The Defence Ministry of India is ‘World’s Biggest Employer’ with 2.92 million strong personnel, which includes combined active service personnel, reservists and civilian staff, a report by ‘Statista’ mentioned.
The recent research conducted by Statista (a Germany-based data and statistics firm) has revealed that the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) is the world’s largest employer, with a total of 29 lakh (2.92 million) members who work under it. The research further added that the US Department of Defence, is at the second spot with 2.91 million members.
“At the top of the ranking for the world’s largest employers is India’s Ministry of Defence. Combining active service personnel, reservists and civilian staff, the total headcount comes to 2.92 million – a touch ahead of the United States equivalent, the Department of Defense,” the report mentioned.
The published report, titled ‘The World’s Biggest Employers’ (2022 or latest available), shows that Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), which does not include civilian positions, employs around 2.5 million people.
The report has come at a time when global military expenditure is on a rise, which reached $2113 billion in 2021. According to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the five largest spenders in 2021 were the United States, China, India, the United Kingdom and Russia, together accounting for 62 per cent of expenditure.
US military spending amounted to USD 801 billion in 2021 while China, the world’s second-largest spender, allocated an estimated USD 293 billion to its military.
India: World’s third highest military spender
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) in April this year stated that India was the third-highest military spender in the world behind the US and China as the global defence expenditure reached an all-time high of $2.1 trillion in 2021.
Findings on military expenditure by SIPRI stated that the five largest spenders in 2021 were the United States, China, India, the United Kingdom and Russia. It further added that India’s military spending, amounting to $76.6 billion in 2021, grew by 0.9 per cent from 2020 and by 33 per cent from 2012.
India in its Union Budget 2022-23, increased the defence budget to ₹5.25 lakh crore from last year’s allocation of ₹4.78 lakh crore with a major push on procurement of weapons and military platforms from domestic manufacturers.
With 68% of the outlay for defence procurement set aside for buying from domestic industry, 25% of the allocation for defence research and development (R&D) has been reserved for the collaboration with the private sector. The overall defence budget of 5,25,166 crore included ₹1,19,696 crore for defence pensions, an increase of 9.8% compared to last year’s total outlay.
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