had said that part of IMF loan of $ 1,2 billion released in 1992 was used for spot purchases of defence spares. The SIPRI report says that India imported arms worth $ 12.2bn between 1988-92. In other words, the full value of Indian spending on security-related items remains secret. Of course what is hidden from Indian citizens is fairly easily accessible to our bilateral and multilateral creditors and suppliers of military hardware.