India’s military spending third highest in world, up by 0.9 per cent from 2020: Report

PM Modi hands over indigenous Arjun tank to Indian Army (File photo)

New Delhi: The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), which monitors developments in military expenditure worldwide, on Monday (April 25, 2022) said that the world military expenditure reached an all-time high in 2021 and that India was among the top three largest spenders.

In a statement, SIPRI said that the total global military expenditure increased by 0.7 per cent in real terms in 2021, to reach USD 2113 billion. 

"The five largest spenders in 2021 were the United States, China, India, the United Kingdom, and Russia, together accounting for 62 per cent of expenditure," the statement read.

"India’s military spending of $76.6 billion ranked third highest in the world. This was up by 0.9 per cent from 2020 and by 33 per cent from 2012," it added.

In a push to strengthen India's indigenous arms industry, 64 per cent of capital outlays in the military budget of 2021 were earmarked for acquisitions of domestically produced arms, the report claimed. The news comes amid the Narendra Modi-led government's continuous push for an 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' (self-reliant India).

Military expenditure, notably, refers to all government spending on current military forces and activities, including salaries and benefits, operational expenses, arms and equipment purchases, military construction, research and development, and central administration, command, and support. 

US focused on military research and development

The SIPRI claimed that the United States military spending amounted to $801 billion in 2021, a drop of 1.4 per cent from 2020.

It, however, stated that US funding for military research and development (R&D) rose by 24 per cent between 2012 and 2021, while arms procurement funding fell by 6.4 per cent over the same period. In 2021 spending on both decreased. However, the drop in R&D spending was smaller than that in arms procurement spending.

Russia increased military budget in run-up to war with Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin, at a time when Russia was building up its forces along the Ukrainian border, increased the country's military expenditure by 2.9 per cent in 2021, to $65.9 billion, This, notably, was the third consecutive year of growth and Russia’s military spending reached 4.1 per cent of GDP in 2021.

"High oil and gas revenues helped Russia to boost its military spending in 2021,’ said Lucie Béraud-Sudreau, Director of SIPRI’s Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme.

China allocated $293 billion to its military in 2021

China, the world’s second-largest spender, allocated an estimated $293 billion to its military in 2021, an increase of 4.7 per cent compared with 2020, the Stockholm-based Institute said. 

The SIPRI said that China’s military spending has grown for 27 consecutive years and that the 2021 Chinese budget was the first under the 14th Five-Year Plan, which runs until 2025.