4 months ago
NEW DELHI: India allocated 6.2 trillion rupees (US$74.7 billion) for defence spending in the interim 2024-25 budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in parliament on Thursday.
An amount of US$34 billion is earmarked for revenue expenditure, which includes salaries and money spent on maintenance of facilities, while the proposed capital spending, used for weapons and modernisation, is US$20.7 billion.
India’s gross domestic product (GDP) is projected to grow at 7.3 per cent in the current financial year ending on March 31.
Sitharaman proposed an increase of 11.1 per cent capital expenditure to US$133.9 billion as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government is keen to maintain growth momentum through infrastructure spending.
The fiscal deficit target in the 2024-25 budget is 5.1 per cent of GDP.
With parliamentary elections due before May, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a statement highlighted the government’s welfare efforts for the poor and middle-class.
He said “this budget carries the confidence of continuity.” -Bernama
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