Russia spends almost 5% of GDP: Ex-Army General says India's defence budget must rise to 3%

Union Budget 2026 | Former Major General G D Bakshi on Sunday welcomed the 15% jump in India's defence allocation in Budget 2026, but said the country still needs to raise military spending as a share of GDP. He warned that conflict could erupt without warning and that preparedness cannot be built on a slow, long-term timeline.

"Our defence budget hiked by 15 % from 6.81 lakh crores last year to 7.85 lakh crores this year. Our defense budget has hovered around 1.9% of GDP. All European nations spending 3% Russia almost 5%. We are in a 3.5 front scenario. We urgently needed to go to min 2.5%-3%," he wrote on X.

"War COULD COME SUDDENLY. ONLY STRENGTH CAN SAVE US. URGENT NEED TO SHED GANDHIAN APPROACH. We should be in a position to exploit fleeting opportunities in Baluchistan or Pashtunkhwa and in Bangladesh. Can't afford to work on a 10-years leisurely plan of rearmament," Bakshi added.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who presented the budget on Sunday, allocated Rs 7,84,678 crore as the defence outlay for FY 2026–27, marking a hike of 15% over last year's allocation of Rs 6.81 lakh crore. The increase comes as the military pushes to procure new weapon systems amid security challenges from China and Pakistan.

Out of the total allocation, Rs 2,19,306 crore has been earmarked for capital expenditure for the armed forces, which includes purchasing new weapons, aircraft, warships and other military hardware.

The capital outlay is 21.84% higher than the Budget Estimates of 2025–26. Under this head, Rs 63,733 crore has been set aside for aircraft and aero engines, while Rs 25,023 crore has been allocated for the naval fleet.

The total capital outlay is over Rs 39,000 crore higher than the current fiscal's budgetary estimate of Rs 1.80 lakh crore. The revised capital outlay for 2025–26 has been estimated at Rs 1,86,454 crore.

According to the defence ministry, Rs 1.39 lakh crore, which is 75% of the capital acquisition budget, has been set aside for procurement through domestic industries during FY 2026–27.

The defence ministry has said the allocation stands at two per cent of the estimated GDP for the next financial year and shows an increase of 15.19% over the budgetary estimates for 2025–26. It also said the total defence budget is 14.67% of the central government's planned expenditure in the next fiscal year, making it the highest among ministries.

The revenue expenditure has been placed at Rs 5,53,668 crore, including Rs 1,71,338 crore for pensions.