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There is “no meagre allocation” of resources for defence modernisation, and allocation for it under total capital outlay for defence services has gone up from Rs 80,959.08 crore in financial year 2019-20 to Rs 1,32,301.27 crore in 2023-24, the government informed the Parliament.
Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt said this in response to a query in Lok Sabha. The minister shared data on the “projected and allocated funds under Capital Acquisition (Modernisation Budget) in BE 2023-24”. “There is no meagre allocation of resources for defence modernisation and allocation for modernisation under total Capital Outlay for defence services has gone up from Rs 80,959.08 crore in FY 2019-20 to Rs 1,32,301.27 crore in FY 2023-24,” he said in his response.
The allocated funds are optimally utilised towards operational activities. If required, the schemes are reprioritised to ensure that urgent and critical capabilities are acquired without any compromise to operational preparedness of the defence services, he added.
Also, with a view to encourage indigenous industry to contribute to defence modernisation, funds for financial year 2023-24 have been earmarked in the ratio of 75:25, where 75 per cent (Rs 99,223.03 crore) is for domestic procurement and 25 per cent (Rs 33,078.24 crore) is for foreign procurement, the minister added.
