India’s Import of Arms Decreases by 33%, Says SIPRI

NEW DELHI : India’s import of arms decreased by 33% between 2011–15 and 2016–20 and Russia was the most affected supplier, according to a report released on Monday by Stockholm-based defence think-tank SIPRI.

It said the drop in Indian arms imports seemed to have been the result of the country’s complex procurement processes combined with an attempt to reduce its dependence on Russian arms.

In the last few years, India has taken a series of measures to boost domestic defence industry with an aim to reduce dependence on imported military platforms and hardware.

In reply to a question in Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik said approval (Acceptance of Necessity) was given to 112 proposals between 2018-19 and 2020-21 (till December) worth around ₹1.99 lakh crore under various categories of capital acquisition to promote the domestic defence manufacturing.

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

“The drop in Indian arms imports seems to have been mainly due to its complex procurement processes, combined with an attempt to reduce its dependence on Russian arms. India is planning large-scale arms imports in the coming years from several suppliers,” it said.

The government has been majorly focusing on boosting domestic defence production and set a target of ₹1.75 lakh crore (USD 25 billion) turnover in defence manufacturing by 2025.

In May, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman rolled out a number of reform measures for the defence sector including making separate budgetary outlay to procure Indian-made military hardware, increasing FDI limit from 49% to 74% under the automatic route and generating a year-wise negative list of weapons which won’t be imported.

Source: Livemint