A worsening of the security situation in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), the signing of a $8.9-billion (Rs 60,520 crore) deal for French Rafale fighter jets, and new deals for artillery were among the top five determinants of India’s uncertain security situation in 2016. India made many high-profile defence purchases in 2016 and carried out a much-publicised “surgical strike” against Pakistan-based terrorists, but an examination of defence data revealed gaping security holes.
India became the world’s fourth-largest defence spender in 2016 with a military budget of $50.7 billion (Rs 3.4 lakh crore)–nine times the health budget for the same year–an increase of 8% over 2015 ($46.6 billion or Rs 3.2 lakh crore), according to the 2016 Jane’s Defence Budgets Report, released by the UK-based research firm IHS Markit.
India’s 2016 military budget was around a quarter of China’s $191 billion or Rs. 13 lakh crore.
The Indian Army conducted “surgical strikes”–as the government called them–against terrorists within Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on September 30, 2016. Since then, at least 33 Indian security-personnel have been killed in J&K, according to data collated from various news sources.
