Union Budget 2023: FM Sitharaman Announces Rs 5.94 Lakh Cr for Defence Sector

In comparison, Rs 5.25 crore had been allotted to the defence sector in the 2022-23 Budget.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget on Wednesday, 1 February. 

(Photo: Aroop Mishra/The Quint) 

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Union Budget 2023: In the last full budget ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced an allocation of Rs 5.94 lakh crore for the Ministry of Defence.

Comparison with Last Year's Budget 

In the 2022 Budget, the total allocation towards the defence sector was Rs 5.25 crore, which made up 13.31 percent of the total budget.

The key highlights of the 2022 Budget for defence included:

• In a push to the Modi government's vision of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat', 68 percent of the capital procurement budget was earmarked for the domestic defence industry in 2022-23, up from 58 percent in 2021-22.

• 25 percent of the defence budget was earmarked for R&D to be opened up for industry, startups, and academia.

• Setting up an independent nodal umbrella body for meeting testing and certification requirements.