New Delhi 4th biggest defence spender, Moscow jumps to 3rd spot as Ukraine war drags on

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New Delhi: The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has revealed that India’s military expenditure rose by 6 per cent in 2022, making it the fourth-highest spender globally.

Earlier, India was third-highest spender, but now Russia climbed to that spot due to a hike in military spending owing to the Ukraine war.

The top five spenders in the world in 2022 were – US ($877 billion), China ($292 billion), Russia ($86.4 billion), India ($81.4 billion) and Saudi Arabia ($75 billion). This accounted for 63 per cent of the world’s military spending, according to the SIPRI report.

“The increase in India’s spending shows the effects of its border tensions with China and Pakistan. Its expenditure on capital outlays, which funds equipment upgrades for the armed forces and to the military infrastructure along its disputed border with China, amounted to 23 per cent of total military spending in 2022.”

The report added, “Personnel expenses (e.g. salaries and pensions) remained the largest expenditure category in the Indian military budget, accounting for around half of all military spending.”

Just like India, China has also increased its military expenditure, as it remains the world’s second largest spender. The SIPRI report suggests that China allocated around $292 billion in 2022, and its military expenditure has now increased for 28 consecutive years.

China is also pushing ahead with the largest-ever expansion of its nuclear arsenal. It is modernising the atomic deterrent with an eye on any future conflicts with the United States.

SIPRI estimates that China has a stockpile of around 350 nuclear warheads, comparatively a small number when compared with the United States and Russia. But it is growing fast, and could have 1,500 warheads by 2035.

India and China have been locked in a standoff along the LAC in eastern Ladakh since May 2020. To ease the situation, many rounds of talks have taken place. The two sides recently held 18th round of military talks to resolve the issue.

With inputs from agencies

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Shivam Verma

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