India Remains the World’s Top Arms Importer
India remains the world’s top arms importer, and its imports increased by 4.7% between 2014-2018 and 2019-2023, as per a new report by the Swedish think tank SIPRI.
File image of a Rafale combat aircraft from France. India’s arms imports from France, which included 62 combat aircraft and four submarines, increased by 489% between 2013–17 and 2018–22. | Photo Credit: PTI
India buys more weapons than any other country in the world, and its purchases went up by 4.7 percent between 2014-2018 and 2019-2023, according to a new report from a Swedish research group called SIPRI. Russia is still the main place where India gets its weapons, but the US is selling more to European countries now.
This is despite the government’s “Make in India” initiative, which aims to promote India as the “most preferred global manufacturing destination.”
India was the largest single recipient of French arms exports, accounting for nearly 30 percent over the period 2019-2023. France’s overall arms exports increased by 47 percent between 2014–2018 and 2019–2023, according to SIPRI. This is the first time the country became the second-biggest arms exporter after the US and just ahead of Russia. Furthermore, India is in talks for 26 Rafale Marine jets to be procured for the Navy’s aircraft carrier INS Vikrant. In December 2023, France sent in a bid, and the contract will likely be signed this year.
The report says that even though Russia still sells the most weapons to India (36 percent), this is the first time in over 50 years that less than half of India’s weapons came from Russia. Pakistan also bought a lot more weapons, with their imports going up by 43 percent. China sells most of Pakistan’s weapons, making up 82 percent of what Pakistan buys.
In Asia, Japan and South Korea also bought more weapons, mostly because they’re worried about China. China, on the other hand, isn’t buying as many weapons from other countries because they’re making more of their own.
The report also says that a lot of weapons are being sold to the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Egypt being some of the biggest buyers. Saudi Arabia was the second biggest buyer, but they bought 28 percent less than before. Qatar, however, bought almost four times as many weapons as before, making them the third biggest buyer in the world.
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- Shubham Chakraborty, a Freelance Writer, holds an MBA from XLRI and boasts 6.5 years of extensive corporate experience. Departing from his corporate path, he embarked on a journey to fulfill his childhood dream of focusing on writing.
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