New Delhi, Feb. 1 -- Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh on Sunday welcomed the Union Budget 2026-27, describing it as a "significant boost" for the country's defence preparedness.

He highlighted that the allocations will strengthen modernisation, capital expenditure, and overall operational capabilities of the Indian Armed Forces.

"I am happy with the budgetary allocations announced by the Finance Minister as part of this year's budget... The overall budget for the Ministry of Defence is going to be 7.85 lakh crores, which is a 15 % increase over the allocation for last year. More importantly, in the area of CAPEX, the overall capital expenditure outlay has gone up by 21 % to about 2.9 lakh crores. And most critically, when it comes t...