India’s Defence Expenditure: A Trend Analysis

Laxman Kumar Behera

Archive data: Person was Research Fellow at IDSA till September 2020 Dr. Laxman Kumar Behera joined MP-IDSA in September 2006. He specialises on issues related to Arms Procurement, Defence Offsets,… Continue reading India’s Defence Expenditure: A Trend Analysis read more

Pabitra Mohan Nayak

Pabitra Mohan Nayak is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Fakir Mohan University, Balasore.This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the… Continue reading India’s Defence Expenditure: A Trend Analysis read more

This article examines India’s defence expenditure over the past ten years. In so doing, it provides a public finance perspective to explain the recurring resource crunch being faced by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). The article reasons that a substantial augmentation of resources for the MoD in the past has faced stiff barriers due to lack of tax buoyancy and also the political, economic and other exigencies that have led to greater public spending outside the traditional areas of expenses, including defence. It argues that the MoD needs to re-balance its expenditure, especially in areas pertaining to manpower.