India-Russia Gets Into Tight Defence Embrace

The US may have emerged as the single largest defence supplier to India over the last decade with nearly $17 billion worth of deals in its kitty, but Russia has certainly overtaken at just one summit meeting between Modi and Putin

India and Russia are no more drifting apart on their bilateral relations and that was established firmly through high profile defence agreements between the two countries when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin met at the summit level in Goa on October 15 this year, even as the coastal state was host to the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) meet.

The US may have emerged as the single largest defence supplier to India over the last decade with nearly $17 billion worth of deals in its kitty, but Russia has certainly overtaken at just one summit meeting between Modi and Putin.

The annual India-Russia summit produced several substantive results, effectively dispelling assessments of a drift (or worse) in relations after India's conclusion of Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) with US and Russia's joint 'anti-terrorism' military drills in Pakistan, barely a week after the terrorist attack in Uri.

Major defence agreements were signed at the Summit: a joint venture shareholders' agreement on the Ka-226T helicopter, which is to be manufactured in India; an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) on acquisition of the air defence system S-400; and an IGA on building of four naval frigates (in a modified ‘Make in India’ format).

A ministerial-level Military-Industrial Conference has been planned later this year to identify new projects and resolve issues on ongoing ones. An S&T Commission will work on developing and sharing cutting-edge technologies. These decisions match action to the joint declaration that Russia will remain India's principal defence partner.