Defence imports worth over Rs 2.35 lakh crore in last 3 years

The Government has spent over Rs 2.35 lakh crore in the last three years for procuring weapon systems for the three armed forces, Lok Sabha was informed today.
In a written reply to a Lok Sabha query, Defence Minister A K Antony said the three forces have spent over Rs 2.35 lakh crore for procuring weapon systems from several countries including Russia, Israel, the US, the UK, Poland, Slovakia, Finland and Sri Lanka.
As per the data provided by the three Services headquarters, Russia has emerged as the biggest beneficiary of the imports by India by bagging business worth over Rs one lakh crore.

Of the three forces, Army has emerged as the biggest spender from the year 2010-11 to 2012-13 with purchases of over Rs 1.92 lakh crore, as per the data in Antony's reply.
In the Army procurement, the major expenditure has been on procuring missiles and armaments worth over one lakh crore.
The Indian Air Force is second in terms of procuring weapon systems with acquisitions worth over Rs 38,900 crore from foreign sources.

The list of countries from where the IAF has procured its systems include Israel, Russia, the US and the UK along with France and Germany.
The Navy has spent only Rs 4,000 crore in these three years for procuring items such as Tavor assault rifles, Harpoon anti-ship missiles from the US for its P-8I anti-submarine aircraft and refitting of its submarines in Russia.

The Coast Guard also spent over Rs 400 crore for procuring radars and fast patrol vessels for safeguarding the coastline.
The Defence Minister said the Government has changed the procurement procedure for promoting self-reliance in weapon manufacturing by giving priority to indigenous production.