Indian Military Buildup: Impact on Regional Stability

Abstract

Despite more than 269 million or 21.92 per cent of the total population of India living in abject poverty, the country raised its defence budget in real terms from 9 per cent in 2014-15 to 11 per cent in 2015-16 in order to modernise its defence capabilities. 1 In the past one decade, India has remained a major and important arms market for Russia and remained the largest conventional weapons‟ importer globally. Indian enhancement of its military budget is indicative of its hegemonic designs for South Asia. New Delhi often justifies its increasing defence posture in the light of its threat perceptions about China, but in reality, Indian military buildup is more South Asia centric. This buildup is creating a security dilemma among its neighbouring countries. In this backdrop, the paper discusses Indian military buildup in the last fifteen years and its future security implications for regional stability.