India’s long dependence on foreign arms has been one of the most persistent paradoxes of its rise as a major power. Yet, for the first time since independence, that dependence is beginning to shift. A quiet industrial transformation is underway—one that could determine whether India remains the world’s largest arms importer or emerges as a credible defence manufacturer in its own right.
For most of its post-independence history, India has been heavily dependent on foreign suppliers for its security needs. From the 1990s onwards, India’s accelerating economic growth and expanding defence budgets drove a wave of military modernisation. In the 1997-2001 period, India broke into the ranks of the top five arms importers in the world. It has consistently maintained this position, even rising in some years to be the biggest arms importer.