Army marches slowly to modernisation as Air Force, Navy lead in spending

A large part of Army's funds allocation goes towards meeting recurring expenses

The world’s most recognisable firearm was first developed based on a German assault rifle of similar design. The Kalashnikov helped make Russian soldiers more effective, reduced production costs and replaced old weaponry.

The Indian Army’s effort to modernise for the 21st century may be going slower than with the Navy or the Air Force. The capital outlay for the Army grew at a compound annual growth rate of 4 per cent in the last five years. That is less than half the growth rate of the total capital outlay on defence services overall (chart 1).