Rs 50,000 Crore Boost For India's Military After Operation Sindoor: Sources

New Delhi:

India's defence budget may get a Rs 50,000 crore boost as a result of Operation Sindoor, government sources told NDTV Friday morning. The boost, which will likely be provided through the supplementary budget, will take overall defence allocation past Rs 7 lakh crore, source said.

A record Rs 6.81 lakh crore had been set aside for the armed forces in the 2025/26 budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1. This year's allocation was already a significant 9.2 per cent increase from the Rs 6.22 lakh crore in 2024/25.

The increased budget - approval for which will be sought in Parliament's Winter Session - will likely be used for research and development, and the purchase of weapons, ammunition, and other necessary equipment, sources told NDTV.

Defence has been a focus of the Narendra Modi administration since 2014; the Defence Ministry had been given Rs 2.29 lakh crore in 2014/15, the first year of the BJP government.

The current allocation is the highest of all ministries and is 13 per cent of the total budget.

India's defence readiness and the (likely) increased budget allotment comes amid continuing tension with Pak, particularly after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and India's military response - Operation Sindoor - that targeted terror camps in Pak and Pak-occupied Kashmir.

Op Sindoor spotlighted the Indian military's potent synergy - tactical astuteness wed to advanced air defence systems comparable to Israel's famed 'Iron Dome'. The spotlight has also been on homegrown elements in that network, including the Akash missile defence system.

NDTV Explains | Guardians Of The Sky: India's Air Defence That Outfoxed Pak

Since then the armed forces have also tested Bhargavastra - a new, low-cost, counter-drone system in 'hard kill' mode. The micro-rockets used in this system underwent rigorous testing at the Seaward Firing Range in Gopalpur in Odisha this week, and the test met all objectives.

VIDEO | 'Bhargavastra' System To Destroy Drone Swarm Test-Fired

NDTV, meanwhile, spoke to Dr Prahlada Ramarao, a former Defence Research and Development Organisation scientist who developed the Akash system, which can intercept even highly manoeuvrable aircraft like the United States-made supersonic F-16 fighter jets, which are among those Pak pilots fly.

READ | "Happiest Day...": Man Behind Akash, Which Stopped Pak Missiles

Dr Ramarao told NDTV his tagline for Akash is 'sara akash hamara', or 'the whole sky is ours'.

In the aftermath of the 100-hour India-Pak 'war', Defence Minister Rajnath Singh pushed for greater domestic production of defence equipment, arguing it is the long-term solution.

"If we buy defence equipment from other countries, it means we are outsourcing it and leaving our security in the hands of someone else. This cannot be a long-term solution."

The Pahalgam Attack And Op Sindoor

Terrorists from a proxy of the Pak-based Lashkar-e-Taiba killed 26 people, many civilians, in the Jammu and Kashmir tourist hotspot last month, triggering outrage.

Baisaran Valley near Pahalgam in J&K, where LeT terrorists killed 26 people.

After an initial raft of non-military measures, including suspending the critical Indus Waters Treaty, India launched Op Sindoor - precision air strikes at nine terror camps in Pak and Pak-occupied Kashmir.

READ | 24 Strikes, 9 Terror Camps, 70 Killed: India Rained Hell For 25 Minutes

The Pak Army, told their bases would not be hit and warned against retaliating, responded by firing a barrage of drones and missiles at Indian military facilities and civilian population centres. Most of these were either shot down or neutralised by India's advanced air defence network, which includes the indigenously-developed Akash and the Russian-made S-400.

India then countered by launching further precision strikes, destroying Pak radar systems and damaging Pak Air Force bases, prompting Islamabad to reach out for a ceasefire.

READ | Op Sindoor Is India's New Normal: PM Modi's Sharp Message To Pak

On Monday, in his first speech since Op Sindoor, Prime Minister Narendra Modi put terrorists in Pak, which supports and funds terror activities, on notice, saying India would strike again to protect its territory and citizens, and that Delhi's doctrine on terror had forever changed.

READ | 'Vacate Illegally Occupied Kashmir': India Says Demand Won't Change

Mr Modi also said India would not talk to Pak on Kashmir except to disable terrorist infrastructure in that country and arrange for the return of illegally occupied Kashmir.

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