Budget 2017 for defence: Govt refuses to bite the bullet

FY18 allocation for defence accounts for 16.8% of govt spending, down from 17.1% in previous year

On the face of it, the government has hiked defence allocations by  Rs 14,748 crore, with the current year’s revised estimates (RE) of  Rs 345,106 crore enhanced to  Rs 359,854 crore in the coming year. That modest rise of 3.5 per cent is well below the inflation level.
 
Inclusive of pension, the defence budget accounts for 16.8 per cent of government spending in 2017-18, which will be 2.14 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product. This figure is down from 17.1 per cent of spending and 2.29 per cent of GDP this year.
 
The drop comes despite the