Report Says the Indian Defense Ministry is the World’s Biggest Employer!

The Indian Defense Ministry is the world’s largest employer, the close second to the US

Based on reports by Statista, the Indian Defence Ministry is the world’s biggest employer. With 2.92 million people, it includes combined active service personnel, reservists, and civilian staff, the report claims. It also states that the Indian defence industry is the close second to the US Department of Defence, which employs 2.91 million people, according to the Statista infographic on employers with the largest workforces worldwide in 2022.

The published report, which was titled ‘The World’s Biggest Employers’, shows that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), which does not include civilian positions, employs around 2.5 million people. It is being claimed that the report has come at a time when global military expenditure is on the rise, which reached US$2.11 billion in 2021. Based on speculations by the 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% of the total expenditure.

India in its Union Budget 2022-23, decided to increase the defence budget to INR 5.25 lakh crore from last year’s allocation of INR 4.78 lakh crore with a major push on procurement of weapons and military platforms from domestic manufacturers. With over 70% of the outlay for defence procurement set aside for buying from domestic industry, 25% of the defence research and development allocation has been reserved for collaboration with the private sector.

The rising defence expenditure among nations does not bode well for global peace. However, the rising amount of defence expenditure in India shows that the country is accelerating its development and growth journey quite fast.