As per the report “Trends in International Arms Transfers, 2022“ released by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)(a Swedish think tank), India continued to remain the world’s top arms importer for the five years between 2018 and 2022 despite 11% decline in its imports of arms between 2013-2017 to 2018-2022.
- Russia was India’s largest arms supplier in both 2013-17 and 2018-22, however, its share of overall Indian arms imports declined from 64% to 45%, with France emerging as the second largest supplier between 2018-22.
- India was being the world’s largest importer of major arms in 2018–22, a record it has held since 1993–2022.
- The five largest arms importers in 2018–22 were India, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Australia and China. The five largest arms exporters were the United States, Russia, France, China and Germany.
Key Highlights with respect to India
i.According to SIPRI data, among the top 10 arms exporters for the period 2018 – 22, India was the largest arms export market to three nations: Russia, France, and Israel and the second largest export market to South Korea.
ii.India’s top three import sources were Russia (45%), France (29%) and the United States (US) (11%).
- From 2013–17 and 2018–22, India’s arms imports from France surged by 489% and included 62 combat aircraft and four submarines.
- As a result, France surpassed the US to become India’s second-largest supplier in 2018-22.
iii.In 2018-22, India (31%), China (23%), and Egypt (9.3%) received nearly two-thirds of Russian arms exports.
iv.Between 2013-17, India was the largest recipient of Russian arms, however exports to India fell by 37% over the two periods.
India’s arms import % and their main suppliers, 2018–22:
Rank | Importer | Share of global arms imports (%) | % change from 2013–17 to 2018–22 | Main suppliers and their share of importer’s total imports (%) 2018–22 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2018–22 | 2013–17 | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | |||
1 | India | 11 | 12 | -11 | Russia  45 | France 29 | USA 11 |
Largest exporters of major arms and their main recipients, 2018–22:
| Rank | Exporter | Share of global arms imports (%) 2018–22 | Main suppliers and their share of exporter’s total exports (%) 2018–22 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st | 2nd | 3rd | ||||
2 | Russia | 16 | India 31 | China 23 | Egypt 9.3 | |
3 | France | 11 | India 30 | Qatar 17 | Egypt 8.0 | |
9  | South Korea | 2.4 | Philippines 16 | India 13 | Thailand 13 | |
10 | Israel | 2.3 | India 37 | Azerbaijan 9.1 | Philippines 8.5 | |
21Â Â | South Africa | 0.3 | UAEÂ 27Â | USAÂ 21 | India 15 | |
| 30 | Myanmar | 0.8 | Russia 42 | China 29 | India 14 | |
Global Scenario
i.As a result of the war in Ukraine, major arms imports by European governments rose by 47% between 2013–17 and 2018–22, despite a global decline in international arms transfers of 5.1%.
ii.The U.S. exports of arms climbed from 33% to 40% while Russian exports decreased from 22% to 16%.
iii.Pakistan’s arms imports climbed by 14% between 2013-17 and 2018-22, accounting for 3.7% of global totals, with China supplying 77% of Pakistan’s arms imports in 2018-22.
Recent Related News:
i.As of January 2023, Russia has become India’s fourth-largest trading partner, with imports from Russia increasing five-fold to USD 32.9 billion between April – December 2022. India’s higher imports from Russia are mostly due to two commodities: fertilizers and crude oil.
ii.Russia has improved from being India’s 20th largest source of imports in the previous fiscal year (FY22).
About Russia:
Prime Minister – Mikhail Mishustin
President – Vladimir Putin
Capital – Moscow
Currency – Russian Ruble
