IAF’s capital budget increased

In the country’s budget 2021-22, there is only a modest increase of 1.4% over the past FY but within this, the Air Force has been allocated the largest capital amount. This reflects the IAF’s increasing commitment to pay for its new Rafale fighters, manufacture of additional Su-30MKIs and Tejas LCAs by HAL as also continued modernisation of the Mirage 2000 fleet. According to defence analysts, major expenditure is also anticipated in the pending case for 114 multirole fighter aircraft (MRFA) for which the IAF has issued a global RFI some years back.