“BEST INTEREST”
Defence minister Rajnath Singh described the spending as “unprecedented” and said it would help equip India’s armed forces with fighter jets, drones, ships, submarines and other critical hardware.
“It is in the best interest of the nation,” he added.
New Delhi is in the midst of negotiating defence contracts with domestic and international suppliers, including France, the United States and Germany.
The world’s most populous country sees massive infrastructure spending as key to sustaining its high growth rate by boosting domestic manufacturing and creating millions of new jobs.
“India is not content with simply being the fastest-growing economy,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said after the budget.
“India wants to become the world’s third-largest economy. This year’s budget presents an ambitious roadmap to give new momentum to” domestic manufacturing and self-reliance.
Sectors including textiles, pharmaceuticals, electronics and chemicals are primary targets to boost exports, Sitharaman said.
She promised the development of business parks for textiles and chemicals and said US$5 billion would be spent on boosting domestic electronics manufacturing.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/india-budget-pledges-record-infrastructure-and-defence-boost-5899576
