Indian Armed Forces

Indian Armed Forces
Emblem of Indian Armed Forces
Flag of Indian Armed Forces
Service branches Indian Army
 Indian Navy
 Indian Air Force
HeadquartersMinistry of Defence, South Block, New Delhi
Leadership
Supreme CommanderIndia President Droupadi Murmu
Prime MinisterIndia Narendra Modi
Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh
Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan
Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, IAS
Personnel
Military age18[1]
ConscriptionNo
Reaching military
age annually		23,116,044[2]
Active personnel1,455,550[3] (ranked 2nd)
Reserve personnel1,155,000[3]
Expenditure
Budget₹6.22 trillion (US$75 billion) (2024–25)[4]
(ranked 4th)
Percent of GDP1.89% (2024–25)[4]
Industry
Domestic suppliers
List
Munitions India Limited (MIL)
Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited (AVNL)
Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited (AWEIL)
Troop Comforts Limited (TCL)
Yantra India Limited (YIL)
India Optel Limited (IOL)
Gliders India Limited (GIL)
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)
Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL)
Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML)
Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL)
Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDSL)
Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL)
Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL)
Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE)
Mishra Dhatu Nigam (MDN)[5]
Foreign suppliers Russia[6]
 France[6]
 Israel[6]
 United States[7]
Historical:
Annual importsUS$41.208 billion (2010–2021)[10]
Annual exportsUS$448 million (2010–2021)[10]
Related articles
HistoryMilitary history of India
Presidency armies
British Indian Army
Royal Indian Navy
Royal Indian Air Force
Indian National Army
Wars involving India
RanksArmy
Navy
Air Force
Indian Armed Forces
Military Manpower
Active troops
1,440,000 (2nd)
Reserve forces
2,096,000 (5th)
Paramilitary forces and CAPF
1,585,950 (6th)
Components
 Indian Army
 Indian Navy
 Indian Air Force
 Indian Coast Guard
Border Roads Organisation
Paramilitary forces of India
Central Armed Police Forces
Strategic Nuclear Command
History
Military history of India
Ranks and insignia
Army • Navy • Air Force • Coast Guard • BRO • Paramilitary forces and CAPF

The Indian Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of India. It consists of three professional uniformed services: the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force.[11] Additionally, the Indian Armed Forces are supported by the Central Armed Police Forces,[12] Indian Coast Guard and Special Frontier Force and various inter-service commands and institutions such as the Strategic Forces Command, the Andaman and Nicobar Command and the Integrated Defence Staff. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces but the executive authority and responsibility for national security is vested in the Prime Minister of India and their chosen Cabinet Ministers.[13][14][15][16] The Indian Armed Forces are under the management of the Ministry of Defence of the Government of India. With strength of over 1.4 million active personnel,[17][18] it is the world's second-largest military force and has the world's largest volunteer army.[19] It also has the third-largest defence budget in the world.[20] The Global Firepower Index report lists it as the fourth most-powerful military.[21]

The Indian Armed Forces have been engaged in a number of major military operations, including: the Indo-Pakistani wars of 1947, 1965 and 1971, the Portuguese-Indian War, the Sino-Indian War, the 1967 Cho La incident, the 1987 Sino-Indian skirmish, the Kargil War, and the Siachen conflict among others. India honours its armed forces and military personnel annually on Armed Forces Flag Day, 7 December. Armed with the nuclear triad,[22] the Indian armed forces are steadily undergoing modernisation,[23] with investments in areas such as futuristic soldier systems and missile defence systems.[24][23]

The Department of Defence Production of the Ministry of Defence is responsible for the indigenous production of equipment used by the Indian Armed Forces. It comprises 16 Defence PSUs.[25] India remains one of the largest importer of defence equipment with Russia, Israel, France and the United States being the top foreign suppliers of military equipment.[26] The Government of India, as part of the Make in India initiative, seeks to indigenise manufacturing and reduce dependence on imports for defence.[27]

  1. ^ "Categories of Entry". Indian Army. Archived from the original on 23 August 2011. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
  2. ^ "Manpower Reaching Military Age Annually (2020)". Global Fire Power (GFP). Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  3. ^ a b IISS 2021, p. 259
  4. ^ a b George, Sarahbeth (1 February 2024). "Unveiling India's Rs 6.21 lakh crore Defence budget with a dual focus on self-reliance and export boost". The Economic Times. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  5. ^ "Ministry of Defence, Govt of India". mod.nic.in. Archived from the original on 4 July 2012.
  6. ^ a b c "India / Aircraft / Jianjiji / Fighter". Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Archived from the original on 19 January 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
  7. ^ "U.S. Security Cooperation With India". Department of State. 20 January 2021.
  8. ^ Chari, P. R. "Indo-Soviet Military Cooperation: A Review." Asian Survey, vol. 19, no. 3, 1979, pp. 230–44. JSTOR, doi:10.2307/2643691. Accessed 26 January 2023.
  9. ^ Singh, S. Nihal. "Why India Goes to Moscow for Arms." Asian Survey, vol. 24, no. 7, 1984, pp. 707–20. JSTOR, doi:10.2307/2644184. Accessed 26 January 2023.
  10. ^ a b "TIV of arms imports/exports data for India, 2010-2021". Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. 7 February 2022.
  11. ^ —"Indian Armed Forces". Know India Portal. NIC, GoI. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
    —"CIC Order" (PDF). Right to Information. CIC, GoI. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  12. ^ "Report My Signal- Professional Matters: The Central Police Forces and State Armed Police". Reportmysignalpm.blogspot.com. 12 July 2011. Archived from the original on 30 March 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  13. ^ Majeed, Akhtar (2005), "Republic of India", in Kincaid, John; Tarr, G. Alan (eds.), Constitutional Origins, Structure, and Change in Federal Countries, A Global Dialogue on Federalism, Volume I, Montreal & Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press for Forum of Federation and International Association of Centers for Federal Studies, pp. 180–207, 185, ISBN 0-7735-2849-0, ...the executive authority is vested in the prime minister and in their Council of Ministers. (p. 185)
  14. ^ Dam, Shubhankar (2016), "Executive", in Choudhry, Sujit; Khosla, Madhav; Mehta, Pratap Bhanu (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of the Indian Constitution, Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, p. 307, ISBN 978-0-19-870489-8, Executive power, ordinarily, is exercised by Prime Minister.
  15. ^ Singh, Nirvikar (2018), "Holding India Together: The Role of Institutions of Federalism", in Mishra, Ajit; Ray, Tridip (eds.), Markets, Governance, and Institutions: In the Process of Economic Development, Oxford University Press, pp. 300–323, 306, ISBN 978-0-19-881255-5
  16. ^ "ABOUT THE MINISTRY | Ministry of Defence". www.mod.gov.in. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  17. ^ "Press Information Bureau". Archived from the original on 15 September 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  18. ^ Rana, Uday Singh; Sarna, Aakarshuk (27 December 2017). "20% Sailor Shortage in Navy, 15% Officer Posts Vacant in Army, Nirmala Sitharaman Tells Parliament". News18. Archived from the original on 7 October 2024. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  19. ^ "Indian Army : Largest Volunteer Army in The World". 16 October 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  20. ^ Tian, Nan; Fleurant, Aude; Kuimova, Alexandra; Wezeman, Pieter D.; Wezeman, Siemon T. (27 April 2020). "Trends in World Military Expenditure, 2019" (PDF). Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  21. ^ "2020 Military Strength Ranking". Global Fire Power (GFP). Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  22. ^ "Now, India has a nuclear triad". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  23. ^ a b "Breaking News, World News & Multimedia". Archived from the original on 8 January 2014.
  24. ^ Rabinowitz, Gavin (18 June 2008). "India's army seeks military space program". The San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012.
  25. ^ "Defence Public Sector Undertakings | Department of Defence Production". www.ddpmod.gov.in. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  26. ^ —"End of an era: Israel replaces Russia as India's top military supplier". World Tribune. Archived from the original on 13 August 2011. Retrieved 18 March 2011.
    —"Russia Competing to Remain India's Top Military Supplier". India Defence. Archived from the original on 18 August 2017. Retrieved 18 March 2011.
    —Cohen, Stephen and Sunil Dasgupta. "Arms Sales for India". Brookings Institution. Archived from the original on 9 March 2011. Retrieved 18 March 2011.
  27. ^ "Indigenisation in Defence". Defence News: Indian Defence News, IDRW, Indian Armed Forces, Indian Army, Indian Navy, Air Force. 2 March 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2021.