Indian armed forces ICV BMP II (Sarath) tanks take part in India’s 74th Republic Day parade in New Delhi on Jan 26, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)

NEW DELHI - India proposed on Wednesday 5.94 trillion rupees ($72.6 billion) in defense spending for the 2023-24 financial year, 13 percent up from the previous period's initial estimates, aiming to acquire more fighter jets and warships.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman allocated 1.63 trillion rupees for defense capital outlays - an expenditure that would include new weapons, aircraft, warships and other military hardware, as she unveiled nearly $550 billion of total federal spending in the annual budget for 2023-24 starting in April.

India plans to spend near 242 billion rupees ($3 billion) for naval fleet construction and 571.4 billion rupees ($7 billion) for air force procurements including more aircraft, the latest budget document showed

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She said 2.77 trillion rupees would be devoted to military salaries and benefits in 2023-24, 1.38 trillion on pensions for retired soldiers, and further amounts for miscellaneous items.

Sitharaman also revised the defense budget for the current financial year ending in March to 5.85 trillion rupees from earlier estimates of 5.25 trillion.

In the past few years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ramped up spending to modernize the military, which employs 1.38 million people. The total Indian defense budget is estimated at about 2 percent of GDP.

Laxman Behera, a defense expert at government-funded Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, said the hike in the defense budget was "reasonable but not sufficient", considering requirements for military modernization.

"The government has tried to allocate reasonable funds for defense forces while balancing other priorities during the pre-election budget," he said.

India plans to spend near 242 billion rupees ($3 billion) for naval fleet construction and 571.4 billion rupees ($7 billion) for air force procurements including more aircraft, the latest budget document showed.

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Although the defense budget allocations fell short of military expectations, they are likely to grow as the economy recovers from two years of pandemic curbs, according to Behera.