India has increased its defense budget by another Rs 1 lakh crore, which is sure to make Pakistan sweat. India has allocated about Rs 64 crore only for fighter jets and aero engines. On Sunday (February 1, 2026), Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the budget, in which Rs 7.85 lakh crore has been allocated for the defense sector. Special care has also been taken in the budget for modernization of weapons and army.
The government on Sunday allocated Rs 7,84,678 crore for the defense sector in the budget for 2026-27, while this amount is Rs 1 lakh crore more than last year. Rs 6,81,210 crore was allocated for defense in 2025-26.
Under the defense budget, Rs 63,733 crore has been set aside for aircraft and aero engines, while Rs 25,023 crore has been allocated for the naval fleet. The government had allocated Rs 6,81,210 crore for the defense budget in 2025-26, of which capital expenditure was set at Rs 1,80,000 crore, which increased to Rs 1,86,454 crore in the revised estimates stage.
In the last few years, India has increased its focus on indigenous weapons in the defense sector and defense production is already at record levels. Many big projects of the Defense Ministry are going on and many are about to start, for which this new budget will help.
Rafale fighter jet: There are 36 Rafale fighter jets in the Air Force and there are plans to buy more. There are to be deals for 26 or more Rafale-M for the Navy also.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV/Drones): Drones were used in the Russia-Ukraine war and clashes with Pakistan. This shows that now the importance of drones has increased, due to which the government is also paying attention to the manufacturing of drones. Projects like high altitude drone MQ-9B, indigenous drone and counter drone system are in the pipeline. Apart from these, projects like LCA Mk1A/Mk2 Tejas fighter helicopter, BrahMos missile, S-400 air defense system, new radar system are also in the pipeline.
What changed in this budget?
Total Defense Budget: It is Rs 7.8 lakh crore. This is about 14-15 percent more than last year. Last year, an increase of 9.5 percent was seen in the defense budget compared to 2024-25.
Capital Budget: This time Rs 2.19 lakh crore was allocated for modernization, whereas last year Rs 1.80 lakh crore was allocated.
Focus: The government’s focus is on increasing domestic production, indigenous weapons and exports. After Operation Sindoor, tension has increased with Pakistan, while there are challenges on the border with China too. Due to this, there is a need to modernize the Indian Army.
Out of Rs 7,84,678 crore, Rs 2,19,306 crore is allocated for the capital budget. Capital budget means that this amount will be spent on new purchases of weapons, equipment and technology. Revenue expenditure has been fixed at Rs 5,53,668 crore, which includes Rs 1,71,338 crore for pension.
In the budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed to exempt basic customs duty on components and parts required for the manufacture of civil, training and other aircraft. He also announced waiver of basic customs duty on raw materials imported for manufacturing of aircraft parts used by defense sector units for maintenance, repair or modernization. Both these decisions are expected to help the defense and space industry.
Also read:-
When Baloch rebels attacked, Pakistan was shocked, falsely accused India, Foreign Ministry gave a befitting reply
