According to a Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) report published on 22 April 2024 ,India was the fourth largest military spender in the world in 2023 after the United States ,China and Russia. The Indian expenditure on military 2023 was $83.6 billion .In 2022 also India was the fourth largest military spender in the world.
The Indian government has increased its military spend in recent years . In the interim Union Budget of 2024-25 the government of India allocated Rs 6.21 lakh crore for defence spending. The allocation was marginally lower (0.37%) than last year’s revised estimates.
The 2024-25 allocation for defence accounts for 1.89% of India's GDP.
The main reason for the increase in Indian defence expenditure is due to the ongoing tense relation with China and the government policy to modernise the armed forces.
After the Galwan clash with the Chinese troops in May 2020 India has prioritized infrastructure building along the Chinese border. The government has also focused on modernising the modernisation of armed forces by equipping it with rocket, missile, fighter aircrafts, artillery,naval warships etc.
According to SIPRI, the total global military expenditure increased by 6.8% to $2443 billion in 2023. This was the highest annual percentage growth in global military expenditure since 2009.
There has been a marked increase in the military expenditure across all the regions of the world due to deterioration in global peace and security .
The increase in military expenditure was particularly high in Europe, Asia and Oceania and the Middle East(West Asia).
The sharp increase in the Chinese military budget has in turn led to an increase in the defence budget of India, Japan, Taiwan. The war in Ukraine has increased military spending in Europe.
According to SIPRI, in 2023, the following were the top military spenders in the world:
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) is a research institute which was set up in 1966 at Stockholm, Sweden. Its main area of research is global or regional conflicts, armaments, arms control and disarmament.
Headquarters: Stockholm, Sweden