India’s defence forces, which have been forced to re-work their long-term strategy and procurement priorities because of the lack of funds, are hoping that former Defence Minister and current Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will keep them in mind when she allocates funds in the Budget Saturday.
Her performance as the finance minister last year was a disaster for the armed forces because she kept India’s defence budget unchanged from the interim budget at Rs 3.18 lakh crore despite Balakot and the subsequent air battle with Pakistan, which brought to light the big capability gap in India’s defence. Read More…
