'Rs.75,148 crore for armed forces modernisation in 2014-15'

The armed forces have been allocated Rs.75,148 crore for the modernization plans during fiscal 2014-15, the Lok Sabha was informed on Friday.

This is against Rs.66,550 crore allocated in the previous fiscal, Defence Minister Arun Jaitley said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.

The Indian Air Force gets the lion's share of Rs.31,818 crore in the current fiscal, followed by the Indian Navy (Rs.21,911 crore), the Indian Army (Rs20,935 crore) and the Joint Staff (Rs.482 crore), Jaitley added.

"Requirements of the services for modernization have been worked out in the Long Term Integrated Perspective Plan (LTIPP) and the Defence Five-Year Plan.

"Procurement of defence equipment is carried out from within the country or from foreign countries as per the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) and Defence Procurement Manual (DPM).

"These contain stringent provisions aimed at ensuring the highest degree of probity, public accountability and transparency. The Defence Procurement Procedure also has provisions for Fast Track Procurement (FTP) for meeting urgent operational requirements," Jaitley said.