India's defence budget heavily weighted to manpower costs

India has proposed a defence budget of 6.81 trillion rupees for 2025-26, marking a 9.5% increase from the previous year, with a significant emphasis on wages and pensions. However, only 1.80 trillion rupees have been allocated for modernisation and defence procurement, prompting analysts to stress the importance of higher capital outlay and faster defence deal procurements to effectively counter China.

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