Military sees small increase in budget even as China standoff simmers

Both India and China have moved thousands of soldiers, tanks, artillery to the disputed border

India increased its defense spending by about 1%, throwing the timing of its military modernization program into doubt while it faces a protracted standoff with China along their disputed Himalayan border.
 

Overall, military spending increased to 3.47 trillion rupees ($47.4 billion), up from 3.43 trillion rupees in the previous financial year, budget documents indicate. India’s expenditure is about a quarter that of China’s -- in May 2020, Beijing announced a yearly defense budget $178.6 billion, according to data from the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

There had been an expectation that India’s defense budget would receive a “robust increase”