The capital outlay for defence modernisation has gone up from ₹80,959.08 crore in FY20 to ₹1,32,301.27 crore in FY24, government told parliament on Friday. However, there is a minor dip of ₹540 crore from projected business estimate FY24, pegged at ₹1,32,841.04 crore, to actual allocation for the same financial year which is ₹1,32,301.27 crore, as per written answer Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt gave to joint queries of two MPs Dean Kuriakose and Anumula Revanth Reddy in Lok Sabha.

To encourage indigenous industry to contribute to defence modernisation, funds for the F24 have been earmarked in the ratio of 75:25, where 75 per cent, which is ₹99,223.03 crore, is for domestic procurement and the rest 25 per cent, that is ₹33,078.24 crore, is for procurement from abroad, MoS Bhatt told parliamentarians. The allocated funds are optimally utilised towards operational activities. If required, the schemes are reprioritised to ensure that urgent and critical capabilities are acquired without any compromise to operational preparedness of the defence services, the Minister stated.

Policy initiatives

“The government has taken several policy initiatives in the past few years and brought in reform to encourage indigenous design, development and manufacture of defence equipment, thereby promoting self-reliance in defence manufacturing & technology in the country,” Bhatt informed the lower house.

Some of them are; priority to procurement of capital items from domestic sources under Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP)-2020; notification of four ‘Positive Indigenisation Lists’ of total 411 items of services and four ‘Positive Indigenisation Lists’ of total 4,666 items of Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), for which there would be an embargo on the import beyond the timelines indicated against them; and simplification of industrial licensing process with longer validity period.

Benefitting ex-servicemen

A substantial increase in financial aid across various schemes aimed at benefiting ex-servicemen and their families has been approved by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Vocational Training Grant scheme for widows of ex-servicemen has been increased from ₹20,000 to ₹50,000 which, as per the Ministry of Defence (MoD), would help help them to provide sustenance and stability.

Also, now non-pensioner ex-servicemen and their widows will receive an increased medical grant of ₹50,000 from the existing ₹30,000. “This augmentation in financial aid recognises the valuable contributions made by our non-pensioner veterans and their right to comprehensive medical support, ensuring their well-being even after they have left active service,” the Ministry of Defence stated.

This is besides the ‘serious disease grant’. This grant, the Ministry stated, for non-pensioner ex-servicemen and their widows has been enhanced from ₹1,25,000 to ₹1,50,000 which reinforced the government dedication to assist such personnel in times of critical health challenges.

Currently, the schemes are being run by Kendriya Sainik Board and funded from the Armed Forces Flag Day Fund. These revised financial assistance amounts will come into effect immediately and will be administered through streamlined processes to ensure that beneficiaries can access the increased aid without any unnecessary delays, informed the MoD.

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