As Narendra Modi becomes India’s second-longest consecutively serving Prime Minister, we look at how he compares with Indira Gandhi across four key dimensions.
India Extends $150 Million Foreign Currency Swap Support to Maldives
• India extended a $150 million foreign currency swap support to the Maldives on Tuesday, 28 April 2020, to help the strategically important Indian Ocean island nation mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The swap facility was extended under $400 million currency swap arrangement signed between India and the Maldives last July.
• The currency swap facility is part of the $1.4 billion economic package announced by India for the Maldives during the state visit of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in December 2018.
• The Maldives is the only country, other than Bhutan, which has been extended the $400 million currency swap facility.
India replaces Russia as third largest military spender: SIPRI
• India has now become the third largest military spender in the world, behind the United States and China, according to data released by SIPRI.
• India’s military expenditure stood at $71.1 billion in 2019, a 6.8% increase compared with 2018, as per SIPRI’s annual report data released on Monday (27 April 2020).
• Total global military expenditure rose by 3.6 % to $1.917 trillion in 2019, which was the largest annual growth in spending since 2010.
• The world’s military spending in 2019 was equivalent to 2.2 % of the global gross domestic product (GDP), which equates to approximately $249 per person.
• Global military expenditure was 7.2 % higher in 2019 than it was in 2010.
• The five largest spenders in 2019, which accounted for 62 % of expenditure, were the United States, China, India, Russia and Saudi Arabia.
• This was the first time that two Asian states had featured among the top three military spenders. In 2019, China was the second largest military spender in the world, with its expenditure reaching $261 billion in 2019, a 5.1 % increase compared with 2018.
• In addition to China and India, Japan ($47.6 billion) and South Korea ($43.9 billion) were the largest military spenders in Asia and Oceania.
• Military spending by the United States grew by 5.3 % to $732 billion in 2019 and accounted for 38 % of global military spending.
• In 2019, Russia increased its military expenditure by 4.5 % to $65.1 billion.
India Extends $150 Million Foreign Currency Swap Support to Maldives
• India extended a $150 million foreign currency swap support to the Maldives on Tuesday, 28 April 2020, to help the strategically important Indian Ocean island nation mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The swap facility was extended under $400 million currency swap arrangement signed between India and the Maldives last July.
• The currency swap facility is part of the $1.4 billion economic package announced by India for the Maldives during the state visit of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in December 2018.
• The Maldives is the only country, other than Bhutan, which has been extended the $400 million currency swap facility.
India replaces Russia as third largest military spender: SIPRI
• India has now become the third largest military spender in the world, behind the United States and China, according to data released by SIPRI.
• India’s military expenditure stood at $71.1 billion in 2019, a 6.8% increase compared with 2018, as per SIPRI’s annual report data released on Monday (27 April 2020).
• Total global military expenditure rose by 3.6 % to $1.917 trillion in 2019, which was the largest annual growth in spending since 2010.
• The world’s military spending in 2019 was equivalent to 2.2 % of the global gross domestic product (GDP), which equates to approximately $249 per person.
• Global military expenditure was 7.2 % higher in 2019 than it was in 2010.
• The five largest spenders in 2019, which accounted for 62 % of expenditure, were the United States, China, India, Russia and Saudi Arabia.
• This was the first time that two Asian states had featured among the top three military spenders. In 2019, China was the second largest military spender in the world, with its expenditure reaching $261 billion in 2019, a 5.1 % increase compared with 2018.
• In addition to China and India, Japan ($47.6 billion) and South Korea ($43.9 billion) were the largest military spenders in Asia and Oceania.
• Military spending by the United States grew by 5.3 % to $732 billion in 2019 and accounted for 38 % of global military spending.
• In 2019, Russia increased its military expenditure by 4.5 % to $65.1 billion.