Skip to main content

India Spends More of GDP on Defense Than China - Defense Minister


Earlier this year, the Indian Army had expressed its deep disappointment on its defense budget allocation, expressing concern that the funds would not be adequate to make crucial purchases. Similar sentiments were echoed by the country’s navy and air force.

New Delhi (Sputnik): India has outpaced China in its military expenditure in terms of the country's national income, as well as government spending, India's Ministry of Defense said on Wednesday. However, the overall defense expenditure of China was more than three times that of India last year. 

"India's military expenditure in 2016 and 2017 was 2.5% of gross national product (GDP) in comparison to 1.9% of China," Nirmala Sitharaman, India's minister of defense, said in Parliament on Wednesday. 

The current dispensation in New Delhi has been facing severe criticism from opposition leaders and defense analysts for allocating less than the requisite amount for the modernization of the armed forces.

The Finance Ministry, in February this year, announced allocations for 2018-19 for the defense sector, which were hiked to approximately $46.15 billion from last year's $42.18 billion. This included a capital outlay of $15.55 billion for the purchase of new weapon systems and modernization, which was dwarfed by the revenue expenditure (day-to-day running costs, salaries of defense personnel, etc) of $30.6 billion.

The Indian Armed forces had expressed deep disappointment on the allocation, viewing it as inadequate even for necessary purchases. 

"The allocated budgetary resources are optimally utilized towards meeting the operational requirements of the Armed Forces. Depending upon the allocated resources, schemes are also reprioritized to ensure that urgent and critical capabilities are acquired without compromise of operational preparedness," Defense Minister Sitharaman tried to downplay the issue in Parliament.

The defense minister has also provided a comparison of the share of government spending in its military expenditure wherein India once again beats China. The Indian government spends 9.1 percent of its total expenditure on its military in comparison to the 6.1 percent China spends. While no official data relating to China's annual defense budget is available, as per the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) database, China's military expenditure was $228.23 billion in 2017 while India spent $63.923 billion that year.

Source Link: http://www.defencenews.in/article/India-Spends-More-of-GDP-on-Defense-Than-China---Defense-Minister-559698

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Explained: What is Army Aviation Corps, the youngest Corps of the Indian Army

A look at the Army Aviation Corps’ history and its relevance in modern day battlefields, including in Counter Insurgency and Counter Terrorism (CI-CT) operations. Representative Image The Army Aviation Corps (AAC), the youngest Corps of the Indian Army, celebrated its 35th Corps Day on November 1. We take a look at the arm that adds an air dimension to the Army’s capabilities, its history, and its relevance in modern day battlefields, including Counter Insurgency and Counter Terrorism (CI-CT) operations. The roots of Army Aviation Corps The origin of the AAC can be traced back to the raising of the Army Aviation wing of the Royal Air Force in India in 1942, and the subsequent formation of the first Indian Air Observation Post in August 1947. The Air Observation Post units primarily acted as artillery spotters – which are the elements that help the artillery in directing the fire and also giving air support to ground forces. In the wars of 1965 and 1971, the Air Observation Post helicop...
Post a Comment
Read more

That time when India took half of Pakistan to make it pay for a motorcycle

In 1947, British officer Yahya Khan offered his colleague 1,000 rupees for his spiffy red motorcycle. His colleague, Sam Manekshaw, agreed. But before Khan could pay, he was off to what was going to become Pakistan. The British split its Indian colony, and things on the subcontinent have been pretty tense ever since. To top it all off, Yahya Khan didn't pay for the motorbike. But he would, even if it took almost 25 years. The Partition of India was much more than the splitting of the British Raj into two independent states. It was a catastrophic split that tore apart the country and created millions of refugees, cost millions of lives, and split the armed forces of the country in two, all based on religion. Violence erupted almost immediately between the two groups on such a large scale that much of it has never been forgotten or forgiven. Animosity continued between both sides for decades, and the two have fought war after war because of the myriad issues left unaddressed. By 1970...
Post a Comment
Read more

India's S-400, Nuke Subs, Rafales pose a serious threat to Pak - FM Qureshi

India’s purchase of Russian S-400 air defence systems, via a deal signed last year and worth $5.43 billion, has unnerved Pakistan, with Foreign Minister Shah Mohammed Qureshi describing the S-400s as destabilising weapon systems which could affect the region's strategic stability. Delivery of the first S-400 system is likely to take place in 2020. Expressing his apprehension about the arms purchase by India, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mohammed Qureshi has called on global powers to be "mindful" of their responsibility in terms of arms supplies to the region. "The introduction of new destabilising weapon systems, such as the S-400 anti-ballistic missile system, could further accentuate challenges to strategic stability. They can encourage a misadventure by an adversary, under a false sense of security," FM Shah Mohammed Qureshi said on Wednesday in Islamabad. Last October, India inked a $5.43 billion defence contract with Russia to purchase of five S-400 air...
Post a Comment
Read more