The military budget or defence budget of India is the portion of the overall budget of Union budget of India that is allocated for the funding of the Indian Armed Forces. The military budget finances employee salaries and training costs, maintenance of equipment and facilities, support of new or ongoing operations, and development and procurement of new technologies, weapons, equipment, and vehicles.

The Indian Army accounts for more than half of the total defence budget of India, with most of the expenditure going to the maintenance of cantonments, salaries and pensions, rather than critical arms and ammunition.

Overview India's defence budget includes allocation for the three defence services: the army, navy and air force. It also includes allocation for the ordnance factories, research and development, and capital outlay. Additionally there are civil defence expenditures such as pensions. Unofficial expenditure includes expenses for four of the six Central Armed Police Forces responsible for border security. The space program and atomic energy are funded separately.

+India's official and unofficial defence allocationOfficial statusCategory or Demand for Grants (DFGs)DCE/DSEUnofficialMinistry of Defence (Canteen Store Department, MOD Secretariat, Coast Guard, J&K Light Infantry)Defence Civil (DCE)Pensions and other benefitsOfficial defence budgetOperating expensesArmy (including the National Cadet Corps (NCC), Director General of Quality Assurance (DGQA), Military Farms and Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme)Defence Services (DSE)Navy (Joint Staff)Air ForceOrdnance FactoriesDefence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)Capital expenseCapital outlay (Capital expenditure of all services including the NCC, Ordnance Factories and DGQA)UnofficialBorder Roads Organisation, Assam Rifles, Border Security Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Sashastra Seema Bal, border management, CAPF construction, border outposts

Expenditures

2017–2018 The Minister of Finance allocated of the 2017 Union budget of India for the development of the armed forces, marking a raise of around 7% from the previous fiscal year.

2018–2019 In presenting the defence budget of 2018–2019, the Finance Minister allocated for the Ministry of Defence (MOD). This translates into an increase of 5.66% over the 2017–2018 defence budget.

2019–2020 As 2019 was an election year the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government presented an interim budget in place of a regular budget as per the general practice. In the interim budget an allocation of was made. On its re-election the NDA government kept the military budget unchanged. However the actual expenditure exceeded the estimated amount and final defence spending for 2019–2020 stood at , marking an increase of around 10% over the previous budget.

2020–2021 The allocation for defence during the fiscal year 2020–2021 stood at . This amounted to an increase of nearly 9%.

2021–2022 The allocation for defence during the fiscal year 2021–2022 was , an increase of 1% over the previous year.

2022–2023 The allocation for defence during the fiscal year 2022–2023 stood at , an increase of nearly 10% over the previous year. making it the fourth highest in the world after the US, China, and Russia.

2023–2024 The defence expenditure for fiscal year 2023–2024 stood at .

2024–2025 The defence budget of India was increased to in the 2024-2025 union budget from during last year. This year’s defence budget accounts for 1.89% of the country’s projected gross domestic product (GDP) for 2024-25.

2025–2026 The defence budget of India was This year’s defence budget accounts for 1.9% of the country’s projected gross domestic product (GDP) for 2025-26, with a 9.5% increase from last year, with a significant portion allocated to salaries and pensions, and a focus on domestic procurement and modernization. Statistics + Table 1: Budget allocation for armed forces Major Head Actuals (2023-24) RE (2024-25) BE (2025-26) % Change (2024-25 v 2025-26) Salaries 3% Capital Outlay 13% Pensions 2% Maintenance 5% Other Expenses 10% Total 6% + Table 2: Budget allocation for armed forces Major Head Actuals (2023-24) RE (2024-25) BE (2025-26) % Change (2024-25 v 2025-26) Army Revenue 5% Navy Revenue 8% Air Force Revenue 8% Capital Outlay 14% Other 13% Total 6%Note: Army includes Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry; Navy includes Coast Guard. Capital Outlay includes capital spending on Coast Guard. RE = Revised Estimate, BE = Budget Estimate. Sources: Expenditure Budget, Union Budget 2025-26; PRS.

Spending as a percentage of GDP Year Ruling coalition Expenditure (%) Change20251.900.0120241.890.0820231.970.2420222.210.4520212.660.2220202.880.3620192.520.1020182.420.0920172.510.0020162.510.1020152.410.0920142.500.0320132.470.0720122.540.1120112.650.0620102.710.1820092.890.3420082.550.2120072.340.18 The above statistics were collected by the World Bank up to 2018.

Capital acquisition Service BE 2013–2014 (₹ in crore) RE 2013–2014 (₹ in crore) Under/over spending (₹ in crore) Under/over spending (%) Interim 2014–2015 (₹ in crore) % growth of interim 2014–2015 over BE 2013–2014 Army 23,423.23 10,871.22 2,525.82 18.95 20,920.20 56.83 Navy 19,972.78 19,234.32 3,614.47 15.39 23,020.86 1.95 Air Force 37,048.06 36,016.54 1,031.52 2.78 31,817.89 14.12 Total 73,853.88 66,682.07 7,171.81 9.71 75,758.95 2.55 The above data was published by the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses.

See also Union budget of India Railway budget of India

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