| Military branches | Indian Armed Forces: Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard; Defense Security Corps (provides security for Ministry of Defense sites); Ministry of Home Affairs paramilitary forces: Central Armed Police Forces (includes Assam Rifles, Border Security Force, Central Industrial Security Force, Central Reserve Police Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, National Security Guards, Sashastra Seema Bal) (2021) note - the Assam Rifles are under the administrative control of the Ministry of Home Affairs, while operational control falls under the Ministry of Defense (Indian Army) |
| Military service age and obligation | 16-18 years of age for voluntary military service (Army 17 1/2, Air Force 17, Navy 16 1/2); no conscription; women may join as officers, currently serve in combat roles as Air Force pilots, and under consideration for Army and Navy combat roles (currently can fly naval reconnaissance aircraft) (2020) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.9% of GDP (2020 est.) 2.4% of GDP (2019) 2.4% of GDP (2018) 2.5% of GDP (2017) 2.5% of GDP (2016) |
| Military and security service personnel strengths | information on the size of the Indian Armed Forces varies; approximately 1.45 million active personnel (est. 1.25 million Army; 65,000 Navy; 140,000 Air Force; 12,000 Coast Guard) (2020) |
| Military equipment inventories and acquisitions | the inventory of the Indian Armed Forces consists mostly of Russian-origin equipment, along with a smaller mix of Western and domestically-produced arms; since 2010, Russia is the leading supplier of arms to India; other major suppliers include France, Israel, the UK, and the US; India's defense industry is capable of producing a range of air, land, missile, and naval weapons systems for both indigenous use and export (2020) |
| Military deployments | 1,900 Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO); 200 Golan Heights (UNDOF); 780 Lebanon (UNIFIL); 2,350 South Sudan (UNMISS) (Jan 2021) |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
