India remains world's top arms importer: Report

Ajay Banerjee

New Delhi, March 13

Notwithstanding attempts at self-reliance in weapon manufacturing, India has once again emerged as the world’s largest importer of weapons and military equipment, accounting for 11 per cent of all such international imports.

These trends have emerged from a report released by the Sweden-based think tank Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) today. The assessment was done for a five-year period (2018-2022). The think tank releases its annual report in March every year.

Russia’s share falls

• The report compared two five-year periods — between 2013-17 and 2018-22 — and noted that Russian arms supplies to India are declining
• Russia’s share of total Indian arms imports fell from 64 per cent to 45 per cent; this is because of strong competition from other supplier states and increased Indian arms production

Titled “Trends in International Arms Transfers 2022”, the report compared two five-year blocks — between 2013-17 and 2018-22 — saying Indian arms imports in the global share have decreased.

“Despite this, India was the world’s largest importer of major arms in 2018-22 and accounted for 11 per cent of total global arms imports in the period,” the report said.

As per the SIPRI, India has been the largest importer of military equipment for more than 30 years. “India was the world’s biggest importer of major arms in 2018-22, a position it has held for the period 1993-2022. It retained this position even though its arms imports dropped by 11 per cent between 2013-17 and 2018-22,” the report read.

The SIPRI report said, “India’s tensions with Pakistan and China largely drive its demand for arms imports.”

On expected lines, Russia remains the largest supplier of major arms to India and supplied 45 per cent of all Indian imports. France came second and met India’s 29 per cent of import needs, while the United States supplied 11 per cent of equipment. India also imported from Israel, South Korea and South Africa.

The report compared two five-year periods to show that Russia’s share in India’s market was declining. “Russia was the largest supplier of arms to India in both 2013-17 and 2018-22, but its share of total Indian arms imports fell from 64 per cent to 45 per cent,” it read.

Russia’s position as India’s main arms supplier is under pressure due to strong competition from other supplier states and increased Indian arms production.

The report said Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Australia and China were the next four biggest global importers for the period 2018-22. The US, Russia and France are the world’s biggest three exporters with 40 per cent, 16 per cent and 11 per cent global share, respectively.

Meanwhile, on Pakistan, the report said its imports increased by 14 per cent between 2013-17 and 2018-22 and accounted for 3.7 per cent of the global total. China supplied over three quarters (77 per cent) of Pakistan’s arms imports in 2018-22.