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Defence Spending Is Nation’s 'Insurance Premium' Against War: Former Army Chief Naravane
Former Indian Army Chief General M M Naravane (retd).
Former Chief of Army Staff General Manoj Naravane (retd) on Monday (18 August) defended India’s rising defence expenditure, describing it not as wasteful but as a necessary “insurance premium” to safeguard the nation from conflict, the Hindustan Times reported.
Speaking at the launch of his book ‘The Cantonment Conspiracy’ in Pune, General Naravane said defence budgets must be viewed in the same way as insurance.
“Some say the money could be used to build schools or fund healthcare. But national security cannot be outsourced; it is the government’s foremost responsibility. Defence spending is like paying an insurance premium: the greater the risk, the higher the premium. Similarly, the more serious the threats a nation faces, the more it must invest in its defence,” he said.
He emphasised that, unlike conventional insurance, which pays out after a crisis, defence spending serves as a deterrent against catastrophe. According to him, if a nation appears weak, adversaries are likely to exploit that vulnerability, whereas adequate preparedness ensures deterrence.
Referring to a Roman thinker, Naravane noted that peace can only be secured through strength.
He made the case that Russia's aggressiveness in 2022 was made more brazen by Ukraine's low defence spending, using the Russia-Ukraine war as evidence. The World Bank predicted the cost of reconstruction to be $400 billion within a year.
According to Naravane, the extent of the destruction might have been prevented if Ukraine had previously committed even a small portion of that sum to military readiness.
He also highlighted the economic impact of defence expenditure, stressing that it does not vanish into a void. Instead, it circulates through the economy by generating employment, boosting industries, and fostering innovation.
The Ministry of Defence has been given Rs 6.81 lakh crore for FY 2025-2026 in the Union Budget, which is 9.53 per cent more than the previous year. It continues to be the ministry with the highest budgetary allocation, accounting for 13.45 per cent of the overall budget.
