NEW DELHI - India, one of the worldÂ’s biggest arms importers, will buy three frigates for its navy from Russia for $1.14 billion, the Indian defence minister said on Thursday. Pranab Mukherjee said New Delhi would also buy 28 land attack Klub cruise missiles for its Russian-made submarines for $192 million. He told reporters after a meeting of the cabinet committee on security the first frigate would be delivered five years after the formal signing of an agreement.
India has one of the worldÂ’s biggest navies with at least 25 warships and 16 submarines. Russia remains its biggest arms supplier, although New Delhi has diversified purchases in recent years, buying equipment from Israel, France and its new ally, the United States.
In the federal budget for the year ending March, 2007, India increased spending for its 1.3-million-strong military 7 percent to 890 billion rupees ($19.3 billion).
| Do the rough math, subtract out the equipment and supplies, and the average Indian soldier can't be making more than about $3000 a year or so. |
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