Earlier US President threatened not to protect NATO members if they fail to meet spending targets, raising doubts about his commitment to the alliance's Article 5 mutual defence clause.
The US Secretary of State's statement is in line with Trump's demand that members increase defence spending. He has often complained that US is paying more than its fair share.
SIPRI’s latest data on Trends in World Military Expenditure, 2024, shows China spent $314 bn on its military in 2024, India spent $86.1 bn, while Pakistan spent $10.2 bn.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented the plan Tuesday ahead of an emergency European Council meeting on 6 March. It also proposes a €150 bn common defence fund.
Defence spending saw an annual increase of 9 percent between 2013-14 & 2025-26, a PRS analysis, published on 4 Feb, showed. In FY 2025-26, Centre allocated Rs 6,81,210 cr to the MoD.
The biggest increase in defence allocation is in the pension category—it constitutes 23.60 percent of the total allocation and stands at Rs 1,60,795 crore.
While we talk much about our military, we don’t put our national wallet where our mouth is. Nobody is saying we should double our defence spending, but current declining trend must be reversed.
It said that NATO member countries’ spending totaled 55% of world’s expenditure. Top spenders into 2023 were US, China & Russia, said Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
In the first eight months of the current fiscal year, New Delhi’s net tax intake didn’t even hit the halfway mark of what it expects to collect by March 31.
As Visakhapatnam readies a mega airport, the Andhra Pradesh government has revived its shelved Dagadarthi project, aiming to boost cargo and connectivity on the south coast.
While both India and China have carried out disengagement in Eastern Ladakh, the process of de-escalation is still under discussion & has not been agreed upon.
UK, EFTA already in the bag and EU on the way, many members of RCEP except China signed up, and even restrictions on China being lifted, India has changed its mind on trade.
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