The defence services’ budget for 2023-24 went up by about 13%, from Rs 5.25 lakh crore to Rs 5.94 lakh crore, so they can buy big weapons like fighter planes, submarines, and tanks. The budget for modernization has also gone up, from Rs 1.52 lakh crore to Rs 1.62 lakh crore.
As part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Make in India” programme, a big chunk of the modernization budget would be used to buy weapons and equipment from Indian companies. The modernization budget increase is only about 6.5%, which is only a moderate increase. The Indian Air Force wants to buy fighter planes as part of its plans to get 4.5-generation fighter planes and make investments in its plan to develop its own fighter planes.
The Indian Navy also wants to buy fighter planes from France, but it’s not likely that this will happen this year because the process for buying planes hasn’t even started yet.
After trials, the Indian Navy chose the French Rafale aircraft and recommended that it be bought as part of a government-to-government deal. However, the defence ministry has not yet done its part, such as getting approval from the defence acquisition council.
The Navy is working on getting the submarines that are part of Project 75 India, but this is likely to take a while. The Army would also start the process of getting light tanks and artillery guns for its operations on the Ladakh front.
The forces have also started a number of projects to get new weapons systems. These projects are part of the Make in India programme, which only lets Indian companies take the lead. A lot of attention is also paid to improving our ability to fight in cyberspace and with artificial intelligence. Upgrades have been planned to meet this need. Last year, the budget for the forces’ pensions was Rs 1.19 lakh crore. This year, it is Rs 1.38 lakh crore.
Singh wrote on Twitter, “The Union Budget 2023-24 is expected to bring about positive changes in the country that will help us reach our goal of becoming a USD 5 trillion economy and a “Top Three” economy within a few years.”
Overall, the government planned to increase capital spending by 33% to Rs 10 lakh crore in 2023-24, which is 3.3% of the GDP, said Union finance minister Sitharaman.
“This would cost almost three times as much as what was spent in 2019-20, or 3.3% of GDP. With the big increase, it is a key part of the government’s plan to boost growth and job creation, bring in more private investments, and protect against bad global conditions “Sitharaman said in her speech about the budget.
The budget for the forces’ income has also gone up by about Rs 30,000 crore, from Rs 2.39 lakh crore to Rs 2.70 lakh crore. Wednesday, Finance Minister Sitharaman spoke for almost an hour and a half about the Union Budget for the financial year 2023-2024. Rajnath Singh, who is in charge of defence, said he hoped that this year’s Union Budget would help India become one of the “Top Three” economies in a few years.
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