Amid Pakistan tension, Arun Jaitley hints at upping defence budget
MUMBAI: Finance minister
Arun Jaitley said on Tuesday that the security challenge that the nation faces will get priority in resource allocation over all requirements as sovereignty of the country is 'most important'.
"In India, in addition to all the global events which leave an impact on us, we also have the security challenge. The security challenge involves an element of uncertainty. It also involves a lot of national resources being diverted in that direction and it will always get top priority," Jaitley told a State Bank of India banking conference.
The finance minister's comments come against the backdrop of the Uri attacks. The
Narendra Modi government is weighing options on its response to the attack by Pakistan-based terrorist in Uri in which 18 soldiers were killed.
The finance minister also touched upon the threat from the Islamic State.
"You have the uncertainty and the huge challenge created the world over by what is happening in large parts of the world on account of the activities and dangers posed by the IS. A global economy cannot be delinked from it," said Jaitley.
"Brexit is an evidence of uncertainty of public response. The tenor of debate in many countries - US in particular - is becoming extremely protectionist. While what happens in course of election campaign may get moderated at the implementation stage, campaigns do push part of the agenda itself," said Jaitley.
The FM's reference to defence allocation comes in a year where funds for the crucial sector has been increased by 9.76% to 2.58 lakh crore for the FY17 budget even as military pension soared to 82,000 crore mainly due to the 'one-rank, one-pension' scheme.
Stating that it was reasonably possible to meet the April 2017 deadline on implementing GST, Jaitley said that compared to last 25 years. the country is at a stage where there is a whole new generation which has become far more aspirational and is guiding public opinion. "The direct consequence is that channelizing public debate toward reform is far easier. Even on important steps and schemes for poverty alleviation we have broken off from past tradition of merely raising slogans," he said.
"There is a greater realization that for poverty alleviation you will need resources and an enriched state to enable it spend on poverty alleviation," said Jaitley. He added that the government's move towards target subsidies had met with success.
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