New Delhi [India], February 1 (ANI): Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh on Sunday welcomed the Union Budget 2026-27, describing it as a "significant boost" for the country's defence preparedness.

He highlighted that the allocations will strengthen modernisation, capital expenditure, and overall operational capabilities of the Indian Armed Forces.

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"I am happy with the budgetary allocations announced by the Finance Minister as part of this year's budget... The overall budget for the Ministry of Defence is going to be 7.85 lakh crores, which is a 15 % increase over the allocation for last year. More importantly, in the area of CAPEX, the overall capital expenditure outlay has gone up by 21 % to about 2.9 lakh crores. And most critically, when it comes to the modernisation, budget is actually spent on modern equipment and other technological upgrades required for boosting the capabilities of our armed forces," he said.

Earlier today, the Centre allocated a budget of Rs 7.8 lakh crore to the Defence Ministry for the year 2026-27. Defence forces will receive Rs 2.19 lakh crore for modernisation under the Capital Outlay budget.

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Overall, the defence ministry will see a 15 per cent increase in its budgetary allotment. In FY26-27, there is a 21.84 percent increase in capital outlay, hiked from Rs 1.80 lakh crore in FY 25-25 to Rs 2.19 lakh crore.

The Defence Ministry has major projects in the pipeline, such as contracts for Rafale fighter jets, submarines, and unmanned aerial vehicles.

The Defence budget (civil) has been reduced by 0.45 per cent as compared to last year's Rs 28,554.61 crore.

Meanwhile, the Defence Services (Revenue) and Capital Outlay were allocated Rs 3,65,478.98 crore and Rs 2,19,306.47 crore, respectively, reflecting jumps of 17.24 per cent and 21.84 per cent.

The allocation for Defence Pensions also saw a rise, with the Centre allotting Rs 1,71,338.22 crore.

In a boost to the defence sector, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced, "It is proposed to exempt basic customs duty on raw materials imported for the manufacture of parts of aircraft to be used in maintenance, repair or overall requirements by units in the defence sector." (ANI)

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