Rs 5.94 lakh crore allocated to defence ministry in Union Budget

New Delhi: The defence budget was on Wednesday increased to Rs 5.94 lakh crore for 2023-24 in a modest hike of 13 per cent from last year’s allocation of Rs 5.25 lakh crore amid India’s continuing border row with China in eastern Ladakh and concerns over rising Chinese forays into the Indian Ocean Region.
In the Union Budget presented in Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, a total of Rs 1,62,600 crore was set aside to the military for capital expenditure that largely includes purchasing new weapons, aircraft, warships and other military hardware.For 2022-23, the budgetary allocation for capital outlay was Rs 1.52 lakh crore but the revised estimate showed the expenditure at Rs 1.50 lakh crore.According to 2023-24 budget documents, an allocation of Rs 2,70,120 crore has been made for revenue expenditure that includes expenses on payment of salaries and maintenance of establishments.
The budgetary allocation of revenue expenditure in 2022-23 was Rs 2,39,000 crore.In the budget for 2023-24, the capital outlay for the Ministry of Defence (Civil) has been pegged at Rs 8,774 crore while an amount of Rs 13,837 crore has been set aside under capital outlay.A separate amount of Rs 1,38,205 crore has been allocated for defence pensions.The total revenue expenditure including the pension outlay has been estimated at Rs 4,22,162 crore.According to the budget papers, the total size of the defence budget is Rs 5,93,537.64 crore.