Why India is the world's largest arms importer

The Indian Army's Akash missile system, presented during the rehearsal for the Republic Day holiday, January 23, 2023 in New Delhi. AFP - MONEY SHARMA

Text by: Côme Bastin Follow

3 min

New Delhi placed an order for military equipment worth 16 billion euros on Thursday, March 8. Missiles, helicopters, cannons and electronic defense systems... Deciphering India's military strategy.

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from our correspondent in Bangalore,

On Monday 13 March, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) published its annual report on armaments. While India placed a huge order for military equipment in the week, we learned in the SIPRI report that the country is the world's largest importer of arms.

"Make in India" lagging behind

India faces two contradictory imperatives. On the one hand, to rapidly increase its military capabilities in the face of the threat of China on its borders and in the Indo-Pacific area and against Pakistan. On the other, to succeed in producing weapons on its soil rather than importing them, as part of the great "self-sufficient India" programme brandished by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But it is clear that "Make in India" does not really manage to progress in the military field.

Siemon Wezeman of the Stockholm Institute explains: "Since the end of the Cold War, India has led the world in arms imports. It cannot cope with the technical problems of production on its soil. The state-owned arms industry is slow and bureaucratic. The BrahMos missile, recently ordered, is for example developed in Russia. In fact, because India is too slow to design its technologies, weapons are sometimes manufactured on its soil but mostly under foreign licenses.

During the period 2018-22, India accounted for 11% of all the world's arms imports, ahead of Saudi Arabia (9.6%).

Who were the five largest arms importers in 2018–22?

1) India🇮🇳
2) Saudi Arabia🇸🇦
3) Qatar 🇶🇦
4) Australia🇦🇺
5) China🇨🇳

Together, they received 36% of total global arms imports in 2018–22. New SIPRI data on global #ArmsTransfers out now ➡️ https://t.co/FHS8ExK3Cv pic.twitter.com/EDD0xltLsC

— SIPRI (@SIPRIorg) March 13, 2023

Russia, the first partner

Russia, since the era of the Soviet Union, has been a very important ally and military supplier to New Delhi. The war in Ukraine is not without consequences for India for its arms supply and geopolitical positioning: India has faced delays in deliveries since Russia is engaged in the war; but on the other hand, it also wants to take advantage of the new geopolitical situation to establish new trade relations with Moscow.

New trade relations for cheap oil of course, but it goes further. Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar assured Russia that he would allow sanctions to be circumvented and pay in ruble rupees.

Siemon Wezeman believes that profound change will take time. "It is too early to know whether the war will reduce India's dependence on Russia," he said. When the United States asks not to buy from the Russians, India replies that it cannot be decreed. A large part of its armament is Russian and depends on specific spare parts. What is clear is that India is looking to diversify its imports. And France is now its second largest supplier.

According to the SIPRI report, Russia accounts for 45 percent of India's military purchases, followed by France with 29 percent and the United States with 11 percent. Figures rather stable compared to the previous year.

► Read also: India, an elusive actor?

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• India
• Defense
• Russia
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• China