How can the DM promise that the full allocation will be spent though? He can say they will aim for it but there is no way he can assure us 100% will be spent before the next FY has even begun. What will he do differently to ensure this happens?
@anant_s @PARIKRAMA @Levina @Pulsar @Skull and Bones @ranjeet @Echo_419
The IA needs to be blamed also, see:
Indian Army grapples with arms, gear shortage
Blaming the civvies alone will ignore the faults of the IA and won't see that the mess is addressed.
Barely in line with inflation BUT, and this is the crux of the problem, IF the forces can actually spend upwards of 95% of the allocation then defence spending will increase in 2016-17 quite substantially in real terms. A higher allocation is rather meaningless if the military is still returning billions at the end of the fiscal.
This is the real issue. Announcing these budgets in Febuary every year and promising the moon and the stars is all well and good but in 12 months time what will be the actual ground reality? Proper monitering of the implementation and continuously therafter is essential so these promises can be translated into tangible gains. Let's hope this happens.
It can't happen IMO, as the unspent funds are only returned at the end of the FY to the FM and to not continue over into the next FY as such by the time it is clear how much has been unspent the new budget allocation is already out. There is nothing the DRDO can do with uncertain and inconsistent cash flows like that- they too need to have long term budgets. The solution is simply to ensure as much of the defence budget is spent as possible, those responsible (both military and civlian) for returning unspent funds need to face severe scrutiny for failing to do their duty.
Rafales yes but I'm not convinced S400 will be signed in the next FY.
Also, let's not forget that vital procurements such as the A330 MRTT and S-70B are still waiting to be signed that this DM inherited from the UPA but is ignoring entirely. The S-70Bs are particuarly urgent as the IN is being forced to fly their critcal warships with empty hangers or ancient 30+ year old Sea Kings.
Get GST and LAB passed this year and India will be growing at >9% from 2018/19