SIPRI report 2026: India's Defence Expenditure: UPSC Current Affairs

Description

Why In News?

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) released its report "Trends in World Military Expenditure 2025".

What are the Key Highlights of the Report?

Global Rearmament: World military spending hit a record $2,887 billion in 2025, a 2.9% increase from 2024. This amounts to 2.5% of the global GDP.

European Surge: The Russia-Ukraine conflict propelled a 14% rise in European spending. Germany's expenditure surged by 24%, making it the fourth-largest spender globally.

The Asian Arms Race: Spending in Asia-Oceania grew by 8.1%. China remained the second-largest spender at $336 billion, while Pakistan's spending increased by 11% to $11.9 billion.

India's Position: India’s spending represents an 8.9% year-on-year increase and constitutes 3.2% of total global military expenditure. The top three spenders—the US, China, and Russia—account for 51% of the global total.

Drivers of India's Defence Modernization

Two-Front Deterrence: Persistent operational readiness along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China and the western border with Pakistan.

Modernization: Replacing obsolete Soviet-era hardware with modern platforms (drones, light combat aircraft, missile systems).

Atmanirbhar Bharat: A growing share of the Capital Outlay is now reserved for domestic procurement to boost the indigenous Defense Industrial Base (DIB).

Focus on Capital Outlay: The 2026-27 Union Budget designated Rs 2.19 lakh crore for defence capital outlay to acquire advanced tech, including drones, fighter jets, and unmanned systems.

Source: NDTV

Attempt Daily Quiz

PRACTICE QUESTION

Q. Consider the following statements regarding the SIPRI Report 2026:

1. India is the third-largest military spender globally.

2. India's arms imports have shown a declining trend between 2016-20 and 2021-25.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

a) 1 only

b) 2 only

c) Both 1 and 2

d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: b

Explanation:

Statement 1 is INCORRECT: India is the fifth-largest military spender globally, not the third. According to the report, the top five military spenders in 2025 were the United States, China, Russia, Germany, and India.

Statement 2 is CORRECT: India's arms imports declined by 4.0% between the periods 2016–20 and 2021–25. Despite this decline, India remained the world’s second-largest arms importer.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

According to the SIPRI 2026 report, India is the world's fifth-largest military spender, with a total expenditure of $92.1 billion in 2025.

The Union Budget 2026-27 allocated a record Rs 7.85 lakh crore to the defense sector, out of which Rs 2.19 lakh crore was specifically earmarked for capital outlay to purchase next-gen technology.

India is pursuing a policy of "De-Russification" and diversification by importing advanced systems from other nations—like Rafale jets from France, Heron drones from Israel, and MQ-9B drones from the US—while simultaneously banning the import of specific weapons to boost indigenous production under 'Atmanirbhar Bharat'.