Budget 2018: India largest arms importer, yet defence of realm falters

Defence allocation accounted for 17% of the central government budget (Rs 21.46 trillion) in 2017-18

India is the fifth largest military spender (2016) in the world and the largest importer of arms, accounting for 13% of the world’s total imports between 2012 and 2016, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, a think tank.

However, over three years to 2017-18, there was a 9% decline in budget allocation for capital investments against requirements, or “projections” in officialese, a factor that could delay procurement and modernisation of the armed forces, according to a report by the Parliamentary Standing Committee On Defence 2017-18, an