India remained the world’s largest arms importer from 2018 to 2022, despite a decrease of 11% in arms imports compared to the period between 2013-17. This information comes from the latest report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Following India, Saudi Arabia was the second-largest arms importer during this period.
The report revealed that Russia was India’s top arms supplier in both the 2013-17 and 2018-22 periods. However, Russia’s share of arms imports to India decreased from 64% to 45%, with France becoming the second-largest arms supplier to India at 29%, followed by the US at 11% during 2018-22.
India’s demand for arms imports is largely driven by tensions with Pakistan and China, according to the report. With an 11% share of global arms imports, India has held the title of the world’s largest arms importer from 1993 to 2022.
The drop in arms imports can be attributed to various factors, including India’s slow and complex arms procurement process and efforts to diversify arms suppliers. Apart from Russia and France, India also imported arms from Israel, South Korea, and South Africa during this period.
The report highlighted that Russia’s position as India’s main arms supplier is facing challenges due to strong competition from other supplier states, increased Indian arms production, and constraints on Russia’s arms exports since 2022. The report also noted changes in Russian arms exports to China and Egypt, with a decrease in exports to India.
France emerged as the second-largest arms supplier to India during 2018-22, displacing the USA. India was also the third-largest arms supplier to Myanmar, after Russia and China, accounting for 14% of its imports. Additionally, 77% of Pakistan’s arms supply in 2018-22 came from China.
The report mentioned that European states saw a 47% increase in imports of major arms between 2013-17 and 2018-22, amidst a 5.1% decrease in global arms transfers.
