Russia Remains India's Primary Arms Supplier But Imports Plunge Sharply

Arms and ammunitions imports from Russia declined by 19 per cent for the five year period starting 2018 compared to a present time frame

Russia is still India’s primary source of weapons even as the country has drastically trimmed purchases, according to report by news agency Bloomberg. This development highlights the challenge for Prime Minister Narendra Modi of recalibrating New Delhi’s dependence on Moscow, while its borders with both China and Pakistan remain tense, the report said.

Arms and ammunitions imports from Russia declined by 19 per cent for the five year period starting 2018 compared to a present time frame, according to a report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, an independent think tank which studies conflict, weapon sales and disarmament.

According to the latest report released on Monday, "Russia was the largest supplier of arms to India in both 2013–17 and 2018–22, but its share of total Indian arms imports fell from 64 per cent to 45 per cent."

India’s dependence on Moscow for weapons is one of the factors behind New Delhi’s neutral stance on Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, despite pressure from countries such as the US, Japan, and Australia, the news agency pointed out. 

India has supported calls for a ceasefire and a diplomatic solution to end Russia’s war, but has abstained at the United Nations on votes condemning Russia’s invasion. It has also continued its purchases of cheap Russian crude oil.

India has been the world’s largest arms importer since 1993 and “tensions with Pakistan and China largely drive its demand for arms imports,” the report added.

Sanctions on Russia, affecting weapons exports, increased defence equipment manufacturing in India, and increased competition from countries like France — that has seen its arms exports to New Delhi jump a whopping 489 per cent over the same period — leading to the drop in purchases from Moscow, the SIPRI report added.

Paris has edged out the US to become the second-largest weapons supplier to India in 2018-22.

In the last Union Budget, the defence sector allocation was increased to Rs 5.94 lakh crore for 2023-24 from last year's Rs 5.25 lakh crore. A total of Rs 1.62 lakh crore has been set aside for capital expenditure. It includes purchasing new weapons, aircraft, warships, and other military hardware.

For 2022-23, the budgetary allocation for capital outlay was Rs 1.52 lakh crore but the revised estimate showed the expenditure at Rs 1.50 lakh crore. An allocation of Rs 2,70,120 crore has been made for revenue expenditure that includes expenses on payment of salaries and maintenance of establishments, according to the budget documents.