The Ministry of Defence is likely to have a
considerable amount added to its coffers in the upcoming budget. When Finance
Minister Pranab Mukherjee presents the Union Budge for 2012-13 in March the
annual defence budget is likely to touch the figure of Rs 2 lakh crore to keep
the armed forces’ modernization drive going full throttle.
For the year 2011-12, the defence budget had seen a hike of
11.6 percent and if the trends and the need of the armed forces – which are
modernizing for a two pronged defence of the country against rising China’s
aggression in the East and growing instability in Pakistan on the West – are
anything to go by a even a eight percent hike would take the budget closer to
the Rs. 2 lakh crore mark.
“Our defence budgets have seen an increase equivalent to 5-8
percent. Increasing it by eight percent would roughly take it to the figure of
Rs. 2 lakh crore. Also the increase has to be done keeping in mind the value of
Rupee in the international market,” former Chairperson of National Maritime
Foundation (NMF) Commodore (Retd) Uday Bhaskar said.
In 2011-12 the total budget allocated was Rs. 1,64, 415
crore, which comes out to be 2.5 percent of the GDP. Out of this Rs. 95, 216
crore was revenue expenditure and Rs. 69,199 crore meant for modernization of the
armed forces.
There has always bebeen a clamour from the Indian think
tanks to hike the country’s defence budget to at least 3 percent of the
country’s GDP in the wake of the huge defence spending by China and Pakistan.
But the piling amount of unspent modernization budget has been the main
impediment in way of this hike. As the defence ministry has succeeded in
spending its complete budget for the second consecutive year in 2011-12 the
demand would find more takers.
Presently, all three armed forces – army, navy and air force
– are on the cusp of transformation and huge deals for platforms and weapons
with the cutting edge technology are expected to be finalized in the financial
year 2012-13. Among the deals in the final stage are 126 fighter jets for $20
billion, six mid-air refueling aircraft for $2 billion, 75 trainer aircraft for
$ 1 billion, 197 utility helicopters for $750 million, 22 attack choppers
valued at $600 million, various artillery guns worth $2.17 billion, GE
F414-INS6 engines for indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas and Harpoon
anti-ship missiles estimated at $ 170 million.
Besides this about 40 warships of the Indian Navy, including
refurbishment of an aircraft carrier and nuclear-powered submarine, are under
construction at home and abroad.
In view of this defence experts seek a reversing in the
ratio of capital acquisition and revenue expenditure budget. “There is a
requirement for increasing the proportion of capital budget with respect to the
revenue expenditure,” Bhaskar added.
The hike though considerable as per the Indian standards
will be no match to the country’s eastern neighbor. China’s increased budget
has continued to cause concern in India. According to Pentagon’s South Asian
Defence and Strategic Year Book China’s total military spending has increased
by 189 percent between 2001 and 2010, an average annual increase of 12.5
percent. As per data, China is the second largest spender of defence after the
US and India comes at position 9.
“It is not possible for us to match China in terms of
defence spending. So wisely now our armed forces development is shifting from
threat-based to capability-based. In other words we are not modernizing our
forces focusing on China and Pakistan as threat but augmenting our capabilities
to be able to deal with a wide spectrum of situations,” said an official, who
was earlier posted to China on condition of anonymity.
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