India’s arms imports fell by 33 percent in five years : Sipri Report

New Delhi : A report released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) on Monday said that India’s arms imports fell 33 % between 2011-15 and 2016-20. The country has taken a raft of measures to cut dependence on imported military hardware.

In the last few years, India has taken several measures to boost the domestic defense industry to reduce dependence on imports of military equipment. In response to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Defense Shripad Naik said that about Rs 1.99 lakh crore was approved between 2018-19 and 2020-21 to boost domestic defense production.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) report said, “India’s arms imports declined by 33 % between 2011-15 and 2016-20. Russia was the most affected supplier, although imports of arms from India to the US also declined by 46 per cent.”

The government is focusing on boosting domestic defense production and has targeted a defense business of Rs 1.75 lakh crore by 2025. Sipri’s report says that both Russia and China have reduced their arms exports. According to the report, arms exports by China decreased by 7.8 percent during 2016-20. Pakistan, Bangladesh and Algeria were the major buyers of Chinese arms.

Sipri said that the US is the largest exporter of arms and its arms exports grew from 32 per cent to 37 percent during 2011-15 and 2016-20.