NEW DELHI: India will spend Rs 17500 crores on defence during the financial year 1992-98 an increase of Rs 1150; crores over the current year.
The enhanced financial outlay for military is significant in view of the tight financial position through which the country has been passing. The country depends on International financial support like monitory funds and other institutions for making two ends meet.
Besides Indian finance minister Manmohan Singh has provided for a 15% increase in defence pensions implied in the acceptance of the mounting pressure from the retired defence personnel for one rank-one pension formula. The defence pensions consequently will increase from Rs 1840 crores to Rs 2120 crore.
Another Rs53.03 crore has been allocated to miscellaneous services like housing water supply and sanitation and public works. Defence expenditure during the current year has been pegged at the original budget estimate of Rs 16350 crore but this has been made possible only by cutting back on capital defence expenditure to neutralize an over-run on the revenue defence account. In short defence hardware has given way to higher pay and other reverse expenditure to neutralize an over-run on the revenue defence account. In short defence hardware has given way to higher pay and other reverse expenditure.
As in other years the army has got the lion’s share of the defence budget with total outlay of about Rs 8639 crore against Rs 8134.26 crore in 1991-92 which means an increase of about 6.2%.
The expenditure for the navy has been increased from Rs 942 crore to s 990.21 crore reflecting a hike of about 5.12% while the outlay for the air force has gone up from Rs 2334.22 crore to Rs 2463.27 crore indicating a 5.5% jump. The army thus comers 49.4% of the total defence budget the navy 5.6% and the air force about 14%.
The non-plan allocation for ordnance factories has gone up from Rs 56.63 crore to Rs 6086 crore reflecting an increase of 7.5%. However as a comparison of budgetary estimates for 1991-92 and 1992-93 there has been a steep decline of about 50%. The budgetary estimate for ordnance in 1991-92 was Rs 112.63 crore.
About 59% of the total defence expenditure will go for the payment of salaries to armed services personnel and civilians working in the ministry and on stores.
The allocation for research and development has been stepped up from Rs 19793 in 1991-92 to Rs 206.71 crore a hike of about 4.5%. Expenditure on the naval lets expected to go up4.8% from Rs 750 crore to Rs 786 crore.
Article extracted from this publication >> March 13, 1992
