India, Pak military budget up post Op Sindoor – The Tribune
Immediately after their skirmish in May last year, India and Pakistan sharply increased military spending mid-financial year, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
The SIPRI report, Trends in World Military Expenditure, 2025, released today, noted that India rose to fifth place among global defence spenders, up from sixth the previous year. New Delhi increased its military expenditure by 8.9 per cent to $92.1 billion.
"India's conflict with Pakistan in May 2025 — which involved combat aircraft, drones and missiles — pushed up military spending during the year," the report stated. Revised capital outlays for military aircraft systems were 50 per cent higher than originally budgeted, while operations and personnel costs for the IAF rose by 18 per cent compared with the original allocation.
The Tribune perused the data of the Union Budget. It shows that spending under the revenue head jumped by Rs 38,038 crore, with the revised allocation, post Operation Sindoor, standing at Rs 3,49,770 crore for the fiscal year ending March 2026. On Pakistan, the report said military spending grew by 11 per cent to $11.9 billion in 2025. The increase was largely due to new orders for aircraft and missiles placed with China.
Providing a global overview, the report said military expenditure rose by 2.9 per cent in real terms to $2,887 billion in 2025, marking the 11th consecutive year of growth. Global spending has increased by 41 per cent over the past decade (2016-25). The year-on-year rise in 2025 was significantly smaller than the 9.7 per cent recorded in 2024, representing the lowest annual growth rate since 2021.
The world's military burden — the share of global GDP devoted to defence — rose from 2.4 per cent in 2024 to 2.5 per cent in 2025. Average military expenditure as a share of government spending stood at 6.9 per cent in 2025, compared with 7.0 per cent in 2024, while global per capita defence spending reached $352.
Despite a decline in US expenditure, global military spending rose in 2025, driven by sharp increases in Europe and continued growth in Asia and Oceania, which more than offset the reduction in US outlays.
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