The New York Times has an interesting piece today on India’s growing appetite for military weapons.
According to the NYT piece, India wants to spend a humongous amount of money on its military in the near future:
Over the next five years, military analysts expect the country to spend as much as $40 billion on weapons procurement alone, more than its entire annual armaments budget today — upgrading systems as diverse as jet fighters, artillery, submarines and tanks in its largely Soviet-era arsenal.
So what if farmers are committing suicide in the hundreds in the Vidarbha region, starvation deaths are not uncommon and basic infrastructure is abysmal in most parts of the country, India must become a superpower.
At least, that seems to be the mindset these days among many influential decision makers in India today.
And vieing for the $40 billion Indian pie are the Americans, Russians and European defense companies.
India recently called for bids for a $10.2 billion program to upgrade its fighter jets. And you bet, Lockheed, Boeing, Saab and MIG Russian Aircraft are interested.
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