We're using quantity to compensate for quality, and India’s defence budget can't increase too much. Army has a chance to bring about long-term reforms.
China’s 2022 defence budget is over thrice the size of India’s spending. In 2021, China’s defence spending crossed $200 bn for the first time. This year, it’s up to $229.7 bn.
Many countries have announced defence budget hikes, with Germany ending decades-old freeze. But ambitions will have to be balanced with legacy of underspending, capacity issues.
A Group of Ministers, set up in 2000, after the Kargil conflict, had first recommended setting up “an apex body for the management of maritime affairs”.
Overall defence budget for 2022-23 stands at Rs 5.25 lakh crore, up from Rs 4.78 lakh crore in 2021-22. Defence budget is 13.3% of total expenditure planned by Centre for 2022-23.
Govt procedures that masquerade as safety nets for minimising financial loss can only stifle innovation. Modi govt's well-intentioned iDEX scheme seems headed that way.
Modi govt's capital budget allocation for 2021-22 is lower than the amount armed forces had sought in 2014-15. But spending more is not the answer, spending right is.
Over the last 10 years, the share of the defence budget spent on capital outlay has declined, from a high of 30% in 2011-12 to as low as 22% in 2018-19.
The dynamics between Europe and Russia have gone so south that mending fences looks like an uphill task—even as the US swings between sanctions and olive branches.
Centre for Science and Environment in new report makes case for rationalising GST on waste material, saying most informal operators can’t afford high tax & it also hinders recycling.
21st edition of annual joint military exercise will be held from 1 to 16 September, aimed at sharing military tech, operational best practices & disaster relief coordination methods.
Standing up to America is usually not a personal risk for a leader in India. Any suggestions of foreign pressure unites India behind who they see as leading them in that fight.
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