India, Nov. 28 -- The defence ministry will seek a 20% hike in the defence budget for the financial year 2026-27 to meet the growing requirements of the armed forces, factoring in the geopolitical realities, a top official said on Friday.

"We are in a particularly tough neighbourhood in many ways. So yes, we will be asking for a bit more than the normal 10% increase that we get, probably something closer to the 20% mark. My view is that we will have to keep it to the 20% level for the next few years. That will be sufficient to meet all of our capability [development] plans," said defence secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh at a Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) event.

Speaking at an ANI event, Singh warned the defe...