NEW DELHI: India was at fifth place on the list of the world’s highest spenders on defence in 2016 as global military expenditure rose for a second consecutive year to $1,686 billion, according to a new report.
New Delhi’s military expenditure grew by 8.5% last year to $55.9 billion, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s annual report on defence spending.
The US remained at the top of the list, with its military spending growing by 1.7% between 2015 and 2016 to $611 billion. Military expenditure by China, the second largest spender, increased by 5.4% to $215 billion, a “much lower rate of growth than in previous years”, the report said.
Russia hiked its spending by 5.9% to $69.2 billion, making it the third largest spender. Saudi Arabia was the third largest spender in 2015 but dropped to fourth position in 2016 as its spending fell by 30% to $63.7 billion despite its involvement in regional conflicts. Total global military expenditure in 2016 rose by 0.4% over 2015 in real terms, according to the new figures from SIPRI. In February, India hiked its allocation for defence in 2017-18 by 6% to ₹2.74 lakh crore, including ₹86,488 crore for modernisation.
However, experts said the modest increase could hurt the military’s modernisation plans, crucial to keeping up with China’s expanding might.
India’s military spending has averaged an annual increase of 10% during the past three years, much to the disappointment of the military.
The armed forces are currently negotiating several bigticket deals for Rafale fighter jets, Apache, Chinook and Kamov helicopters and the M-777 lightweight howitzers.
The SIPRI report also said military spending in North America saw its first annual increase since 2010, while spending in Western Europe grew for the second consecutive year.