New Delhi: India on Monday confirmed a huge increase in military spending and offered sweeping benefits to the police, linking the ongoing drive to ramp up national security to economic development.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee hiked the defence budget for the financial year to March 2010 by 24 percent to 1.42 trillion rupees (28.4 billion dollars) to partly fund a programme to modernise India’s 1.23-million-strong military.
The size of the increase had been flagged in a pre-election interim budget in February.
An attack by Islamist militants in Mumbai in November that left 166 people dead also prompted Mukherjee to grant additional funds for the paramilitary and state police.
New Delhi blamed “official agencies” in Pakistan for the carnage in Mumbai but conceded the 10 militants who came undetected by the sea took advantage of India’s antiquated maritime security and chinks in intelligence networks.
In addition to the defence budget, Mukherjee sanctioned an additional 143 million dollars for the paramilitary and said he will also spend 456 million dollars more to strengthen border security during the current fiscal year.
“Significant augmentation in the strength of the paramilitary forces is being done,” Mukherjee said, adding the government will build 100,000 houses for troopers to “boost morale”.
In a bid to stem discontent of retired soldiers from spilling into the ranks, he promised an attractive pension programme for 1.2 million ex-military personnel who in recent months had taken their agitation to the streets.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the security modernisation programme was crucial to the unhindered development of Asia’s third largest economy.
“Law and order is a pre-requisite to sustainable development… so the modernisation of our intelligence is a must,” Singh told Doordarshan national television.
India’s army is clamouring for helicopters, artillery, armour and infantry while the airforce is on the verge of buying 126 warjets worth almost 12 billion dollars and the navy wants an aircraft carrier.
India, the biggest weapons buyer among emerging countries and which has imported military hardware worth 28 billion dollars since 2000, plans to sign further contracts estimated at up to 30 billion dollars in the next few years.
But strategy expert Uday Bhaskar noted the lion’s share of the funds will be taken up by wages and pensions and said: “The current defence allocation may look good but it will not enhance the capability of the military in any way.”
