Defense budget of India needs to soar amid war and rising tensions. Global military expenditure has reached at an all time high, indicating that the world is preparing for war. That doesn’t mean there is an upcoming third world war. But timely preparation is needed for a well-built defense force.
Conflicts in Europe, middle-east and Asia have led to an increase in almost 7% of global military spending. Although India is the 4th largest military spender after the USA, China and Russia but there isn’t any substantial increase in India’s defense budget, the gap remains stark.
Budget allocation to defense in FY25
India’s Defense budget for financial year 2025 has an allocation of 6.21 lakh crore i.e. $75 Billion up from last year’s outlay of 5.94 lakh crore. Defense Minister Rajnath Singh has expressed gratitude for the highest defense allocation, which is nearly 13% of the total budget of the Government of India for this fiscal year.
The defense budget has given special focus to bolster capital outlay or capital expenditure to strengthen Armed Forces. The defense budget is also aimed for domestic capital procurement which could push for Atmanirbharta. To support the startup ecosystem and foster defense research and development, substantial funds have been allocated to the iDEX scheme. The Border Roads Organization received a notable 30% increase in its allocation, accelerating our border infrastructure.
Size of India’s defense budget compared to other major powers
In the 2024 Defense budget of China which is around $236 Billion compared to India’s defense budget of around $75 Billion, the difference is stark. China has been increasing its defense allocation by 7% or more for the last consecutive third time. Many US Think Tanks reported that on paper China’s budget is around $236 Billion but in reality it could be twice or thrice of that amount.
The US being the top military spender as usual, spent around $842 Billion, the gap is even starker. It increased by 3.2% of its total GDP compared to last year and by 13% compared to Financial year 2022.
Defense budget allocated to the India’s Defense ministry is mostly spent on salaries and pensions which indeed is important but we must increase our capital expenditure. Despite providing a considerable amount to the Defense ministry, it is still below 2% of India’s GDP.
In comparison with Russia and the USA they spend around 4-5% of their GDP. China also spends around 1.6% of its GDP on Defense but according to SIPRI its actual outlay is higher than its reports.
India needs to increase its defense budget in this era of war and rising tensions.
Global Military expenditure surges amid wars and conflicts across the globe
Global military spending surged to an all time high of $2.443 Trillion in 2023 with top spenders like USA, China and Russia leading the list. The military outlay went up in all five of the geographical regions defined by SIPRI. Europe, Asia and Oceania and the Middle East witnessed significant increases, fueled by regional tensions and conflicts.
In Europe, NATO members, including the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, bolster their military expenditure demonstrating their unease over Russia’s assertive posture.
India has a hostile relationship with its bordering neighbors Pakistan and China, both having nuclear arsenals. Therefore, we must prepare our Defense forces for a war to strengthen our security.
2 Comments
Very informative!
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