New Delhi, February 1: The Narendra Modi government on Friday allocated Rs 3 Lakh Crore to defence forces. Interim Finance Minister Piyush Goyal while presenting the budget said that apart from the amount allocated in the defence budget, the government would provide additional financial support to forces if needed. This amount included both revenue and capital expenditure for the forces. Indian Armed Forces Let Down! Modi Government Rejects Higher Military Service Pay Demand.

Apart from the defence budget, the government also allocated Rs 35,000 crore for One Rank One Pension (OROP). The Union Minister said that the Modi government fulfilled its promise of OROP, which was pending for over 40 years. The Government also announced a substantial hike in the Military Service Pay (MSP) of all service personnel and special allowances given to Naval and Air Force personnel deployed in high-risk duties.”Defence Budget Percentage of GDP Lowest Since China War of 1962 in Past Two Years.

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The Defence Budget 2019 is 1.7 percent (approx) more as compared to the previous budget. Meanwhile, it is only 10.78 percent of total expenditure. In the last year’s defence budget, Rs 2,95,511.41 crore was allocated for the defence forces accounting for 12.10 per cent of the total Central Government expenditure for the year 2018-19. Parliament Panel, Headed By BJP MP, Criticises Modi Government For Inadequate Fund Allocation For Defence Forces.

Here are the highlights of the Interim Budget 2019:

Out of the total outlay for defence, only Rs 99,563.41 was allocated for capital expenditure which includes modernisation expenditure for the forces, whereas Rs 1,95,947.55 for revenue expenditure. DefExpo 2018 Highlights: 'Make in India' Resonates at 4-Day Mega Defence Exhibition.

During the monsoon session last year, a parliamentary panel headed by BJP MP Murli Manohar Joshi expressed unhappiness over the current year’s defence budget. According to the committee, that year’s defence budget as a percentage of GDP is the one lowest since the India-China war in 1962. It translates to only 1.58 percent of the GDP.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 01, 2019 01:04 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).