India Among Top Military Spenders: SIPRI | 28 Apr 2020

Why in News

Recently, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) released its annual report ‘Trends in World Military Expenditure, 2019’.

• According to the report, the global military expenditure rose to $1917 billion in 2019 with India and China emerging among the top three spenders.

Key Points

• Global military spending was 2.2% of the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) with an increase of 3.6% from 2018.
  
  • The increase of 3.6% was the largest annual growth in spending since 2010.
• Top five largest spenders accounted for 62% of the global expenditure.
  
  • The USA>China>India>Russia>Saudi Arabia.
  • India was at the 4^th position in 2018 with Saudi Arabia at the 3^rd.
• Data related to Asia and Oceania:
  
  • Japan ($47.6 billion) and South Korea ($43.9 billion) were the largest military spenders apart from India and China.
  • Pakistan was at the 24^th position compared to the 19^th in 2018.
    
    • Its military expenditure rose by 70% over the decade 2010-19, to reach $10.3 billion while the military burden increased to 4% of GDP in 2019 from 3.4% in 2010.
    • Military burden assesses the proportion of national resources dedicated to military activities and the burden on the economy.

India Specific Data

• The report highlights that India’s defence expenditure is growing in absolute terms. However, defence expenditure has been going down as a percentage of its GDP, due to the increasing trend in the growth of GDP.
  
  • In 2019, the expenditure was 2.4% of India’s GDP which was lower than that of 2.7% in 2010.
• The Union Budget 2019-20, envisaged a total outlay of ₹27,84,200 crore. Out of this ₹3,18,931.22 crore was earmarked for Defence (excluding Defence Pension).
  • Total Defence Allocation, including Defence Pension, accounted for 15.48% of the total Central Government expenditure for the year 2019-20.
  • It was 6.8% more than that of 2018 and has grown by 37% over the decade of 2010–19. If compared to 1990, it has gone up by 259%.
• The Union Budget 2020-21, envisaged a total outlay of ₹30,42,230 crore. Out of this, ₹3,37,553 crore has been allocated for Defence (excluding Defence Pension).
  • Total defence budget accounts for 15.49% of the total central government expenditure for the year 2020-21.
  • It shows a growth of 9.37% over Budget Estimates 2019-20.
  • It was about 1.5% of the country’s GDP, the lowest in recent times.
• India’s tensions and rivalry with both Pakistan and China are among the major drivers for its increased military spending.

Source: TH