Kumar Bahukhandi
19 agreements have been signed between India and Russia. (Photo: PTI)
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited India for the first time since the start of the Ukrainian war. His visit was significant in several ways. Putin’s visit came at a time when the United States has imposed an additional 25 percent tariff on India for purchasing Russian crude oil.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has returned to Moscow after completing his two-day visit to India. This visit was a significant one for Putin. A total of 19 agreements were signed between the two countries. But the question is, what will both countries gain from these agreements?
Russia announced that it will continue to supply India with crude oil, natural gas, refining, petrochemicals, and nuclear power. This means that despite pressure from Western countries, India and Russia may see even greater cooperation in the energy sector, and India may continue to purchase crude oil from Russia.
The second major announcement between the two countries concerned increased cooperation in the civil nuclear sector. Currently, most of India’s electricity is generated from coal, but now we want to install small nuclear reactor plants, and Russia will assist us in this endeavor, and this is no small deal. Russia is considered a global leader in this technology, and now that Russia provides further support in this area, India’s goal of generating 100 gigawatts of power from small nuclear reactors by 2047 can be achieved, whereas currently, we are only able to generate eight gigawatts.
The third major announcement between India and Russia is that the two countries will increase their mutual trade to $100 billion, or ₹9 lakh crore. Currently, the annual trade between the two countries is ₹5.8 lakh crore, of which India faces a significant deficit. India purchases goods worth ₹5.39 lakh crore from Russia, while selling goods worth only ₹41 thousand crore.
During this meeting, it was also announced that Russia will provide new employment opportunities for Indians. Russia is the world’s largest country by area, but its population is only 150 million. Now, there is a significant labor shortage there, which is why Russia needs Indian workers. Today, Russia is ready to employ up to 1 million Indians annually.
Another announcement was that India will not only purchase weapons from Russia, but both countries will also jointly manufacture these weapons. India will emphasize research and development, co-development, and co-production under the “Make in India” initiative. This means that we will now try to manufacture as many weapons as possible using Russian technology in our own country, just as we developed the BrahMos missile.
India and Russia have also reached an agreement on the space sector, under which both countries will work together on human spaceflight missions. Cooperation will also increase in navigation, deep space, and rocket engine development. President Putin also promised that he supports granting India a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council, and Russia is also supporting India’s presidency of BRICS in 2026.
An agreement has also been reached between the two countries against terrorism, and President Putin has stated that he will work with India to prevent and ban terrorist funding. It was also announced during this meeting that most trade between India and Russia will be conducted in Indian currency, the rupee, and Russian currency, the ruble. Currently, 96% of trade between the two countries is conducted in rupee-ruble terms, but there have been no discussions between the two countries on a digital currency platform.
The final decision is to build the International North-South Transport Corridor between India and Russia, a route through which both countries will be able to trade with each other, saving time and money. This corridor will connect Mumbai to Iran’s Chabahar Port. From Chabahar Port, it will then reach the northern tip of Iran by road, and from there, it will connect Russia via this corridor via sea. If this corridor is completed, the current 30 to 35 days for transporting goods from India to Russia will be reduced to just 20 to 25 days.
