The Indian Army has been given a budgetary allocation of Rs 2.84 lakh crore between 2017-18 and 2021-22 as against Rs 2.22 lakh crore in the previous five-year period, the government said in the Rajya Sabha on Monday.

       Replying to a question, Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt said the increase in allocation during 2017-18 to 2021-22 compared to the period from 2012-13 to 2016-17 was estimated at 27.69 per cent.

       Bhatt said a total of Rs 2,22,428 crore was allocated to the Army between 2012-13 to 2016-17 that comprised Rs 1,30,852 crore for revenue expenditure and Rs 91,576 crore for capital acquisition.

       He said the total allocation went up to Rs 2,84,023 crore for the period 2017-18 to 2021-22. The outlay included Rs 1,62,801 crore for revenue expenditure and Rs 1,21,222 crore under the capital head.

       The capital outlay is for purchasing new weapons and military hardware while revenue expenditure includes expenses on account of payment of salaries and maintenance of establishments.

       "The above figures indicate that there has been a substantial increase of 27.69 per cent in the five year period of 2017-18 to 2021-22 over 2012-13 to 2016-17," Bhatt said.

       "Further, the operational efficiency matches the technological advancement commensurately," he said.

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