New Delhi, Feb 1 : The Union government allocated over Rs 6.81 lakh crore to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) on Saturday and further increased the defence pension by 14 per cent.

An official of the MoD said that In pursuance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government’s vision of ‘Viksit Bharat @ 2047’, with technologically advanced and ‘Aatmanirbhar’ Armed Forces, the Union Budget has made a provision of Rs 6,81,210.27 crore for Financial Year (FY) 2025-26 for the Ministry of Defence.

“This allocation is 9.53 per cent more than the Budgetary Estimate of FY 2024-25 and stands at 13.45 per cent of the Union Budget, which is the highest among the ministries,” the official added.

He said that out of this, Rs 1,80,000 crore i.e. 26.43 per cent of total allocation will be spent on Capital Outlay on Defence Services.

“On Revenue Head, the allocation for the Armed Forces stands at Rs 3,11,732.30 crore which is 45.76 per cent of total allocation. Defence Pension receives a share of Rs 1,60,795 crore i.e. 23.60 per cent and a balance of Rs 28,682.97 crore i.e. 4.21 per cent for civil organisations under MoD. The Ministry has taken a decision to observe 2025-26 as the ‘Year of Reforms’ which will further strengthen the resolve of the government for the modernisation of the Armed Forces and is aimed at simplification in the Defence Procurement Procedure to ensure optimum utilisation of the allocation,” he said.

Addressing the media in New Delhi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for presenting a budget to fulfil the Prime Minister’s resolve of Viksit Bharat.

“This budget will promote the development of youth, poor, farmers, women and all other sections of society. Recognising the contribution of the middle class, the budget has brought an unprecedented gift,” said the Defence Minister.

Meanwhile, the official said that Rs 1,80,000 crore has been allocated to the Capital Outlay of the Defence Forces.

“This allocation is 4.65 per cent higher than the Budgetary Estimate (BE) of FY 2024-25,” the official said.