Army is on a shopping spree, makes most of funds allocated

NEW DELHI: India''s defence spending in ''02-03 has been in sync with the revised estimates approved by Parliament for the first time in recent years, signalling the fact that all equipment purchases planned for defence forces have taken place.
Actual expenditure on defence stood at Rs 66,125 crore compared to the revised estimate of Rs 66,882 crore in ‘02-03, according to government data which has just been compiled. The original budget estimate was, however, significantly higher at Rs 76,611 crore.
These figures include outlays on the capital and revenue account as well as pension payments.
The capital expenditure on defence was projected at Rs 14,911 crore in the revised estimate, and actuals show these estimates as accurate. This is, however, nearly Rs 6,500 crore lower than the original budget estimate of Rs 21,410 crore. The outlay on the revenue account was projected at Rs 41,088 crore in the revised estimate as compared to the budget estimate of Rs 43,589 crore.
The total non-plan expenditure on defence stood at Rs 56,000 crore in the revised estimate as against the budget estimate of Rs 65,000 crore in ‘02-03. The outgo on pensions was forecast at Rs 10,092 crore in the revised estimates, which was nearly Rs 600 crore lower than the budget estimate.
The break-up shows that the allocation for army which also covers pay and allowances was pruned to around Rs 29,619 crore in the revised estimates compared to the budget estimate of Rs 30,690 crore. For the Indian airforce, the outlay was revised downwards to Rs 7,419 crore as compared to the budget estimate of Rs 8,187 crore. A marginal pruning of allocation was also done for the navy.
Officials say that meeting the revised target in itself is significant, given the trends in the past where actual spending fell short of even the revised estimates. Among the reasons cited for the shortfall over the revised estimates is the stringent scrutiny and lengthy vetting process for equipment purchases. In ‘01-02, for instance, defence spending (including pensions) was budgeted at Rs 73,144 crore and scaled down to Rs 67,810 crore in the revised estimates.
The actual expenditure was around Rs 65,082 crore.
The outlay for defence -- on revenue and capital account has been pegged at Rs 65,300 crore for the current fiscal, with the finance minister Jaswant Singh making it clear that the government''s commitment to modernise and equip armed forces is completely non-negotiable. Added to this is the outgo on pensions which has been estimated at Rs 11,000 crore.