%A Pavan Nair
%T An Evaluation of India's Defence Expenditure
%! An Evaluation of India's Defence Expenditure
%X This essay attempts to make a realistic assessment of current levels of defence spending in India by evaluating the effi cacy and intensity of military expenditure. The media is largely ignorant or chooses to ignore the issue of defence spending. The view across the political spectrum and the strategic community is that any exercise to limit this spending amounts to compromising national security and is therefore not a viable consideration. Whilst it is true that development cannot take place in an insecure environment, defence expenditure in a developing country has a direct impact on the outlay on social spending. The "guns versus butter" argument is valid especially when the guns are not buying the security the country needs against asymmetrical threats from within and without.