Feb 1, 2022
By: BI India BureauAll eyes are going to be on Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as she announced the Union Budget for the year 2022 later today (February 1) at 11:00 a.m.
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The defence sector, however, does not anticipate any major bump up in the budget allocation.
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At least two national security analysts Business Insider spoke to highlighted that there will be a usual nominal increase in the defence budget and that it may continue to be a small percentage of the gross domestic product (GDP).
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India’s defence budget has remained consistent roughly at 2 percent of the GDP in the last five years, even though the recommended share is 3 percent.
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Experts like Sameer Patil, senior fellow at think tank Observer Research Foundation (ORF), believe that the priorities of India's defence ministry are likely to change as China becomes a maritime superpower.
Credit: Sameer-Patil
Patil notes that India is pretty confident in terms of handling the threats coming from China on the land borders, but they still need to upskill their naval force and maritime defence.
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Therefore, the Indian armed forces may want to invest in building anti-submarine warfare capabilities, purchasing more maritime surveillance drones and building a fleet of 300 for the Indian navy.
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India currently has 150 ships and submarines, and the coast guard fleet of 130 vessels. As per Elara Capital’s report published in October 2021, each of these are expected to grow to 200 vessels in the next five years.
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Indian Navy’s capital budget is expected to be ₹4.5 lakh crore by 2027, as per government of India’s undertaking Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE).
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