Jaitley gives Defence budget 8% hike, unlikely to even cover rise in cost

As a percentage of GDP, defence expenditure has fallen steadily from 2.33% of GDP in 2016-17 to 2.23% in the current year

The 2018-19 Budget has raised defence allocations from the current year’s revised estimate of Rs 3.74 trillion to Rs 4.04 trillion, an increase of Rs 303.61 billion, or 8.1 per cent, which, analysts say, is insufficient to even cover year-on-year inflation in manpower and equipment costs.

These figures include all government expenditure on defence, such as allocations to the ministry, defence pension, revenue and capital expenditure, research and development (R&D), and production. The defence ministry, for reasons unclear, excludes pension from the Budget figures.

While military planners would be dissatisfied with the small overall increase, the silver lining is the