Why in News?

• In its report on trends in global military expenditure in 2020, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has found that the world’s top military spenders — the US, China and India — saw their military spending go up compared to 2019

What does the report say?

• Despite the huge financial burden incurred by most countries due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, global military spending in 2020 was the highest in 22 years, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. 
• The world’s military expenditure stood at $1981 billion in 2020. The five biggest spenders, which accounted for 62% of total global  military spending, were US, China, India, Russia and the U.K.
• Last year, the US spent a total of $778 billion, China spent $252 billion and India’s military expenditure was $72.9 billion. While India’s spending since 2019 grew by 2.1 per cent, the increase for China was more moderate, at 1.9 per cent. The US saw a 4.4 per cent growth over its 2019 expenditure.

What SIPRI says about India?

• Earlier, a SIPRI report found that India’s arms imports came down by a third between 2011-2015 and 2016-2020, at a time when the government has been trying to reduce the import dependence when it comes to defence platforms and weapons.
• However, India remained the second highest importer, only behind Saudi Arabia. The top five global arms exporters were the US, Russia, France, Germany and China in 2016-2020.
• In the study, SIPRI stated, “Arms imports by India decreased by 33 per cent between 2011–15 and 2016–20. Russia was the most affected supplier, although India’s imports of US arms also fell, by 46 per cent.”
• The report attributed the fall not to the government’s push to make India self-reliant in defence manufacturing, but to factors including reducing the dependence on Russian arms, and the complex procurement procedure.

About SIPRI 

• The Sweden-based SIPRI is an independent international institute dedicated to research into conflict, armaments, arms control and disarmament. It was established on the basis of a decision by the Swedish Parliament and receives a substantial part of its funding in the form of an annual grant from the Swedish Government.
• Established in 1966, SIPRI provides data, analysis and recommendations, based on open sources, to policymakers, researchers, media and the interested public.