FRONT PAGE | Tuesday, February 17, 2009 | Email | Print | 
Defence surrender of Rs 7,000 cr this fiscal highest in five years
Pioneer News Service | New Delhi
The UPA Government on Monday hiked the Defence budget by nearly 24 per cent to Rs 1,41,703 crore even as the armed forces failed to utilise the capital outlay of Rs 48,007 crore for the last fiscal and surrendered about Rs 7,000 crore. The revised budget for last year was Rs 1,14,600 crore.
While the increase in budget allocation is aimed at enabling the armed forces to acquire weapons to fill the gaps in operational preparedness, the Rs 7,000 crore surrender is the highest amount remaining unutilised in the last five years.
This phenomenon, repeated year after year, indicated improper planning on the part of the military and civil bureaucracy and its reluctance to take decisions, thereby slowing down the rapid modernisation of the three services.
In fact, the total figures for the last five years showed that the unutilised funds were more than Rs 23,000 crore. External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday allocated Rs 54,824 crore as capital outlay for 2009-2010 and if the same dismal trend persists a sizable amount would come back to the kitty next year again.
This resulted in the tardy pace of acquisition of operational equipment over the years leading to gaps in preparedness of the armed forces to fight a conventional war. It became evident in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks in November last when the Government was contemplating exercising the military option to punish Pakistan.
Given the present scenario of state of readiness, India could not have fought a conventional war with Pakistan over a long period. The Government, moreover, realised that it could not go in for a short swift war with the western neighbour as it matched the military might of India. Appreciating the seriousness of this state of affairs, the Government asked the three services to go in for fast track acquisitions to cover the gaps.
Pranab in his budget speech hinted at this fact and said given the changed security scenario in view of the Mumbai terror attacks, the Government was allocating Rs 1,41,703 crore for Defence sector.
The budgetary allocation for 2008-2009 was Rs 1,05,600 crore and the revised estimate was Rs 1,14,600 crore, thereby showing a hike of nearly 23.65 per cent.
The increase in the revised estimate for last year was due to meeting additional expenditure on pensions and salaries on implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission.
Presenting the budget, Pranab said the allocation was increased because of the prevailing security environment, which has "deteriorated considerably." Noting that the Mumbai attacks had amounted to the threshold being crossed on the security front, Mukherjee said, "We are going through tough times. The Mumbai terror attacks have given an entirely new dimension to cross-border terrorism."
The increased allocation next year would include Rs 54,824 crore for capital expenditure as against Rs 41,000 crore in the revised estimates for 2008-09. However, the Government would provide for any additional requirement for the security of the nation, he added.
The hike in capital outlay would allow the three services to meet contractual obligation for equipment like Phalcon early warning air borne radars (AWACS), aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov, radars, patrol boats, electronic warfare systems, maritime reconnaissance aircraft and strengthening coastal security.
Coastal security was now on top of Government agenda as terrorists sneaked into Mumbai through the sea route. The go-ahead was given for setting a Coastal Command in December with the Navy and Coast Guard playing a major role and they urgently needed surveillance equipment to patrol the 7,000 km coast line.
Similarly, the Army urged the Government to take steps in right earnest to procure long range artillery guns, night vision devices for tanks and specialised equipment and weapons for the Special Forces.
The Special Forces would be called upon to play a greater role in fighting terrorism and facing a challenge like the Mumbai terror attacks and the seven battalions of these highly trained commandos needed equipment like satellite based communication systems, rifles, special aircraft and other related systems.
The IAF was also in the process of strengthening the air defence of the country and filling the crucial gaps in radar coverage. The capital outlay this year would allow the IAF to go in for radars and missiles besides upgrading the ageing fleet of Mirages, Jaguars and MIG-27s.
As regards service-wise budgetary grants, the Army continued to get the major share and the figure for next fiscal was Rs 58,648 crore. This included a hike for the Rashtriya Rifles, which was engaged in counter-terrorism operations in Jammu and Kashmir. While the budgetary allocation was Rs 2,480 crore last year, the figure for next fiscal was Rs 2,626 crore for the Rashtriya Rifles.
The Navy was given a Rs 300 crore hike over last year's budget of Rs 8,034 crore and the allocation for next year was Rs 8,322 crore. However, the IAF was given Rs 2,000 crore hike and the allocation now was Rs 14,318 crore over last year's allocation of Rs 12,199 crore.
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