused the opposition of playing politics over the recruitment process aimed at keeping the average age in armed forces young.
South Haryana hasn't delivered a chief minister since 1967, when his father Rao Birender Singh was ousted from power. It's a legacy Rao Inderjit Singh is determined to reclaim.
The nature of war and its purpose remains unchanged. The change is in the character of war in terms of a man-machine mix, domination of sensors and certain automation of the tactics and methods of war, points out Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
As the Bharatiya Janata Party looks set to retain Haryana, the Congress' poll campaign, which was built around various issues including unemployment, farmers' plight and Agnipath scheme, appeared to have failed to click with a majority of the voters.
'Is the Agniveer scheme or their post-retirement re-employment in paramilitary forces or in the state governments the BJP's answer to the crying need on the job front?' 'Or, even Finance Minister Sitharaman's one-year internship scheme in the public and private sector, is it a permanent solution, either?', asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
Here are some frequently asked questions about the one rank, one pension scheme
20 defence ministry reforms 'is a reflection of the resolve of the government to make the defence sector stronger and more efficient.'
'What happened was that over a period of time, the data analytics showed that many were claiming it and that it was being misused'
The proposal is currently with the finance department and is expected to be placed before the Cabinet in the coming days.
The political-electoral calculus favours spending thousands of crores on vanity projects like Sardar Patel's statue and the Central Vista over building up our military to handle the confrontations and conflicts that loom large, points out Ajai Shukla.
