Indian Army gets lion’s share of Rs.1.417 trillion defence budget

August 25th, 2009 Congress projects smaller deficit than White HouseWASHINGTON — Congressional budget analysts project a cumulative $7 trillion deficit from 2010-2019, a figure roughly $2 trillion less than the one projected by the White House budget office. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, in a report that came out on the same day as the White House midyear budget review, said the deficit this year will total $1.6 trillion and that putting the nation on a sustainable fiscal course will require a mix of lower spending and higher tax revenues than the amounts now projected.

July 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India's defence expenditure during 2009-10 remains unchanged from Rs.141,703 crore ($28 billion) allocated in the interim budget earlier this year - which was a hike of 34 percent over the previous year. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, while presenting the budget in the Lok Sabha, had a word of cheer for soldiers and junior commissioned officers (JCOs), saying their pensions would be enhanced.

July 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Afghanistan National Army chief General Bismillah Khan Mohammadi arrived on a four day official visit to India Monday. He will be meeting senior military and defence officials and is likely to discuss issues like training of Afghan army officers.

June 24th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Better coordination and strengthening the war fighting capabilities of the army, the navy and the air force will be high on the agenda as the Indian military's top brass begins a two-day conference here Thursday that Defence Minister A.K. Antony will inaugurate.

June 13th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has hiked its defence spending for fiscal 2009-10 to Rs.347 billion ($4 billion) in the budget presented in parliament Saturday. Of this, Rs.343 billion has been allocated for the armed forces, Rs.463 million for defence production and Rs.840 million for the defence division, Minister of State for Finance Hina Rabbani Khar said while delivering the first budget speech by a woman in Pakistan's history.

June 8th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pointing to the acquisition of modern weapons and systems by its eastern neighbour, Pakistan says it is unable to change its India-specific pattern of defence spending. If you are suggesting that we should take something out of here and put it in another box that would not be a wise strategy.

June 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Lieutenant General Arvinder Singh Lamba has taken over as the new Chief of Staff, HQ Army training Command in New Delhi on Wednesday. Lamba is an officer with vast experience of conventional as well as Counter Insurgency operations.

March 4th, 2009 BEIJING - China plans to increase its defence budget by 14.9 percent in 2009, a parliament spokesman said here Wednesday. The planned defence budget is 480.686 billion yuan ($70 billion), Li Zhaoxing, spokesman for the annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC), told a press conference.

February 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Maintaining a 'threshold has been crossed' with the Mumbai terror attacks, the Indian government hiked the allocation for defence by 34 percent to Rs.141,703 crore (Rs.1.417 trillion) in the interim budget for 2009-10 that External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee presented in the Lok Sabha Monday. 'We welcome the budget,' Defence Minister A.K.

February 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Saying that the Mumbai terror attacks had given 'an entirely new dimension' to cross-border terrorism, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee raised the allocation for defence 34 percent to Rs.1,41,703 crore (Rs.1.417 trillion) in the interim budget for 2009-10 he presented in the Lok Sabha Monday. The total revised expenditure for 2008-09 was Rs.1,14,600 crore against the allocation of Rs.1,05,600 crore, said Mukherjee, who was presenting the budget on behalf of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is recovering from coronary bypass surgery.

February 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Holding a 'threshold has been crossed' with the Mumbai terror attacks, the Indian government hiked the allocation for defence by 34 percent to Rs.141,703 crore (Rs.1.417 trillion) in the interim budget for 2009-10 External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee presented in the Lok Sabha Monday. The allocation is nearly 15 percent of the total interim budget of Rs.953,231 crore for the fiscal beginning April 1.

February 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government Monday revised the total expenditure estimate in the current fiscal to a little over Rs.9 trillion (Rs.900,953 crore), an increase of Rs.1.5 trillion (Rs.150,069 crore) on account of increased assistance to states, greater sectoral investments and a higher subsidy burden. In the interim budget that he presented in the Lok Sabha, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee hiked the plan expenditure by Rs.395.71 billion (Rs.39,571 crore) to Rs.2.82 trillion (Rs.282,957 crore), against the budgeted estimate of Rs.2.43 trillion (Rs.243,386 crore).

February 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India's defence expenditure for 2009-10 has been hiked to Rs.1.41 trillion, acting Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said Monday in the Lok Sabha while presenting the interim budget for the fiscal beginning April 1. The allocation for 2008-09 was Rs.1.05 trillion.

February 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Security experts have viewed as marginal the 34 percent hike in the defence allocation in the interim budget for 2009-10 presented in the Lok Sabha Monday, pointing to the armed forces returning Rs.7,000 crore from what had been earmarked for arms purchases during the fiscal ending Mar 31. 'On the face of it they are talking about an increase of 25 percent (in real terms) but much of it is going to be used to pay arrears to the armed forces personnel after the (hikes recommended by the) Sixth Pay Commission,' defence analyst Commodore (retd) C.

February 10th, 2009 BANGALORE - Defence Minister A.K. Antony Wednesday hoped that the defence budget for fiscal 2009-10 beginning April 1 would rise despite the recession the Indian economy was going through.