Sarahbeth George
As India turns the corner and moves to another Budget, the most pressing question for those within the defence industry is whether the new budget will meet the growing demands of its armed forces. The main issue is the pace at which the defence ministry is progressing toward establishing an armed force capable of addressing the modern challenges of the war chessboard. India was the fourth-largest defence spender globally in fiscal 2024. Yet, despite this, efforts to modernise our armed forces have made limited headway over the past five years, according to some experts.
This is especially crucial as we step into another year marked by contentious and unstable global security scenarios. While the 2024-2025 defence budget, with allocation of Rs 6.22 lakh crore, 4.79% higher than FY 2023-24, represents some progress, experts argue that it falls short in addressing the significant gaps that continue to plague India's defence sector.
“India needs to keep the goal of ‘Viksit Bharat,’ and this goal requires more allocation toward infrastructure development and employment generation. Under these circumstances, the only way forward for better utilisation of defence allocation is by encouraging indigenous innovation in modernisation and bringing more products into the import embargo,” TV Chowdary, Managing Director of Premier Explosives Ltd, said.
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