Passage
PASSAGE - III After India's surgical strikes on "terrorist launchpads" across the Line of Control last week, jingoistic voices have grown louder. While some have hailed it a fitting answer to Pakistan for allegedly supporting the September 18 attack on a military camp in Kashmir's Uri town that left 19 soldiers dead, others fear that India's action has the potential to turn into a full-blown war between the nuclear-armed neighbour (1). Even as many participants in the nightly television discussion shows seem to welcome the prospect, the fact remains that conflict is damaging for both countries - politically and economically. The India-Pakistan conflict already squeezes out 3% of India's economic potential, according to an analysis done by the Mumbai-based think-tank Strategic Foresight Group in 2004. In a report titled "Cost of Conflict", the group analysed military expenditures of the two countries to conclude that even low-intensity warfare could have "financial costs, [hurt] human lives and policy losses". Similarly, 3,843 Indian soldiers and close to 8,000 Pakistani soldiers died during the direct military confrontation between the two countries in 1971, which ended with the capture of more than 90,000 Pakistani prisoners of war. "Though reliable data on disappearances and civilian casualties is not available, it would be safe to assume that at least 100,000 families suffered direct human costs on account of the four wars between India and Pakistan," the Strategic Foresight Group wrote in its report. The report sought to chart the impact of relatively mild confrontations along the border and their resulting costs. For instance, after the attack on Parliament in 2001, there was a military standoff at the India-Pakistan border with continued infiltrations and killing of soldiers on either side of the Line of Control. While the countries finally retreated, the conflict led to massive costs for both. India spent \$600 million between December 2001 and January 2002 and Pakistan spent another \$400 million. Estimates by the Strategic Foresight Group suggest the two countries ended up spending more than $3 billion in the short period of time due to confrontation and the overarching possibility of a nuclear war. In 2003, India increased its military spending to Rs 653 billion from Rs 560 billion the previous year while Pakistan's rose marginally from Rs 158 billion to Rs 160 billion. However, Pakistan's military expenditure as a percentage of its gross domestic product is substantially higher than India's and the same goes for its per capita military spending. Pakistan spends almost twice as much as India per citizen on its military and the amount rose from Rs 1,060 in 2003 to Rs 1,161 in 2007.
- What was the approximate percentage increase witnessed in India's expenditure over its military in 2003 with respect to the previous year?