Budget likely to raise military spending slightly, delaying modernisation

The army, a large part of which is deployed on the border with traditional foe Pakistan, has been seeking everything from assault rifles to surveillance drones and body armour

The government is likely to stick to a modest rise in defence spending in the 2019/2020 budget due on Friday because of government finances, officials said, further delaying a long-planned military modernisation programme.

India's air force desperately needs hundreds of combat planes and helicopters to replace its Soviet-era aircraft while the navy has long planned for a dozen submarines to counter the expanding presence of the Chinese navy in the Indian Ocean.

The army, a large part of which is deployed on the border with traditional foe Pakistan, has been seeking everything from assault rifles to surveillance drones and body