Union Budget 2026: Defence Budget pegged at ₹7.85 lakh crore; 15% increase over current fiscal
The Hindu
India's defence budget for 2026-27 is set at ₹7.85 lakh crore, reflecting a 15% increase for modernization and security.
Union government on Sunday (February 1, 2026) set aside ₹7,84,678 crore as defence outlay for 2026-27 over the current fiscal's allocation of ₹6.81 lakh crore with a major increase in capital expenditure as the military focuses on modernisation in the face of security challenges from China and Pakistan.
Union Budget 2026 LIVE
The increase in the defence outlay against the backdrop of "historic success of Operation Sindoor" has further strengthened our resolve to make India's defence system even more robust, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said.
The overall defence Budget has seen a hike of 15% over last year's outlay.
Out of the total allocation, ₹2,19,306 crore has been earmarked for capital expenditure to the armed forces that largely includes purchasing new weapons, aircraft, warships and other military hardware.
The capital outlay is over ₹39,000 crore higher than the current fiscal's budgetary estimate ₹1.80 lakh crore. The revised capital outlay for 2025-26 has been estimated at ₹1,86,454 crore.
Indian-flagged vessels in the Strait of Hormuz carry 2 lakh MT LNG and 16.7 lakh MT crude, amidst geopolitical tensions.
Stock markets continue to rise for the third day as Sensex and Nifty gain nearly 1%, fueled by IT stocks.
Rising oil prices and LPG shortages are driving India's shift to electric cooking, offering cost-effective and energy-efficient alternatives.
The rupee fell to a record low of 92.63 against the dollar, while equities surged with Sensex up 633.29 points.
Alibaba is sharpening its artificial intelligence strategy by focusing on agents that connect the many businesses under its sprawling corporate umbrella.
India's semiconductor market is set to reach $300 billion by 2035, driven by local production and growing technology demands.
Iran continues to export millions of barrels of oil amid war, with 90 ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz despite sanctions.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said during an internal all-hands meeting he expects artificial intelligence could help cloud computing unit Amazon Web Services achieve $600 billion in annual sales, double his own prior estimate.
Government mandates airlines to allocate 60% of seats free, enhancing passenger rights and convenience across Indian aviation.
Microsoft is weighing legal action against Amazon and OpenAI over a $50 billion deal, the Financial Times reported
Stock markets rally with Sensex and Nifty gaining, despite HDFC Bank and others lagging behind amid falling crude prices.
OpenAI has signed a new deal to sell access to its AI models to U.S. defence and government agencies through Amazon’s cloud unit for classified and unclassified work, the ChatGPT maker said
Samsung Electronics said on Wednesday that it expects to start volume production of Tesla’s chips