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The three were ranked among the top 100 in arms sales in 2019 as well. Three Indian companies are among the world’s top 100 for combined arms sales in 2020, said a new report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), which tracks global arms trade. The three are: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Indian Ordnance Factories, and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL). Of these, the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), which comprised the Indian Ordnance Factories, has been dissolved and seven new Public Sector Undertakings created in its place.
The three were ranked among the top 100 in arms sales in 2019 as well.
In the latest rankings, HAL is at number 42 with US$ 2.97 billion, up 1.5 per cent from 2019 sales. Indian Ordnance Factories are at the 60th spot, with US$ 1.9 billion in sales, up 0.2 per cent from the previous year. BEL is ranked 66, with US$ 1.63 billion in arms sales, up 4 per cent compared to 2019.
However, India has the smallest share among the top 11 defence manufacturing nations. With 41 arms companies, the USA has the highest number of companies in the top 100 worldwide, the SIPRI report said. Together, their arms sales amounted to $285 billion, an increase of 1.9 per cent compared with 2019.
US companies accounted for 54 per cent of the combined arms sales of the top 100. China was second at 13 per cent, followed by the UK at 7.1 per cent. Russia and France were fourth and fifth with 5 per cent and 4.7 per cent respectively of the combined arms sales for the top 100 companies.
The report said the “combined arms sales of the five Chinese companies included in the ranking amounted to an estimated $66.8 billion in 2020”, up 1.5 per cent from 2019. “The rise of China as a major arms producer has been driven by its aim to become more self-reliant in weapons production and by the implementation of ambitious modernisation programmes.” It noted that five Chinese arms companies are ranked among the top 20, with three in the top 10.
India’s share of arms sales globally in 2020 was 1.2 per cent. The report noted that for the three Indian companies in the top 100 “their aggregated arms sales of $6.5 billion were 1.7 per cent higher in 2020 than in 2019” and accounted for 1.2 per cent of the top 100 total.
“Domestic procurement has helped to shield Indian companies against the negative economic consequences of the pandemic. In 2020, the Indian Government announced a phased ban on imports of more than a hundred different types of military equipment to support domestic companies and enhance self-reliance in arms production.”
The report mentioned that the “combined arms sales of the world’s largest arms-producing and military services companies were $531 billion in 2020,” which, it said, “represents an increase of 1.3 per cent on their arms sales in 2019”. This is the smallest increase in arms sales among the top 100 companies in three years, but, the data show a “continuous upward trend since 2015, roughly correlating with rising global military expenditure levels”.
The three were ranked among the top 100 in arms sales in 2019 as well.
In the latest rankings, HAL is at number 42 with US$ 2.97 billion, up 1.5 per cent from 2019 sales. Indian Ordnance Factories are at the 60th spot, with US$ 1.9 billion in sales, up 0.2 per cent from the previous year. BEL is ranked 66, with US$ 1.63 billion in arms sales, up 4 per cent compared to 2019.
However, India has the smallest share among the top 11 defence manufacturing nations. With 41 arms companies, the USA has the highest number of companies in the top 100 worldwide, the SIPRI report said. Together, their arms sales amounted to $285 billion, an increase of 1.9 per cent compared with 2019.
US companies accounted for 54 per cent of the combined arms sales of the top 100. China was second at 13 per cent, followed by the UK at 7.1 per cent. Russia and France were fourth and fifth with 5 per cent and 4.7 per cent respectively of the combined arms sales for the top 100 companies.
The report said the “combined arms sales of the five Chinese companies included in the ranking amounted to an estimated $66.8 billion in 2020”, up 1.5 per cent from 2019. “The rise of China as a major arms producer has been driven by its aim to become more self-reliant in weapons production and by the implementation of ambitious modernisation programmes.” It noted that five Chinese arms companies are ranked among the top 20, with three in the top 10.
India’s share of arms sales globally in 2020 was 1.2 per cent. The report noted that for the three Indian companies in the top 100 “their aggregated arms sales of $6.5 billion were 1.7 per cent higher in 2020 than in 2019” and accounted for 1.2 per cent of the top 100 total.
“Domestic procurement has helped to shield Indian companies against the negative economic consequences of the pandemic. In 2020, the Indian Government announced a phased ban on imports of more than a hundred different types of military equipment to support domestic companies and enhance self-reliance in arms production.”
The report mentioned that the “combined arms sales of the world’s largest arms-producing and military services companies were $531 billion in 2020,” which, it said, “represents an increase of 1.3 per cent on their arms sales in 2019”. This is the smallest increase in arms sales among the top 100 companies in three years, but, the data show a “continuous upward trend since 2015, roughly correlating with rising global military expenditure levels”.
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