rediff.com: Indian military up in arms for greater share of national budget

The Indian military is pushing for a larger share of the upcoming national budget, arguing that the government should slash revenue-guzzling subsidies in the interests of national security.

Defence Minister George Fernandes is campaigning for a hike in military spending in the fiscal year ending March 2001, from the current 2.3 per cent of Gross Domestic Product to 3 per cent.

Fernandes also wants Rs 32 billion in immediate extra-budgetary funding, apparently to cover the cost of increased security requirements in Kashmir.

Ministerial competition for funds will be intense as Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, who will unveil the budget on February 29, has made it clear that public spending must be brought under control.

India increased its defence spending by 11 per cent to 10.6 billion dollars in the last budget, but the military, the world's fourth largest, grumbled that the rise was not enough to meet pressing modernisation plans.

The 1.3 million-strong army has been pining for T-90 tanks worth 930 million dollars, while the airforce since 1983 has been asking for 66 trainers at 1.16 billion dollars and the navy wants 300 million dollars for a Russian aircraft carrier.

Military research units, meanwhile, are fighting for a rise in their 654 million-dollar budget for the mass production of ballistic missiles.

A senior defence ministry source told AFP that the military had made a presentation that called for a 16-per cent increase in its budget.

"The increase will not take our military spending beyond 3 per cent of GDP," she said.

According to Army Chief V P Malik, the current "era of strategic uncertainties" requires India to be operationally prepared "for the entire spectrum of conflict -- from proxy war to limited war and even beyond."

The latest armour, howitzers, rockets and smart weaponry are all part of the army's inventory, Malik said. Navy chief Admiral Sushil Kumar said national purse-strings would have to be loosened to meet India's policy on "preventive deterrence."

Sinha will find it hard to ignore the military's funding call in the wake of last summer's bitter border conflict between Indian troops and Pakistan-backed guerrillas in the Kargil sector of Kashmir. Although India succeeded in pushing the infiltrators back, it was generally agreed that outdated technical equipment and weaponry had drawn out the conflict.

"The government has to catch up with the obsolescence of 10 years but there is little room for manoeuvre as it has to keep the fiscal deficit at 4 per cent and cannot touch politically-sensitive subsidies," said Uday Bhaskar of the Indian Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis.

"However, India has a strong case to increase its defence budget to three percent of GDP in the post-Kargil scenario," he said, pointing to growing tensions with Pakistan.

Former army chief Vishwanath Sharma said Vajpayee's government would have to stem wasteful expenditure to fund the military's modernisation needs.

"The subsidies which are meant for the poor are eaten by the rich," Sharma said. "We have done serious damage to our army because today terrorists are better armed and equipped than Indian soldiers. People will have to sacrifice for national security ... There is no other option," he said.

Former foreign secretary S K Singh said New Delhi should not be deterred by foreign concerns over military spending hikes.

"As the economy is now moving ahead and stock markets are buoyant, New Delhi must restore some of the original cuts in military spending," Singh said.

"It will not worry people except for India's professional critics in the West," Singh said, adding that Pakistan's defence budget stood at seven per cent of GDP while Chinese military spending was at 4.8 per cent.

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