SIPRI report 2023

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Key highlights-

• Total global military expenditure increased by 3.7 per cent in real terms in 2022, to reach a new high of $2240 billion. 
• The five biggest spenders in 2022 were the United States, China, Russia, India and Saudi Arabia, which together accounted for 63 per cent of world military spending.
• Military expenditure in Europe saw its steepest year-on-year increase in at least 30 years. 
• The three largest spenders in 2022—the United States, China and Russia—accounted for 56 per cent of the world total
• Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was a major driver of the growth in spending last year.
• China continues to spend more on defence than India. In 2022, China’s military spending reached $292 billion.

Status of India-

• India was the fourth biggest military spender(spending of $81.4 billion) in the world in 2022 after the United States, China and Russia.
• India’s spending was 6% more than in 2021 and up by 47% from 2013. 
• India’s expenditure on equipment upgrades for the armed forces and strengthening military infrastructure along its disputed border with China accounted for 23% of its total military spending in 2022,
• The report mentioned that salaries and pensions remained the largest expenditure category in the Indian military budget, and accounted for around half of all military spending.
• In February 2023, India set aside Rs. 5.93 lakh crore for defence spending in this year’s budget, including a capital outlay of Rs.1.62 lakh crore for the military’s modernisation, with the allocation almost 12% higher than that in last year’s budget estimates, and about 2% more compared to that in the revised estimates for 2022-23.
• The budget also includes a revenue expenditure of Rs.2.7 lakh crore and a pension outlay of Rs. 1.38 lakh crore. 
• 2023 defence budget accounts for 2% of the country’s projected gross domestic product (GDP) for 2023-24.
• India’s arms imports fell 11% between 2013-17 and 2018-22 but the country is still the world’s top importer of military hardware. 
• Also, India’s share of the global arms imports was the highest during the last five years at 11%, followed by Saudi Arabia (9.6%), Qatar (6.4%), Australia (4.7%) and China (4.7%).

India has taken a raft of measures over the last four to five years to boost self-reliance in defence. 

These include creating a separate budget for buying locally made military hardware, increasing foreign direct investment (FDI) from 49% to 74%, and notifying hundreds of weapons and systems that cannot be imported and are planned to be indigenised over the next five to six years.

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