Key highlights of India's defence budget: Highest allocation ever, 30% boost to BRO and more

India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the union budget 2024-25 on Tuesday (Jul 23), allocating INR 621,940 crore ($74.29 billion) to the defence sector. This is 500 crore ($60 million) more than what was announced in the February interim budget.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh hailed the budget as the "highest allocation" ever given to the defence sector, making up almost 13 per cent of the total union budget.

"As far as the allocation to the Ministry of Defence is concerned, I thank the Finance Minister for giving the highest allocation to the tune of Rs 6,21,940.85 crore, which is 12.9% of the total Budget of the Government of India for FY 2024-25," Singh said.

Of the total amount, INR 172,000 crore ($20.5 billion) has been earmarked as the capital budget. Out of these $20.5 billion, $12.5 billion will be utilised for procurement from domestic firms.

“Earmarking of Rs 1,05,518.43 crore ($12.5 billion) for domestic capital procurement will provide further impetus to Atmanirbharta,” Singh said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

30 per cent budget boost to BRO

Another significant part of the defence budget is that a 30 per cent boost has been awarded to the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) under the capital head. This means the government will continue to boost infrastructure along the border areas and sensitive regions, with the use of latest machinery and technology.

"I am pleased that Border Roads have been given a 30% increase in allocation over the last budget under the capital head. This allocation of Rs 6,500 crore to BRO will further accelerate our Border Infrastructure," Defence Minister Singh stated.

Support to defence startups

INR 518 crore ($62 million) have been allocated to the iDEX scheme, which backs and promotes technological solutions from startups. "To boost the startup ecosystem in Defence Industries, Rs 518 crore has been allocated to iDEX scheme to fund technological solutions given by startups, MSMEs, and innovators," the minister said.

Notably, despite a significant increase, India's defence budget is still below 2 per cent of the country's GDP.

Additionally, $913 million has been allocated to the Indian Coast Guard and $2.85 billion to the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

(With inputs from agencies)