Parliamentary panels' reports on defence, external affairs tabled in House

The reports of the respective Parliamentary standing committees on defence and external affairs were presented in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on Monday.

 

The reports examined the demands for grants of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

 

The total outlay for the MoD in the 2025-26 budget estimates (BE) was Rs 6,81,210.27 crore, amounting to about 13.45 per cent of the total government expenditure of Rs 50.65 trillion. The MoD’s allocation was 9.53 per cent higher than the BE for the 2024-25 financial year and 6.62 per cent higher than the revised estimates (RE) for the same period.

 

 

Of the MoD’s total outlay, Rs 4.91 trillion was allocated for defence services, the report of the defence committee said. The budgetary allocation for the ministry’s capital acquisition stood at Rs 1.48 trillion, while Rs 31,277 crore was earmarked for “other than capital acquisition”.

 

The expenses include the procurement of weapons, systems, and equipment, as well as defence research, land acquisitions, construction works, and plants and machinery.

 

According to the report, the parliamentary panel questioned the distribution of funds in the defence budget, particularly regarding how military modernisation was progressing alongside the payment of salaries, allowances, and pensions. Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh told the panel during a sitting that 28 per cent of the overall budget was being spent on capital expenditure, whereas it should be at least 33 per cent.

 

The report quoted him as saying that defence expenditure as a percentage of India’s GDP had declined. It is now 1.9 per cent of GDP, lower than what it was 10 years ago. However, he noted that there is “adequate money for the capex budget” due to GDP growth.

 

“The limiting factor actually is our ability to sign contracts quickly and thereafter ensure the suppliers are able to deliver on time,” he said.

 

Some delays were attributed to geopolitical factors, such as the wars in Europe and West Asia.

 

The MEA’s actual expenditure in the last financial year until December was Rs 18,376.23 crore. The ministry’s BE allocation for 2024-25 was Rs 22,154.67 crore, while the RE for the same period stood at Rs 25,277.20 crore.

 

The BE allocation for 2025-26 is Rs 20,516.61 crore, which is 7.39 per cent and 18.83 per cent lower than last financial year’s BE and RE, respectively.

 

The external affairs committee report cited Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri as telling the panel in February that the MEA was able to meet its international obligations despite its budget appearing low at 0.4 per cent of the overall government budget.

 

The ministry was asked whether the budgetary allocation for FY26 was adequate, given the MEA’s expanding mandate and India’s global role. The report quoted the ministry as responding, “The expenditure progress in the financial year is regularly assessed, which makes budgetary demand and allocation a dynamic process.”

 

The MEA, the report said, would ask the Ministry of Finance (MoF) at the RE stage for additional funds if required.

 

However, the parliamentary panel appeared confused about why that would be necessary.

 

The report stated, “In continuation of the ministry’s response, the committee is left wondering about the logic of its persistent recommendation for enhanced allocation when the ministry itself expresses satisfaction with the current budget allocation.”

 

Beyond acquiring property to expand its current 216 missions and posts abroad, the MEA may also seek additional funds to increase foreign assistance, which it considers an increasingly important aspect of India’s diplomacy.

 

The MoD ranked second after the MoF in terms of budgetary allocations for 2025-26, while the MEA ranked 22nd.