New Delhi: The parliamentary standing committee on defence has flagged the Army’s low budget for modernisation, saying that it should be increased to enable the force to have sufficient deterrence capacity.
Keeping in view that the Army is a 12-lakh strong force and needs to perform all duties that fall under its domain, the committee, led by Lok Sabha MP Radha Mohan Singh, has asked the defence ministry to focus on procurement of state-of-the-art equipment and keeping the Army’s expenditure on a par with the defence spending of India’s neighbours.
“The committee understands that the Capital Budget usually provides for expenditure on modernisation, enhancement of force level, infrastructure development, etc, which are essential not only for the modernisation of the Army but also to safeguard territorial integrity of the nation. The committee feels that Capital Projection should be incremental in nature, invariably consistent and it should not be less than that of a previous year so that it can absorb the inflationary trends,” the panel has said in its report titled ‘Demand for Grants (2024-25)’, which was made public Tuesday.
The Army budget has a capital component that comprises allocations for modernisation and infrastructure development, and a revenue component that comprises salaries, risk and hardship allowance and budget for operations, maintenance and sustenance.
Under the capital head, the Army’s projection was Rs 35,665 crore for fiscal 2024-25 and the same was allocated to it. This was, however, less than the budget estimate for fiscal 2023-24 when the projection was Rs 37,341 crore, says the report.
For fiscal 2024-25, against the revenue head, the projection was Rs 2,14,577 crore while the allocation to be made is Rs 1,91,320 crore, it adds.
In the previous financial year, under the revised estimates for the capital head, the projection of the Army was Rs 33,412 crore and the same was allocated to the force. However, expenditure by the Army at the time was only Rs 28,613 crore, the report points out.
Referring to the spending, the report says: “The committee opines that though the expenditure on salaries of manpower deployed is fixed and is an essential component, the budget should cater as to induct state-of-the-art weapon systems and development of other infrastructure at the borders which, at any cost, cannot be compromised. Our expenditure should be in proportion to the increase in defence spending of our neighbours.”
It further asserts that the Army’s capital budget should be sufficient to have a deterrent capacity to ward off adversaries in case of hostility.
A total of 330 capital acquisition contracts have been signed under capital procurement for the Army, of which 278 contracts have been signed with Indian vendors, according to the report.
Army’s focus areas
In its presentation to the committee, the Army outlined its major focus areas that were detailed in the report.
With regard to the modernisation budget, the Army said it would be utilised to make “delivery-based payments” for weapons, ammunition and other equipment as well as for payment for new procurements.
The Army also said that its major focus has been in the areas of precision targeting, long-range vectors, intelligence, surveillance and recce systems, satellite communication enablement, night vision equipment, unmanned aerial systems and counter unmanned aerial systems.
In the current financial year, an acceptance of necessity (AoN) worth Rs 1,06,974 crore has been accorded for the procurement of new equipment and weapons from Indian companies.
Under the infrastructure budget, Eastern Command infrastructure and roads along the Chinese border together account for approximately 16 percent of the budget. The Army also plans to utilise the funds for enhancing infrastructure in the North Eastern Region and for roads that lead to the Line of Actual Control (LAC). At present, to guard the LAC, more than 169 infantry battalions are deployed along with requisite elements of armour and fire support systems, the report states.
In addition, under the infrastructure budget, the Army is looking at ammunition storage, vital logistic infrastructure and construction in four border areas as also storage facilities and habitat. Land acquisition accounts for approximately 4 percent of the budget. Under this, the Army will acquire land for training areas, field firing ranges and accommodation for troops.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
All money for socialism, no money for defence modernisation.