Three Indian Firms Including HAL, BEL Among Top 100 In Global Arms Sales In 2020: Report

Three Indian companies namely, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Indian Ordnance Factories, and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) are among the World's top 100 firms in the Combined Arms Sales in 2020, according to a new report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), which tracks global arms trade.

HAL and Indian Ordnance Fatories occupied the 42nd and 60th spots in the rankings with sales worth $2.97 billion and $1.9 billion respectively. BEL is placed at the 66th slot with sales amounting to $1.63 billion in 2020.

The Indian share of arms sales was 1.2 per cent internationally in 2020. The three aforementioned Indian companies’ aggregated arms sales of $6.5 billion was 1.7 per cent higher in 2020, as compared to 2019, reports Indian Express.

“Domestic procurement has helped to shield Indian companies against the negative economic consequences of the pandemic,” the report by SIPRI noted.

It added, “In 2020, the Indian Government announced a phased ban on imports of more than a hundred different types of military equipment to support domestic companies and enhance self-reliance in arms production.”

US and Chinese companies accounted for 54 per cent and 13 per cent of the combined arms sales of the top 100 companies respectively.