‘Defence budget has decreased by 100bn, if we take into account inflation,’ DG ISPR
The Director-General of ISPR Major General Babar Iftikhar said that the budget for defence for fiscal year 2022-23 has decreased.
The DG ISPR Major General Babar Iftikhar said that the budget for defence for fiscal year 2022-23 has decreased. He said that is if we consider inflation and rupee depreciation, the defence budget was 2.2% of the total GDP from 2.8% last year.
In an interview with a news source, DG Iftikhar defended the ‘controversial’ budget allocation. He denied the allegation that the budget has increased, and added that there was an ‘annual debate’ on army’s allocation following the budget. He said that the money allocated for defence services relied on several factors, like deployment, sources available, threat perception and challenges.
Hence, if we account for all of those factors, the army has not had an increase in budget since 2020.
”When you look at inflation and rupee depreciation, it was actually reduced. It was 2.8pc of GDP last year and now we are at 2.2pc so the budget is continuously going down in GDP terms,” DG ISPR said.
He went on to say that the defence budget has experienced a decrease of Rs. 100 billion after factoring in this year’s inflation.
While talking about the steps Army has taken to cut down its expenditure, he said that they have given instructions to reduce fuel usage and spending on utilities. Similarly, Friday will be ‘dry day,’ and no official transport will be used other than for emergencies.
FY 2022-23 Budget
In the budget that Finance Minister Miftah Ismail presented, defence services were allocated Rs. 1,523 billion, which makes 17.3% of the current expenditure, and is 11.16% higher than last fiscal year.
If we consider the expenditure, the defence budget is same as last year, the number stands at 16% of the govt’s total outlay. The budget allocated for defence was increased, while funding for health, education, development and housing was cut.
This hike is almost proportionate to the average inflation that was measured for the year ending on 30th June.
What are your views on this? Share in the comments bar below.
Defence budget for usa army bhi defence tou tum amrica ka kerty ho to mall bhi amrica sy lo ,pak awam tou ansoo gas or mar bhi tum sy khayay or apna paysay bhi tum ko dy .
ye kis ko phuddu banane ki koshish kar raha hai beghairat