New Delhi: With military expenditure worth $83.6 billion in 2023, India was the fourth largest spender globally in 2023, the latest report by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) states. This was a result of growing personnel and operations costs that comprised about 80 per cent of the total military budget, the report said.
The latest data showed that the United States, China and Russia remained the top three military spenders globally followed by India and Saudi Arabia. According to the report, Indian spending was up by 4.2 per cent from 2022 and by 44 per cent from 2014. It said the growth in spending is because of rising personnel and operations costs, and this aligns with the government’s priority to strengthen the operational readiness of the armed forces amid ongoing tensions with China and Pakistan.
It said that capital outlays to fund military procurement remained relatively stable at around 22 per cent of the budget in 2023, of which 75 per cent went towards equipment produced domestically.
“The continued shift towards domestic procurement reflects India’s goal of becoming self-reliant in arms development and production,” the report noted.
As per the report the five biggest spenders in 2023 –the United States, China, Russia, India and Saudi Arabia—together accounted for 61 per cent of world military spending.
