The Narendra Modi government's stress on increasing and modernising the country’s defence facilities has helped India to outgun Russia and Saudi Arabia inbecoming the world’s fourth-largest defence spender.
The Asia’s third-largest economy spent $50.6 billion in 2016, up from $46.6 billion last year in defence budget.
According to the 2016 Jane’s Defence Budgets Report, released by research firm IHS Markit, Russia was at the fourth place last year, but in 2016 it slipped to the sixth spot.
The US, China, and the UK remain the top three. The report says that by 2018 India will become the third-largest in the group, surpassing the UK.
In 2014, India purchased some $5.57 billion worth of arms, ammunition, and related goods from abroad. In 2016, India also signed a €7.8-billion deal to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets from France.
In 2016 the US spent $622.03 billion, China $191.75 billion and UK $53.81 billion on defence.
