BENAULIM (GOA): Russia on Saturday strode back to the centre stage of India’s booming arms market, signing deals worth more than $8 billion for helicopters, missile defence systems and warships.
The 16 agreements, the first big-ticket deals since India inked pacts worth about $3 billion for additional Su-30 jets and Mi-17 helicopters nearly four years ago, were concluded after PM Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin met on the margins of the BRICS Summit.
The deals concluded on Saturday had all been in the pipeline for several years. The biggest deal was the inter-governmental agreement for five S-400 Triumf air defence systems, estimated to be worth $5 billion.
Under a shareholder pact, India and Russia will set up a joint venture to make the Kamov Ka-226T helicopters. The $1 billion deal is for 200 helicopters, 60 of which will be delivered by Moscow in flyaway condition while the remainder will be assembled or manufactured in India.
“In the next few months, a place will be allocated (for manufacturing the helicopters) and there will be investments,” Russia’s trade and industry minister Denis Manturov said. Under a $3 billion inter-governmental agreement, two ‘Project 1135.6’ stealth frigates, an improved version of the Talwar-class warships, will be supplied by Russia and two more will be built in an Indian shipyard. The new deals “lay the foundations for deeper defence and economic ties in years ahead” and are also “in synergy with India’s technology and security priorities”, Modi said.
{{/usCountry}}“In the next few months, a place will be allocated (for manufacturing the helicopters) and there will be investments,” Russia’s trade and industry minister Denis Manturov said. Under a $3 billion inter-governmental agreement, two ‘Project 1135.6’ stealth frigates, an improved version of the Talwar-class warships, will be supplied by Russia and two more will be built in an Indian shipyard. The new deals “lay the foundations for deeper defence and economic ties in years ahead” and are also “in synergy with India’s technology and security priorities”, Modi said.
{{/usCountry}}“A combination of robust civil nuclear cooperation, LNG sourcing, partnership in the oil and gas sector, and engagement in renewables can construct a promising ‘energy bridge’ between our two countries,” he said. Talking about India’s expanding presence in Russia’s hydrocarbon sector, Modi said in the past four months alone, Indian companies have invested close to $ 5.5 billion in that country’s oil and gas sector. Modi and Putin also formally launched the second unit of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu.
Meanwhile, a scuffle broke out between visiting Chinese media and Indian security officials just before the meeting between Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping over access.