India-Russia: The ties that bind

India-Russia: The ties that bind
India-Russia: The ties that bind

India's close relations with Russia covers politics, defence, civil nuclear energy, anti-terrorism cooperation and space. The strategic partnership has endured the test of time. Here is a snapshot.

India-Russia Annual Summit: October 2016 “An old friend is better than two new ones.” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi “Industries of both countries are improving cooperation; military and technical cooperation is also improving.” Vladimir Putin, Russian President

  • 16 agreements across several fields

  • India to spend over $5 billion to acquire S-400 Triumf air defence missile system

  • India to buy three Project 11356 frigates from Russia

  • Make in India: India-Russia to jointly manufacture 200 Kamov 226T multi-use helicopters

  • Russian oil major Rosneft bought Essar Oil in an all-cash $13 billion deal

  • Russian Direct Infrastructure Fund and India's National Infrastructure Investment Fund will each invest $500 million to create a joint $1-billion infrastructure fund for India

  • Russian companies to invest in smart cities in Andhra Pradesh and Haryana

Main Indian Export Items to Russia:

  • Pharmaceuticals

  • Miscellaneous manufactures

  • Iron & steel

  • Apparels

  • Tea &coffee

  • Tobacco products

  • Spices

Main Indian Import Items from Russia:

  • Fertilizers

  • Electrical equipment

  • Defence and nuclear reactors

  • Mechanical appliances, automobiles

  • Iron & steel articles

Bilateral Trade (Values in US$ mn)
Year Exports To Russia Imports From Russia
2008-2009 1,096.34 4,328.28
2009-2010 980.69 3,566.79
2010-2011 1,689.43 3,600.02
2011-2012 1,778.27 4,764.31
2012-2013 2,295.68 4,231.56
2013-2014 2,121.26 3,894.40
2014-2015 2,097.01 4,249.22
2015-2016 1,587.81 4,584.98
2016-2017 (Apr-Jul) 645.81 1,638.80
Source: Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India Russia's Sectors of Focus in India:
  • Construction and engineering services
  • Pharmaceuticals
  • IT
  • Manufacturing
  • Aviation
Initiatives to attract Russian investments:
  • The two countries signed a protocol on 24 December 2015 to simplify visa procedures for businessmen.
  • The India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC) is the apex G2G forum to review economic cooperation.
  • India-Russia Forum on Trade and Investment and India-Russia CEOs Council are the two primary mechanisms to promote direct bilateral B2B contacts between India and Russia.
  • Mechanisms such as India-Russia Business Council (partnership between FICCI of India and CCI of Russia), India-Russia Trade, Investment and Technology Promotion Council (partnership between CII of India and RUIE of Russia), India-Russia Business Dialogue (partnership between CII of India and Russia's Business Council for Cooperation with India) and India-Russia Chamber of Commerce (with focus on SMEs) supplement the efforts to build direct B2B ties.
  • India and Eurasian Economic Union (EaEU) signed a joint statement to undertake joint feasibility study for the FTA between India and EaEU.

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