Two Indian companies among world's top 100 arms-makers

Defence Ministry-owned Hindustan Aeronautics and Bharat Electronics have been ranked 42 and 63, respectively, in 2021, as per the data released by SIPRI

New Delhi, Dec 06: With India making giant leaps and nearing its 'Aatmanirbhar' goal, a new data released by Stockhlm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has only added more momentum to the country's aspirations. According to the report, two Indian companies have been listed in 'top 100 arms-producing and military services companies, 2021'. Defence Ministry-owned Hindustan Aeronautics and Bharat Electronics have been ranked 42 and 63, respectively, in 2021, the data released by SIPRI said.

A year before that the rankings stood at 43 and 69, respectively. "The total arms sales of the two Indian companies in the top 100 were $5.1 billion (approximately Rs 40,000 crore) in 2021," the SIPRI report said. Despite the world being hit by COVID-19 pandemic, the sales of arms and military equipment witnessed a 1.9 per cent increase in 2021 as compared to 2020.

Atmanirbhar Bharat or 'self-reliant India' is a phrase the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and his government used and popularised when talking about the country's economic development plans. The phrase is an umbrella concept for the Modi government's plans for India to play a larger role in the world economy, and for it to become more efficient, competitive and resilient. The latest development is expected to give a boost to the PM's ambitious dream on self reliance.

Both the Indian companies have benefitted from the major orders placed by the Indian armed forces. "Indian Ordnance Factories, which appeared in the 2020 edition of the Top 100, was restructured into seven smaller companies in October 2021 and thus dropped out of the rankings," the statement said. However, the combined business of the two companies stands at 0.8 per cent of the the $592 billion global arms sales in 2021.

However, the US companies have continued to dominate the arms sales business as the 40 companies are listed in the top 100 companies. It has made a total business of $299 billion in 2021. However, its business dropped by 0.8 per cent partly due to high inflation in the US economy during 2021.

On the other hand, the eight Chinese arms companies in the listing had total arms sales of $109 billion, a 6.3 per cent increase. "There has been a wave of consolidation in the Chinese arms industry since the mid 2010s," said Xiao Liang, a researcher with the SIPRI Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme. In 2021 this saw China's CSSC becoming the biggest military shipbuilder in the world, with arms sales of $11.1 billion, after a merger between two existing companies.

The report claims that many parts of the arms industry were still affected by pandemic-related disruptions in global supply chains in 2021, which included delays in global shipping and shortages of vital components.