"With an 11 per cent share of total global arms imports, India was the world's biggest importer of major arms in 2018–22, a position it has held for the period 1993–2022. It retained this position even though its arms imports dropped by 11 per cent between 2013–17 and 2018–22," SIPRI said in a statement.
India's high demand for imported weapons is driven by its conflicts with China and Pakistan, while the periods of insignificant decline were due to a variety of factors including the complicated arms procurement process, the country's efforts to diversify suppliers, and attempts to replace imports with domestically designed and manufactured weapons, the think tank said.
Who Are Top Suppliers of Arms for India?
Russia remains the largest exporter of arms to India, but its share in 2018-2022 decreased to 45% from 64% in the 2013–2017 period, SIPRI found.
At the same time, France displaced the United States as the second-largest supplier to India in 2018-2022, SIPRI said.
India's arms imports from France, which included 62 combat aircraft and four submarines, increased by 489% between 2013-2017 and 2018-2022.