India is in the middle of a multi-billion dollar military spending spree that has quietly seen the country of Mahatma Gandhi and non-violent protest emerge as the world’s largest importer of arms. It is expected to retain that position for at least the next five years.
As the country works to expand its regional strategic influence and to counter what it considers existential threats from Pakistan and China, India now accounts for nine per cent of all global arms purchases. Its current defence budget of $36bn – an increase of around 11 per cent on the previous year – is more than double what it spends on education and health combined.
Over the past five years, more than 80 per cent of India’s defence purchases have come from Russia. But the splurge has seen defence contractors from around the world taking up long-term residency in Delhi’s five-star hotels, vying to fulfill demands from all three wings of the armed services. Recent purchases have included 155mm howitzers from the UK for the army, C-17 Globemaster heavy-lift planes from the US for the air force and submarines from France for the navy.
One of the most sought-after contracts concerns a $11bn order for 126 fighter aircraft. The Indian authorities have whittled a short-list down to just two contenders, the Typhoon produced by Eurofighter, a consortium made up of British, German, Italian and Spanish manufacturers, and the Rafale, produced by the French company Dassault.
Analysts say India’s spending spree is driven by several factors, including – with the exception of shipbuilding - an inadequate domestic defence production capacity. Strategically, it is driven by both defensive concerns, particularly in regard to what is considers Chinese growing ambitions in south Asia, and a desire to project power and influence regionally. Its spending on arms leapt after the Mumbai attacks of November 2008.
India’s top brass, remindful of the embarrassing drubbing it received in 1962 at the hands of the Chinese, is deeply suspicious of China’s relationship with Pakistan. It is also sensitive about Beijing’s ongoing claims over territory in both Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh and its road-building projects in those areas. Belatedly India has begun looking to improve its own infrastructure in these remote areas.
India’s defence budget only equals two per cent of GDP and in terms of total military spending Delhi is in 10th place, behind not only the US and China, but Britain, Germany and Saudi Arabia. Many within the military establishment believe India should increase its defence spending even more, to around three per cent of GDP.
Yet some analysts and industry insiders detect an uncertainty within the broader Indian establishment about what role it should play. While India might purport to take on a larger regional position, as evidenced by moves such as a recent defence agreement signed with the Maldives, there remains an apparent reluctance to take on greater responsibility.There are also strong voices within India who argue that in a country where hundreds of millions of people are living in poverty, there are more pressing spending priorities.
