Military Budgets in India and Pakistan: Trajectories, Priorities, Risks
MILITARY BUDGETS in INDIA and PAKISTAN Trajectories, Priorities, and Risks by Shane Mason Military Budgets in India and Pakistan: Trajectories, Priorities, and Risks © Copyright 2016 by the Stimson Center. All rights reserved. Printed in Washington, D.C. Stimson Center 1211 Connecticut Avenue, NW 8th Floor Washington, D.C. 20036 U.S.A. Visit www.stimson.org for more information about Stimson’s research. 2 Military Budgets in India and Pakistan: Trajectories, Priorities, and Risks PREFACE The Stimson Center prides itself in fact-driven analysis, as exemplified in Shane Mason’s report, Military Budgets in India and Pakistan: Trajectories, Priorities, and Risks. Shane’s analysis and policy-relevant conclusions are properly caveated, because India does not reveal some important data about defense spending, and Pakistan, while doing better to offer its citizens defense budget information, still reveals less than India. While Shane has found it necessary to draw inferences about spending for nuclear weapon- related programs, for which there is little publicly available information, he has been transparent about his sources and methodology. Those who appreciate reading the pages of The Economist will find comfort immersing themselves in Shane’s charts and graphs comparing trends in Indian and Pakistani defense expenditures. This Stimson report is also accessible to those who prefer analysis to numerology. Shane’s analytical bottom lines are worth highlighting. The growth of India’s defense expenditures relative to Pakistan are noteworthy, but the full impact of this differential will be diminished absent reforms in familiar organizational, bureaucratic, and procurement practices, as well as by growth in benefit payments.
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