What Happened
- The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) released its annual arms transfer data for 2021-2025, ranking India as the world's second-largest arms importer with an 8.3% share of global arms imports.
- Ukraine displaced India from the top position, accounting for 9.7% of global arms imports — a direct consequence of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
- India's dependence on Russia declined sharply: Russia's share of Indian arms imports fell from 70% (2011-15) to 40% (2021-25), while France rose to 29% and Israel to 15%.
- Overall, India's share of global arms imports decreased marginally from 9.3% (2016-20) to 8.3% (2021-25), with imports falling by 4%, partly attributed to growing indigenous production under Atmanirbhar Bharat.
- Pakistan significantly ramped up weapons purchases, emerging as a cause of concern for India's security planners.
Static Topic Bridges
SIPRI and the Arms Transfer Measurement Methodology
SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute) is a Sweden-based independent think tank established in 1966 that publishes the most comprehensive publicly available data on global arms transfers, military expenditure, and conflict trends. The Arms Transfers Database covers transfers of major conventional arms from 1950 onwards, tracking sales, gifts, and licensed manufacturing.
- SIPRI uses Trend Indicator Values (TIVs), not monetary values, to measure arms transfers — TIVs reflect the military capability transferred, not the price paid.
- Data sources include commercial periodicals (Jane's Defence Weekly, Defense News), government publications, and the UN Register of Conventional Arms.
- SIPRI releases annual reports each March covering the preceding five-year period, making them a standard reference in UPSC Prelims questions.
- The institute also publishes the SIPRI Yearbook on armaments, disarmament, and international security.
Connection to this news: This article directly references SIPRI's five-year data (2021-25), which is the standard reporting period used to identify arms import/export trends globally.
Defence Procurement Policy (DAP 2020) and Indigenisation
India's Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020 (DAP 2020), which replaced DPP 2016, is the regulatory framework governing how India procures defence equipment. It introduced several categories prioritising indigenous procurement, with "Make in India" as a core pillar.
- DAP 2020 introduced categories: Buy (Indian-Indigenously Designed Developed Manufactured), Buy (Indian), Buy & Make (Indian), and Buy (Global-Manufacture in India) — listed in decreasing order of preference for indigenous content.
- The Ministry of Defence has released five Positive Indigenisation Lists (PILs) covering 509 defence items (LRUs, sub-systems, components) that must be procured domestically rather than imported.
- The Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy (DPEPP) 2020 targets Rs 1.75 lakh crore in turnover (including Rs 35,000 crore in exports) by 2025.
- India's defence exports reached Rs 21,080 crore ($2.5 billion) in 2023-24, a 32.5% increase over the previous year.
- Three "Negative Importation Lists" containing 310 defence platforms were published between December 2020 and December 2027, banning their import to force domestic production.
Connection to this news: Despite these policy measures, India remains a top-two arms importer. SIPRI notes that India's convoluted procurement process and delays in indigenous programmes mean foreign procurement continues to fill critical capability gaps.
India's Twin Security Challenges: China and Pakistan
India's defence procurement is fundamentally shaped by its security environment on two fronts — a disputed border with China across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the north and northeast, and an adversarial relationship with a nuclear-armed Pakistan to the west.
- The 2020 Galwan Valley clash (eastern Ladakh) led to sustained military buildups on the LAC, accelerating procurement of cold-weather warfare equipment, advanced fighter jets (Rafale), and missile systems.
- The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) deepened strategic cooperation between the two neighbours, increasing combined threat perception for India.
- Pakistan's arms procurement is dominated by China (which supplies over 80% of Pakistani military hardware), with Chinese-origin J-10C fighters, submarines, and frigates entering service.
- India's diversification away from Russia towards France, the US, and Israel directly responds to concerns about reliability of supply from a single source during conflict.
Connection to this news: The SIPRI report explicitly attributes India's continued high import levels to the persistent China-Pakistan twin security challenge, even as domestic production grows.
Atmanirbhar Bharat in Defence: Progress and Gaps
The Atmanirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliant India) initiative, announced in 2020, has a dedicated defence component aiming to reduce import dependence while transforming India into an arms exporter.
- Defence production in India crossed Rs 1.27 lakh crore in FY 2023-24, an all-time high.
- India has two Defence Industrial Corridors (DICs): Uttar Pradesh corridor and Tamil Nadu corridor, designed to cluster defence manufacturing.
- Key indigenous systems: LCA Tejas (light combat aircraft), Arjun MBT (main battle tank), INS Vikrant (aircraft carrier — the first built in India), Pralay ballistic missile, and BrahMos cruise missile (India-Russia JV, but manufactured in India).
- SIPRI acknowledges the decreasing import trend is partly attributable to growing domestic capability, but cautions that delays in domestic programmes remain a structural constraint.
Connection to this news: The 4% decline in Indian arms imports between the two five-year periods is a tangible, if modest, result of Atmanirbhar Bharat policies — though India's absolute import levels remain among the world's highest.
Key Facts & Data
- India's share of global arms imports: 8.3% (2021-25), down from 9.3% (2016-20)
- India's rank: 2nd largest importer (after Ukraine at 9.7%)
- Russia's share of Indian arms imports: fell from 70% (2011-15) → 51% (2016-20) → 40% (2021-25)
- France's share: 29% of Indian imports (2021-25); Israel's share: 15%
- India's defence exports in 2023-24: Rs 21,080 crore ($2.5 billion), up 32.5% year-on-year
- Five Positive Indigenisation Lists: 509 items mandated for domestic procurement
- Three Negative Importation Lists: 310 platforms banned from import
- SIPRI was established in 1966 in Stockholm, Sweden
- SIPRI uses Trend Indicator Values (TIVs), not market prices, to measure arms transfers