SIPRI Report 2022: India’s HAL, BEL, MDL in Top 100 arms–producing companies

Current Context: According to the 2022 report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), two Indian defence PSUs, Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) and Bharat Electronics (BEL), have made it to the list of the top 100 arms-producing companies.

• HAL is ranked 42nd with $3.3 billion in arms sales, and BEL is ranked 63rd with $1.8 billion in arms sales.
• These rankings are largely due to the major orders placed by the 1.4-million-strong Indian armed forces.
• However, the combined sales of HAL and BEL accounted for only 0.8% of the $592 billion global arms sales last year.
• It’s worth noting that despite the COVID-19 pandemic and global supply chain disruptions, the sales of weapons and military services by the 100 largest armament companies in the world reached $592 billion in 2021, a 1.9% increase compared with 2020.
• This marks the seventh consecutive year of rising global arms sales.

Question:

Q.1 What is the rank of Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) in the list of top 100 arms-producing companies?
a. 32nd
b. 42nd
c. 52nd
d. 62nd