Article Posted on : - Aug 03, 2010

NEW DELHI (PTI): Over Rs 5,500 crores have been spent for procuring weapon systems for armed forces till June this fiscal out of which Rs 210 crore were for acquiring equipment from foreign vendors, Government said on Monday.

"A sum of Rs 5,525.36 crores has been spent up to June 2010 on capital procurement of various kinds of defence equipment for armed forces including weapons in the current fiscal 2010-11," Defence Minister A K Antony said replying to a query in the Lok Sabha.

He added that out of this amount, Rs 210.17 crore was spent on procuring equipment from foreign vendors.

Answering a question on utilisation of defence funds, Antony said after "marginal under-utilisation" of funds from 2005-06 to 2008-09, there was an "excess expenditure" of 4.07 per cent during the last fiscal.

"While in 2009-10, there has been excess expenditure by 4.07 per cent of the revised Estimates (RE), in the previous four years from 2005 to 2009, there has been marginal under-utilisation," he said.

The Minister said against the Revised Estimates of Rs 1,36,264 crores, the Defence Ministry spent Rs 1,41,812.11 crores on the defence forces in the last fiscal.

Antony said the under-utilisation of funds by the Ministry was due to certain purchases and schemes under the revenue and capital heads not materialising as expected.

Also outgo on committed liabilities did not progress as anticipated due to slippages in contractual obligations on part of vendors.