Military Spending

India on Thursday approved the capital acquisition of indigenously-developed military hardware worth Rs 70,584 crore as part of a mega procurement plan that is expected to significantly boost domestic defence manufacturing. The approval to the procurement proposals was accorded by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, officials said. The go-ahead to the fresh procurement proposals came amid the nearly three-year-long standoff along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh with China. The DAC accorded Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for capital acquisition amounting to Rs 70,584 crore and all the procurement will be made under the Buy (Indian-Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured) category. The total approval granted for capital acquisition in the financial year 2022-23 now stands at Rs 2,71,538 crore, of which 98.9 per cent will be sourced from Indian industries, the officials said. "Such quantum of indigenous procurement wi

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged Monday to increase military funding by 5 billion pounds (USD 6 billion) over the next two years in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the epoch-defining challenge posed by China. The increase, part of a major update to U.K. foreign and defense policy, is less than military officials wanted. Sunak said the U.K. would increase military spending to 2.5 per cent of gross domestic product in the longer term, but didn't set a date. Britain currently spends just over 2 per cent of GDP on defense, and military chiefs want it to rise to 3 per cent. The extra money will be used, in part, to replenish Britain's ammunition stocks, depleted from supplying Ukraine in its defense against Russia. Some will also go towards a U.K.-U.S.-Australia deal to build nuclear-powered submarines. The world has become more volatile, the threats to our security have increased, Sunak told the BBC during a visit to the U.S. It's important that we protect ourselves ..

Foreign media should look at their own countries' military expansions before hyping the "China threat" theory, analysts said

In probable first-time-ever prospect, the world's leading military hardware makers will compete in a commercial landscape in the aftermath of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The growth has come on the back of healthy growth in the order books of defence companies amid the government's focus on indigenisation and surge in exports

Even before Russia attacked Ukraine in February this year, the major powers had started increasing their military spending

It implies that India needs to enhance military spending

The government on Friday said it accorded the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) or in-principle approval for procurement of military equipment worth Rs 1,83,778 crore since 2020-21.

The defence ministry has set up an apex committee to conduct "performance and efficiency" audit of capital procurements, logistics, inventory and maintenance of assets of the armed forces. The committee, headed by the defence secretary, will advise Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on measures for overall improvement in strengthening of internal oversight and risk management framework in various aspects of functioning of the ministry. The panel comprises vice chiefs of the three services, secretary defence (finance), chief of integrated staff committee, controller general of defence accounts and director general (acquisition) and other senior officials of the ministry, including representatives from the Defence Research and Development Organisation. The setting up of the committee comes amid efforts to streamline the military procurement procedures and focus on enhancing the country's overall combat readiness. "The Ministry of Defence has set up an institutional mechanism comprising o

Karachi-based newspaper Dawn said that defence expenditure is budgeted at Rs 1,523 billion, which makes up 17.5 per cent of the total current expenditure

In a drive to strengthen the indigenous arms industry, 64 per cent of capital outlays in the 2021 Indian military budget was earmarked for acquisitions of domestically-produced arms, the report said

The five largest spenders in 2021 were the United States, China, India, the United Kingdom and Russia, together accounting for 62 per cent of expenditure, it said

The Ukrainian Finance Ministry said it had signed a $398 million loan agreement with the Canadian government amid the Russian military operation.

President Joe Biden has approved an $800 million package of military assistance, including additional helicopters and the first provision of American artillery.

The United States is likely to announce a new military aid package worth $750 million for Ukraine amid the ongoing war in the country

Canada intends to increase military spending by some USD 6.4 billion (CAD 8 billion) over the next five years, the Department of Finance announced in the Federal Budget.

Russia has no other options than to strengthen its military capabilities amid an increasing threat of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said

Beijing has expressed concern over Tokyo's plan to increase military spending to counter China, and has accused its neighbouring country of stoking military tensions in the region

Money requested for equipment modernisation slashed by 38 per cent

A deal would get Nato-member Turkey closer to some of China's military technology