Pay and allowances for armed forces forms 47% of defence ministry's revenue outlay
The proposed allocations mark an increase of over six per cent over the revised estimates of Rs 1,60,961.09 crore for the 2025-26 fiscal
Pay and allowances for the armed forces make up about 47 per cent of the revenue component of the defence budget of the 2026-27 fiscal presented in the Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday.
The total outlay under this head has been proposed at Rs 1,71,043.82 crore, which includes the emoluments of regular armed forces personnel as well as auxiliary forces and civilian employees, including staff engaged in research and development in the three services.
The proposed allocations mark an increase of over six per cent over the revised estimates of Rs 1,60,961.09 crore for the 2025-26 fiscal, according to figures mentioned in the budget documents.
The revenue expenditure of the ministry is pegged at Rs 3,65,478.98 crore. This includes establishment expenditure under heads such as pay and allowances Ex-servicemen Contributory Health Scheme, works, Rashtriya Rifles, NCC, Agnipath, training, research and development, as well as other Central sector expenditure like transport, stores, spectrum charges, repairs and refit and general services.
The proposed expenditure of Rs 1,71,338.22 crore on defence pensions and retirement benefits for 2026-27 are listed separately under a different demand head. Expenditure to be incurred on several other civil establishments under the defence ministry come under a different head.
Revenue expenditure is used for carrying out day to day business and includes salaries, utilities, rent, maintenance, work travel and miscellaneous expenses, but does not involve building assets and procuring equipment for the long term, which come under the budget's capital outlay.
For the 2026-27 fiscal, pay and allowances have been pegged at Rs 1,18,167.91 crore for the Army, Rs 20,536.83 crore for the Air Force and Rs 9,662.50 for the Navy. For the auxiliary forces, civilian employees in all three services and research and development staff, including service personnel, the combined allocation is Rs 22,676.58 crore.
India has the world’s third largest military in terms of manpower. The combined strength of armed forces personnel in India is a little over 14 lakh uniformed personnel, with the Army constituting the largest component. In addition, there are civilian employees who do not come under the purview of the Army, Navy or Air Force Acts and are engaged in administrative, support and ancillary services.
