Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has proposed a sharp focus on new equipment

The first Union Budget after Operation Sindoor saw an increase of 15 per cent for India’s military spending, one of the biggest annual hikes. It also has a significant 21 per cent hike in Capital spending — needed for new weapons, systems, arsenal, including jets, ships, submarines and guns.

Focusing on self-reliance, modernisation, technology infusion and infrastructure-building in border areas, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed a sum of Rs 7,84,678 crore for the fiscal commencing April 1. This is 15 per cent more than the Rs 6,81,210-crore allocation for the ongoing fiscal to the Ministry of Defence.

The allocation for capital is Rs 2,19,306 crore and that is a 21- per cent jump over the  Rs 1,80,000 crore and is in line with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) projection seeking a hike of 20 per cent in the capital acquisition. This is intended to address ‘committed liabilities’ and  high-tech procurements like the 114 Rafale fighter jets or the contract signing of the next generation submarines being offered by ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) of Germany in partnership with Mazagon Docks Shipbuilders Limited (MDL).