New Delhi and Moscow have made progress in talks to boost trade, India’s ambassador to Russia has said.

Speaking at Russia’s main investment and trade platform Innoprom 2026 on Monday, Vinay Kumar said that the two countries are negotiating a bilateral investment protection agreement and working to remove non-tariff barriers, particularly with regards to agriculture and food products.

India-Russia trade is now at about $58 to $60 billion, and both countries are pursuing a trade target of $100 billion by 2030 that was set during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India in December.

Kumar said that Indian businesses were responding “very positively and actively” to the country’s expanding diplomatic presence, citing New Delhi’s Consulate General in Ekaterinburg that was opened in November.

📹 India, Eurasian Economic Union Advance Free Trade Agreement Talks: 🇮🇳 Ambassador to Russia

Vinay Kumar said the second round of talks was held in Moscow just 10 days ago.

He added that India and Russia are also negotiating a bilateral investment protection agreement and… https://t.co/s1obyMaWua pic.twitter.com/iAo1vQqGwd

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) July 6, 2026

India is represented by over 30 companies in the investment fair being held at the Ekaterinburg-EXPO International Exhibition Center.

India and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) have also made progress in discussing a free trade agreement. The second round of talks was held in Moscow late last month, Kumar said.

Another Innoprom conclave will be held in India in September, ahead of the BRICS summit in New Delhi.

“Russia is steadily strengthening its status as a reliable supplier of high-tech products,” Mishustin said. “Last year, despite the difficult circumstances, we increased non-resource, non-energy exports by more than 11%. The strongest growth was recorded with China, India, Belarus, and Kazakhstan.”

Russia will continue to build international infrastructure and establish stable cooperative ties with friendly countries and partners within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union, the Commonwealth of Independent States, BRICS, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), he said.

Heavy monsoon rains have marooned India’s financial capital Mumbai, leaving six dead over the weekend. Flooding and landslides have cut off regular access to the city.

The deaths were reported in the eastern suburb of Mankhurd, where a four-story residential building collapsed. The victims included a woman and five children, according to civic authorities.

Between 8:30 AM local time on July 4 and 8:30 AM the following day, weather stations in Mumbai recorded more than 200 millimeters of rainfall, with more heavy rain and winds forecast.

Landslides on the expressway connecting Mumbai with the IT and manufacturing hub of Pune disrupted traffic; the two cities are the largest in Maharashtra state on the country’s west coast.

Airline services were disrupted and long-distance train services connecting ⁠Mumbai and Pune were cancelled.

Heavy rains cause widespread flooding in Mumbai. Commuters face knee-deep water. Please be cautious! 🙏
#Mumbai #HeavyRain #Monsoon pic.twitter.com/6Z8ujUcsXY

— Manjesh Jangir🚩हिन्दू (@manjesh_jangir) July 6, 2026

The chief minister of Maharashtra warned of a possible downpour in the city of Nashik on Tuesday. A high alert has been sounded as heavy rains are expected to continue across the state until July 8, although the rain in Mumbai has abated.

The rain started late last month, after a late and weak onset of monsoon in mid-June, uprooting trees on Mumbai’s roads and killing ⁠at least three people, according to media reports.

India was hit by the worst flooding in its modern history in 2005, when it saw the most rain recorded in over a century, taking the lives of an estimated 1,000 people.

India’s Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast more heavy rainfall in many states in the coming days.

On June 30, the IMD projected that the South Asian nation is likely to see below-average monsoon rainfall in July after logging its fifth-driest June since the country started maintaining records in 1901.

Indonesia and India are boosting financial ties via a local currency settlement mechanism to lessen their reliance on the US dollar, a top diplomat has told RT India.

Bank Indonesia and the Reserve Bank of India have agreed on a local currency settlement (LCS) framework for this, the Indonesian Embassy’s deputy chief of mission, Yudho Sasongko, said in an interview given ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Jakarta.

Modi was accorded a warm welcome Monday, with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto welcoming him at the airport. Fighter jets accompanied the prime minister’s plane from the time it entered Indonesian air space.

“Central banks are still working on its operational implementation,” Sasongko said, referring to the mechanism. “Once in place, it is expected to reduce transaction costs, lessen reliance on the US dollar, and facilitate bilateral trade and investment.” 

Quick response (QR) code linkages to facilitate easier retail payments for tourists are also being explored, he said.

📹 🇮🇳🇮🇩 Grand Welcome For PM Modi In Jakarta

PM Narendra Modi was welcomed by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto upon his arrival in Jakarta.

In a special gesture, Indonesian Air Force fighter jets escorted the PM's aircraft after it entered the country's airspace. https://t.co/DM61UONmjL pic.twitter.com/JHgroicp1D

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) July 6, 2026

Indonesia and India share a strong commitment to amplifying the voice of the Global South, Sasongko added, reiterating that reforms at the UN, including of the Security Council, are vital for a just global order. Sasongko also pledged firm backing for India’s BRICS chairmanship.

As two of the largest economies of the Indo-Pacific, Indonesia sees India as a “broader and more substantive” partner “who respects sovereignty, international law, and an inclusive regional order,” he said.

Jakarta aims to see a deeper ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with “concrete initiatives and greater synergy between the ASEAN Outlook and India’s Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative.” 

He said boosting maritime and air connectivity between the nations will “translate directly into investment, jobs, tourism, and shared regional prosperity.” 

Critical minerals and rare earths are, the diplomat explained, “priority sectors” with strong potential for deeper collaboration essential to support resilient and diversified supply chains for clean energy and advanced manufacturing.

Sasongko said cooperation in steel and downstream metal industries could leverage Indonesia’s resource base and India’s manufacturing capabilities to create mutually beneficial partnerships. He also mentioned pharmaceuticals and medical devices, renewable energy and the electric vehicle battery ecosystem, digital technologies, and food processing as potential areas of cooperation.

Bilateral trade between the countries was pegged at $28.16 billion in FY25. India mainly imports mineral fuels, especially coal, palm oil, iron, and steel from Indonesia. Jakarta’s cumulative foreign direct investment in India in the April 2000-March 2025 period was $659.30 million.

India will collect the voice samples of six mercenaries – five Ukrainians and a US national – who were arrested in March by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), New Delhi’s anti-terror agency.

Together with another Ukrainian, they were arrested in March; all have been charged with aiding insurgent groups in neighboring Myanmar and providing them with weaponry.

The six were presented before a Delhi court on Friday amid heavy security, and were told they would remain in custody until August 1. They consented to have their voices recorded.

The court will decide the date for collecting voice samples on Saturday, when the remaining Ukrainian will be presented before it.

The NIA is also seeking an extension of the investigation period to 180 days under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, India’s primary anti-terrorism legislation.

The probe focuses on the alleged illegal entry of the mercenaries into the Indian border state of Mizoram, where foreign nationals are required to obtain a special permit, as well as their subsequent illegal crossing into Myanmar.

The Ukrainian men in custody are Petro Hurba, Taras Slyviak, Ivan Sukmanovskyi, Marian Stefankiv, Maksim Honcharuk, and Viktor Kaminskyi; three were detained at Delhi’s airport, while the others were taken in by the NIA in Lucknow. Matthew Aaron VanDyke, the US citizen, was arrested at an airport in the coastal city of Kolkata.

It also accused Indian and Russian media of publishing “distorted interpretations of the available facts.”

But reports at the time indicated that the Indian intelligence agencies were on the trail of the suspects after gathering significant inputs, likely from Interpol or with help from foreign intelligence agencies.

Mizoram’s chief minister, Lalduhoma, alleged last year that “thousands” of Western mercenaries linked to Kiev had crossed over to Myanmar via his state.

The chief minister of the neighboring state of Manipur, N. Biren Singh, suggested in 2024 that authorities suspected the involvement of foreign mercenaries in the violence in the state, referring to combat forces linked to Myanmar. At that time, New Delhi announced it would fence the entire 1,643 kilometer (1,020-mile) border with its neighbor to the east.

India has approved another massive tranche of arms purchases worth $5.5 billion as part of an effort aimed at modernizing its armed forces.

The Defense Acquisition Council (DAC) signed off on the proposals “to enhance combat readiness of defense forces.” In March, New Delhi gave the green light for arms purchases worth $25 billion.

The procurement will include the anti-drone and electronic warfare system Akash Tarang, man-portable anti-tank guided missile systems, a medium range surface-to-air missile system, a very short-range air defense system, active protection system for tanks, and a jet-based kamikaze drone system for the Indian Army.

The Defense Ministry said the Akash Tarang would provide effective anti-drone protection to army formations. 

The DAC also approved purchases of naval mines, shipborne drones, and a testing facility for boosting maritime defense and surveillance capabilities.

New Delhi also wants to buy a high-altitude unmanned aircraft platform, to be deployed by the Indian Air Force for intelligence gathering and remote sensing.

India moved to modernize its armed forces following a brief military conflict with nuclear-armed rival Pakistan last year, and now has a defense budget of $85 billion – a record 15% annual increase. 

Capital expenditure for the armed forces has been set at $23 billion, intended for funding major procurement programs.

India has been the world’s leading importer of major arms (by value) since 1950, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

India is planning to introduce a legal framework that would control virtual private networks (VPNs) operating in the country.

The new measures would require VPN providers to set up a local office and appoint compliance officers to address issues raised by the government.

Prison terms for local officials of VPN service providers failing to comply with the directives are also on the cards.

VPNs encrypt data and provide anonymity online, aiding users to dodge governmental scrutiny and monitoring. They are also used by scamsters and cyber criminals to evade authorities.

The development assumes significance after India’s recent actions against Telegram and WhatsApp over privacy and compliance.

In 2022, the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (Cert-In) asked VPN service providers to store customer data, including their names, email IDs, contact numbers, and IP addresses.

That attempt failed, however, with major VPN providers shifting their physical servers from India and continuing services with virtual services providing Indian internet protocol addresses.

The VPN providers argued that retention of customer information undermined the privacy protections the services are designed to offer.

That response has prompted the new government initiative, the Indian Express reported.

“There has been rampant abuse of VPN services. People use them to conceal their identity, bypass law enforcement, and access websites that have been blocked in India,” NDTV quoted a senior official as saying.

For instance, when the government blocked Telegram temporarily last month for enabling the leaks of question papers of a key medical entrance test, many in the country continued to access the messaging app using VPNs.

New Delhi has aggressively deployed its content blocking ecosystem, with over 24,000 orders issued last year, double the number in 2024. VPNs stymie that effort, authorities argue.

The objective of the new regulations is to enable agencies to trace those involved in cybercrime and other unlawful activities, officials say.

India registered a 13% rise in data breaches in 2025, with an average cost of $2.31 million, up from $2 million in 2024, according to IBM’s Cost of Data Breach Report.

An estimated half of India’s 800 million internet users rely on VPNs, potentially making it the largest user base globally due to the huge size of its internet population.

The globalization of the rupee is a key requirement for a fast-growing India, an economy hit hard by the oil and currency shocks from the Middle East conflict, its central bank governor has said.

New Delhi has repeatedly stressed the larger goal of internationalizing the rupee, prodding its agencies to build an enabling infrastructure for trading and settlement in currencies beyond the dollar-rupee pair.

“It is important as India is a growing economy, it is fast growing compared to other countries,” Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra said at the Financial Congress of the Bank of Russia on Wednesday.

An increase in rupee-denominated transactions will help New Delhi become more insulated from currency shocks and widen its trade basket by facilitating trade with US-sanctioned countries.

New Delhi expects trade in rupees to become more common in the coming years as several countries, including some in Africa, have expressed an interest in establishing payment mechanisms using the Indian currency.

ICYMI: 'Internationalisation Of The Rupee...Will Benefit Everyone' - RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra https://t.co/Wdzyv3puTg pic.twitter.com/wkR2yGJxdz

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) July 2, 2026

India and Russia have worked on alternative methods for carrying out transactions after the latter was removed from the SWIFT financial messaging system.

In September last year, Malhotra urged the Clearing Corporation of India to strengthen its offerings for retail investors in foreign exchange and government securities.

The central bank governor also said in a conversation with his Russian counterpart, Elvira Nabiullina, that the South Asian nation’s inflation-targeting framework has helped lower average inflation.

New Delhi is unlikely to raise its official inflation target, and there may be a case for lowering it over the long term, he said.

In a March review, the government retained its retail inflation target of 4%. India’s retail inflation stood at 3.93% in ⁠May, and the economy grew 7.8% year-on-year in the quarter ended March.

The energy crisis arising from the Middle East conflict has given momentum to India’s ethanol push, with the country laying out a roadmap to slash petrol use and increase the biofuel content for vehicles.

Earlier this month, India okayed the regulatory framework for the use of 100% ethanol (E100) as a transportation fuel. The step paves the way for a rollout of automobiles powered solely by ethanol, RT India reports.

New Delhi announced an E20 fuel mandate in April – with energy supplies under stress following the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz – which required gas stations to sell only E20 fuel, petrol cut with 20% ethanol.

Ethanol is primarily produced from agricultural feedstocks, such as sugarcane and grains, in India. New Delhi began experimenting with ethanol blending on a pilot basis in 2001.

The government is also mandating the sale of E100 fuel for specially designed engines.

“The higher ethanol blending is being driven by the need for energy security, enhancing farmers’ incomes, and reducing the carbon footprint,” Indian Sugar Bio-energy Manufacturers Association Director General Deepak Ballani told RT.

New Delhi has the capacity to blend 20 billion liters of ethanol, but is currently using only 11 billion liters for the purpose.

The government says blending has reduced crude oil imports and saved nearly $19 billion, and generated billions in additional income for farmers.

The transition has its own set of challenges – sugarcane and rice, the key raw materials, are water-intensive. Higher ethanol blends also require millions more compatible vehicles on the road and a much larger fuelling network equipped to distribute the blended fuel.

Moving beyond E20 presents a much bigger challenge as E85 and E100 can only be used in flex-fuel or dedicated ethanol vehicles. Only a handful of such models exist in India; and fuel stations offering higher ethanol blends remain limited. Carmakers, consumers, and fuel retailers are all moving cautiously as the ecosystem is just developing.

The initiative’s success is not about higher blending targets. It will depend on building the right vehicles, expanding fuel infrastructure, and ensuring that cleaner fuel doesn’t come at the cost of other resources.

Additionally, India has directed the state-backed Oil and Natural Gas Corporation to build and fill another strategic petroleum reserve facility to be ready for future energy crises.

India has raised concerns over the roll-out of usernames by messaging app WhatsApp, calling it a potential cybersecurity risk.

In a notice to Meta, which owns WhatsApp, New Delhi said on Wednesday that the username feature could increase “online scams, phishing, digital arrest scams and impersonation.”

The government is concerned that internet fraudsters could adopt usernames that closely resemble those of real people or institutions, and use them to impersonate individuals, public authorities, financial institutions, and government agencies.

WhatsApp said on Monday that usernames will be a “major privacy feature” that will help users connect to new people “without giving away your phone numbers.”

It has three days to reply to the notice or face regulatory action. The username roll-out is also barred until the company’s consultations with the government are concluded.

Meta said in a report in March that India is second only to the US among countries most targeted by online scammers – validating New Delhi’s concerns.

In response to the notice, Meta said it has multiple layers of guardrails against the misuse of the username feature.

“Users still require a phone number to use WhatsApp, and we’ve built multiple layers of defense against scams into usernames,” a CNBC report quoted a Meta official as saying.

The tech platform also said it intends to limit the number of new people a user account is entitled to contact, block repeated bids to guess usernames, and detect activity that demonstrates patterns linked to impersonation.

This comes days after India temporarily banned the Telegram app, claiming it was a key facilitator in an exam fraud that affected millions of students.

New Delhi also expressed concern with Telegram’s privacy features, which allow users to interact without needing to reveal a phone number, making identity detection difficult.

Telegram founder and Russian-born tech billionaire Pavel Durov accused Indian multinational conglomerate Reliance, without providing evidence, of a “lobbying effort” to get the app restricted in India last month. Meta has around a 10% stake in Jio Platforms, a unit of Reliance Industries.

The combined user base of Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram in India is more than 1 billion, making it a top market for Meta. Cybersecurity incidents have doubled in the country, where an estimated 86% of households are connected to the internet, to more than 2 million in 2024 since 2022.

WhatsApp says it banned more than 7 million Indian accounts in May alone.

Farmers in the landlocked northern regions of India, the second-largest fish producing country in the world, have turned to aquaculture, boosting the South Asian nation’s shrimp exports amid India’s Blue Revolution.

Shrimp exports accounted for 66% of India’s total seafood exports worth $8.46 billion last year, according to official data.

Farmers, who once grew wheat and rice, carefully balance minerals like potassium and magnesium to recreate seawater conditions hundreds of kilometers from the coast, according to an RT India report.

The Blue Revolution refers to the expansion of fish farming worldwide. In India, this has led to a surge in aquafarming in northern states like Haryana, which has struggled with saline groundwater and barren farmlands incapable of growing traditional crops for years.

The state produced over 14,000 metric tons of shrimp last year alone.

“We started with 8.5 acres and invested approximately $93,000 in it. We covered all that cost in the first season by selling shrimp worth around $100,000,” a farmer from Sonipat district said.

“There is no shortage of buyers,” he said.

These farms also produce other fish varieties. Haryana produced over 200,000 metric tons of seafood last year.

Aquafarmers also receive financial incentives from the government to build ponds, install equipment, and adopt modern aquaculture practices.

A farmer can harvest up to four to five tons of shrimp within just four months, generating profits of up to $10,000.

Other northern Indian states including Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan – all hundreds of kilometers from the sea – are also contributing to the country’s rising seafood exports.

The top buyers are the US and China, followed by Russia and the European Union.

The US has lifted sanctions on four Indian entities, two years after imposing them over alleged links to Russia.

The Indian entities have been removed from the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List as part of the latest sanctions update, the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said.

The entities are Hyderabad-based RRG Engineering Technologies Private Limited and Lokesh Machines Limited, Ahmedabad-based Galaxy Bearings Ltd, and Delhi-based Shaurya Aeronautics Private Limited.

In 2024, the OFAC imposed sanctions on 21 Indian entities – including 19 companies and two individuals for providing financial, material, technological, or other support to the Russian government.

Washington said the actions were taken to prevent efforts to circumvent the sanctions imposed on Russia, following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022.

India has said it does not subscribe to unilateral sanctions. New Delhi also said it has engaged with the US administration on the matter.

Indian businesses are more vulnerable to so-called secondary sanctions, as unlike Australia, China, and the EU, New Delhi has not adopted any ‘blocking statute’ that prohibits local entities from complying with foreign sanctions.

Two of the four entities removed from the sanctions list – Galaxy Bearings Limited and Lokesh Machines Limited – are listed companies. Lokesh Machines’ customer base includes US-based John Deere and Cummins, Sweden’s Volvo, and Japan’s Honda and Suzuki, Hindustan Times reported.

In May, the US also sanctioned an Indian petrochemical trading firm over oil trading with Iran.

Last August, the US imposed a 25% additional tariff, now lifted, on Indian imports as a punitive measure for purchases of Russian oil. New Delhi has always maintained that its energy purchases are dictated by national interests.

The European Union’s latest proposed sanctions package on Russia also includes entities based in India.

New Delhi has rejected sanctions that are not backed by the United Nations and questioned the legitimacy of such actions against the backdrop of EU nations’ purchases of Russian gas and LNG.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stressed the need to maintain freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz during a call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Modi welcomed the initial ceasefire agreement reached between Iran and the US that has paved the way for broader talks to find a lasting solution to the Middle East conflict.

He reiterated the need for continued efforts to ensure lasting peace and stability in the region and for safeguarding freedom of navigation and commerce.

The Indian leader emphasized New Delhi’s “consistent position that all issues must be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy,” the government said in a statement on Tuesday.

The US-Iran peace talks are clouded by the confusion over who controls the Strait of Hormuz. Iran says it is entitled to charge a toll as part of the broad peace framework that will be in place after 60 days of negotiations, while the US insists that shipping traffic cannot be charged.

Spoke with the President of Iran, Dr. Masoud Pezeshkian, on the recent developments in West Asia. Welcomed the progress made in the negotiations and expressed hope that continued efforts will lead to lasting peace in the region. Reiterated the importance of freedom of navigation…

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 30, 2026

The US-Israeli attacks on Iran at the end of February led to Tehran closing the strait, with Washington responding by imposing a naval blockade of Iranian ports. The blockades hit shipping in the chokepoint, through which a fifth of the world’s energy shipments passed before the conflict began, sending global oil prices soaring to as high as $120 a barrel.

President Pezeshkian briefed Modi on the recent developments in the Middle East and the path ahead amid the peace talks.

India’s oil imports from Russia hit record levels in June, despite a sanctions waiver from the US ending halfway through the month.

Local refiners imported about 2.70 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil from Russia in the month, preliminary data from Kpler and LSEG showed.

This is a steep rise from the 2.13 million bpd oil imports a month ago.

The data showed that Russian oil imports also accounted for more than half ⁠of India’s overall inbound shipments, up from 36.5% in May.

According to a Kpler report on June 22, India’s oil imports were pegged at an average of 2.66 million bpd up to June 19.

The report projected that India’s June imports were likely to top 2.35 million bpd, driven by competitive discounts and rising demand.

The US sanctions waiver ended on June 17.

India’s oil imports from Russia have steadily increased from 2022-23, when refiners tapped discounted crude after some European ‌customers shunned purchases from Moscow following the Ukraine conflict.

The attacks by Israel on Gaza show a targeted annihilation of children that should be punished, the head of a UN panel that probed the excesses told RT India.

The violence unleashed by Israeli forces was “unjustified and disproportionate… in considerable terms,” Justice S. Muralidhar, the chair of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the occupied Palestinian territory, said in an exclusive interview.

“The excuse that Hamas could be using hospitals and schools as bases to carry out its attacks will not justify completely demolishing 97% of all of Gaza’s schools,” he said.

The Gaza war began after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which around 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 taken hostage. Israel’s subsequent military operation devastated much of Gaza, killing over 73,000 Palestinians and injuring more than 173,000, according to the local health authorities.

Muralidhar presented the findings of the UN panel on Tuesday and discussed the Israeli violations against children.

Citing a pattern of targeted attacks on children, he said: “When you shoot a 10-day-old baby breastfeeding on his mother… through his head, you can by no means label such a baby as an enemy of the State of Israel and justify these kinds of attacks.”

Israeli quadcopters with thermal imaging cameras can clearly distinguish a child from an adult, he said.

That children were specifically targeted is clear from the number of “instances of babies with gunshot wounds to their head and neck to cause maximum damage.” He added that babies were aimed at with “tiny cube-shaped pellets” that “spread like a cluster of ammunition and destroy all the internal organs.”

“So it became very clear… that babies were special targets,” Muralidhar, who once served as chief justice at the high court in the eastern state of Odisha, said.

He noted that Israeli soldiers recounted on TV how they targeted children with quadcopters, claiming that “their commanders complimented them for doing that.”

Muralidhar said the pattern was clearly revealed “by a collection of all the forms of evidence,” including forensic and medical.

Muralidhar noted that “one of the elements of genocide is to prevent childbirths,” claiming that for Israeli forces, “mothers who are pregnant are targets, and they are denied any nutritious intake, so the mothers are malnourished.”

He added that hospital equipment was destroyed, while doctors were prevented from bringing in new equipment and emergency medication.

“So one can clearly see a pattern that reproductive health is being targeted. Newborn babies are targeted,” he said, while also claiming that “Israel targets the orphanages” and noting that the report cites “over 58,000 orphaned children in two years.”

Muralidhar lamented the “failure of all UN member states… to prevail upon Israel to comply with the three provisional orders of the International Court of Justice, [which] weakens the international legal order.” 

India’s capital has announced cash incentives for car owners to scrap their old cars for electric vehicles, as it scrambles to curb the alarming pollution levels.

The government of Delhi state has earmarked $1.59 billion over the next four years under a policy initiative to boost electric vehicles.

Delhi retained its distinction as the world’s most polluted capital city for the eighth consecutive year in 2025, according to the World Air Quality Report. The city has 8.76 million registered motor vehicles, and the new policy targets a minimum 30% electrification by March 31, 2030.

Under the policy, a $1,060 scrapping incentive will be offered to owners ready to trade in cars bought before April 1, 2020 for an electric car.

Additionally, electric cars priced up to around $31,700 will be exempt from road taxes and registration fees. These costs usually account for 4%-10% of a car’s on-road price.

The Indian capital wants a swifter energy transition for two-wheelers, of which it has 5.9 million. Delhi will only register electric two-wheelers from April 1, 2028.

The city will also offer a subsidy of around $300 to electric two-wheelers in the first year, reducing the amount by around $100 each in the next two years, to speed up the transition.

However, owners of hybrid vehicles will not benefit from these incentives.

Also, the city will only register electric autorickshaws – three-wheel vehicles – from January 1.

BrahMos Aerospace’s manufacturing facility in the northern Indian city of Lucknow has become the country’s largest, boosting production of the missile by 20%.

The new facility has manufactured the first batch of the missiles, BrahMos Aerospace co-director Aleksandr Maksichev told Sputnik. Manufacturing of “the second batch is now underway,” he added.

India has four BrahMos manufacturing facilities, with the others located in Hyderabad and Thiruvananthapuram in southern India and Pilani in the northwestern state of Rajasthan.

Maksichev said the commissioning of the facility has significantly enhanced both the speed and capacity of BrahMos missile manufacturing.

Global interest for the missile has since picked up. New Delhi has already sold it to the Philippines and Vietnam, and talks are underway with Indonesia and the UAE.

BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture by Indian and Russian defense manufacturers, posted record revenue in the previous fiscal year.

An Indian disaster relief team that rushed to Venezuela to help with earthquake relief work has set up camp and operationalized a field hospital in the capital.

The Indian Embassy in Venezuela said a medical team has been set up at the International La Rinconada Racetrack in Caracas.

At least 1,450 people have died since two devastating earthquakes struck Venezuela last week, with rescue teams racing to find survivors.

Two Indian Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft transported 66 tons of aid, including the army field hospital and over 35 tons of relief supplies, to Caracas in Operation Amistad.

The supplies include two BHISHM cubes – state-of-the-art, modular field hospital and trauma care systems designed for rapid disaster response, with medical essentials to treat up to 200 people.

The cubes were previously deployed to Ukraine, Jamaica, and other sites of disasters.

Operation Amistad: Venezuelan Vice Health Minister and Head of Government of the Capital District of Venezuela visit Indian Field Hospital ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/Av5ERsXWNn

— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) June 29, 2026

Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal shared a tweet of the Venezuelan vice health minister and head of government of the Capital District of Venezuela visiting the field hospital.

The IAF said the planes flew 23 hours, covering a distance of over 14,000 km from New Delhi to Caracas. “This transoceanic deployment reaffirms India’s growing role as a responsible first responder and a reliable humanitarian partner,” it said.

India’s ties with Venezuela received a boost recently when acting President Delcy Rodriguez visited New Delhi earlier this month to develop energy trade between the two countries.

India has raised concern about the repeated targeting of children during armed conflicts, demanding that those committing such crimes be held accountable.

Stressing that education is a right that should endure even in times of conflict, Indian Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) Harish Parvathaneni said “education is a right whose fulfilment is among the most powerful contributions to lasting peace.”

He pointed out that “protection of children without accountability is incomplete.”

Under international humanitarian law, a deliberate attack on a school amounts to a war crime.

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday it may never be known who was at fault for a deadly strike on a girls’ school in Iran on February ‌28, the opening day of the US-Israeli strikes on the country, that killed more than 120 students aged 6-13 and 26 teachers.

The US initially tried to blame the Iranian military for the bombing of the school in Minab in southern Iran. But an internal US military investigation showed American forces were likely responsible for the fatal strike, Reuters reported.

📹 India At UNSC: Those Targeting Schools With Impunity Must Be Held Accountable

Ukraine is accused of targeting a bus carrying Belarusian school kids, while the US has been accused of carrying out the devastating strike in Minab. pic.twitter.com/BQZCmqHyWp

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) June 26, 2026

Ukrainian drones targeted a dormitory and school at night in Russia’s Lugansk People’s Republic on May 22, while students were sleeping inside. The building partially collapsed, leaving 21 people dead, mainly teenage girls.

Kiev targeted a bus carrying 44 people, 28 of them children, in Russia’s Bryansk last week. Those on board were members of a Belarusian youth sports team. 

Following the attack Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Ukraine of “hunting” children.

“India remains unwavering in its commitment to protecting children in armed conflict and to upholding their right to learn, to grow, and to realize their full potential,” Parvathaneni added.

The Indian permanent representative’s remarks came after the UN Secretary General released a report on ‘Children and armed conflict.’

The report noted that violations against children in armed conflicts reached “shocking levels” in 2025, and a record number of children were affected, a PTI report said.

It said in conflict scenarios, parties “failed to uphold or proactively undermined their obligations… and continued to commit grave violations with near-total impunity.”

India’s trade minister has set a condition to finalize a trade deal agreed with the United States earlier this year.

After the US Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s tariffs as illegal in February – soon after the two countries reached an agreement – the administration imposed a 10% global tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act.

Trade Minister Piyush Goel said at the India Global Forum in London on Wednesday that New Delhi’s negotiated deal with Washington offered a then-competitive 18% tariff, which offered an edge over competing economies like ASEAN, other than Singapore, and neighboring countries.

“That is why the deal was attractive,” Goyal said.

“With the US Supreme Court striking down the tariffs, and now with the 10% expiring on July 24, we obviously need to have some reason to be able to enter into force that agreement,” he said.

Piyush Goyal: India Won't Activate US Trade Deal Until Competitive Edge Is Secured

The Indian Commerce Minister alluded that New Delhi is seeking clarity on how it will retain an edge over competing manufacturing economies before moving ahead with the deal.

He noted that the… https://t.co/labdIoYmfM pic.twitter.com/l7QU6qeEqk

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) June 25, 2026

Goyal said New Delhi needs to ensure a competitive advantage over what is being paid by countries in the same stage of development, naming some ASEAN nations and neighboring countries, including Bangladesh.

“Until the framework for getting a competitive advantage is finalized, we cannot enter into force a US deal,” Goyal said.

The remark came just a day after India held trade talks with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. The New Delhi talks were the third round on the issue since the trade deal was announced in February.

New Delhi and Washington failed to reach an agreement on trade after several rounds of talks last year. The US then slapped a 50% tariff on India, half of which was cited as a penalty for India’s purchases of Russian oil.

Also on Wednesday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said tariff rates could return to previous levels after Greer “concludes studies on Section 301 investigations.”

Section 301 allows the US to levy tariffs without additional congressional approval. The move shows the Trump administration’s resolve to circumvent the legal setbacks it suffered. 

The investigations under Section 301 were launched in March against several countries including China and India, and the European Union.

Russian weapons manufacturer Kalashnikov has signed a pact to supply small arms to partners in India.

Maxim Karavaev, Kalashnikov’s business development director in India, said the pact envisages the supply of anti-drone cartridges.

Under the terms of the deal signed at India Homeland Security Expo, an exhibition of equipment and technologies for national and public safety, Kalashnikov is expected to produce the supplies by the end of this year.

In particular, anti-drone shotguns, anti-drone cartridges of various calibers, and pistols will be shipped, it said in a statement.

“Anti-drone protection today is among the most popular in the world. The products of the concern in this niche are effective and proven,” Karavaev said.

Unmanned aerial systems have been a standout feature of the two-day India Homeland Security Expo, which ends on Thursday.

The compact Karakurt and Goliath copter-type UAVs and the SKAT 350 M high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft, known as GARUDA in India, were the highlights of the expo.

Kalashnikov already has partnerships with Indian entities. Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited (IRRPL), formed by Rosoboronexport and the Kalashnikov Concern along with two state-owned Indian firms – Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited and Munitions India Limited – started manufacturing AK-203 assault rifles in India in 2023.

The manufacture of 600,000 AK-203 rifles spread over ten years is being done under the ‘Make in India’ initiative of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The rifles are being made using Russian technology and certified equipment in the town of Korda in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

Meta, the parent company that owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, announced earlier this week that it has made a $900 million investment in Bengaluru-based startup Cred. 

Cred is a fintech startup founded by Kunal Shah, who now will take over as the global head of Meta’s WhatsApp messaging platform.  

While the Meta-Cred deal signals the US-based tech major’s growing ambitions in India’s digital payments and financial services market, it has also sparked concerns about data crossing borders. The huge investment, combined with a leadership role, has made the deal the focus of attention.

RT examines the multiple layers of the partnership.

What is Cred?

Cred started as a platform that rewarded users for paying their credit card bills on time. Founded in 2018 by Shah, it targeted financially responsible high-value customers, enabling the platform to build a user base of affluent Indians.

The platform later widened its reach beyond credit card payments, offering a host of services, including UPI (Unified Payments Interface) and merchant payments, apart from lending products, insurance services, and wealth management tools. In effect, Cred transitioned to a broader fintech platform rather than being a one-trick pony.

Cred was valued at $6.4 billion during the peak of the startup funding boom in 2022, but later saw a significant valuation drop due to cautious investor sentiment.

The new deal with Meta gives the US tech giant a minority 20% stake in Cred at a valuation of $4.5 billion. Cred has said it will not share the startup’s customer data with Meta.

Meta’s interest

Cred’s overwhelmingly urban and higher-income customer base set it as a prime target of global majors, with Meta finding it an attractive proposition in a major market such as India.

The South Asian nation is one of the key markets for Meta, with millions of users on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. India has over 850 million WhatsApp users, making it the app’s largest global base.

Meta has repeatedly tried – and thus far failed – to transform this massive user base into a dominant digital payments force. WhatsApp Pay, which was positioned to become a major force in India’s UPI ecosystem, remains a minor player in a crowded market dominated by leaders PhonePe and Google Pay, which have cornered the lion’s share of UPI transactions.

Meta sees the payments gamble as a crucial part of a larger digital commerce strategy. For example, it could have a user find a product on Instagram, discuss it with peers on WhatsApp, and make the payment through its own platform – an ecosystem of embedded loyalists within the Meta-verse, so to speak. Cred is an ideal bet to pull this off, with expertise spanning payments, lending, and financial products.

The deep understanding of Indian consumer traits and its complex and highly competitive fintech landscape that Cred offered were tantalizing add-ons.

Why Meta scooped up Shah

Shah is not a newcomer to the financial ecosystem. Before launching Cred, he founded FreeCharge, a digital payments company, which was later sold to Snapdeal. A deep knowledge of consumer behavior and financial technology propelled him to the highest echelons of India’s startup ecosystem.

Shah’s appointment as the global head of WhatsApp is a hint that Meta sees a goldmine in his leadership abilities. Meta can count on him to infuse fresh thinking in WhatsApp and to boost the app’s floundering payments strategy – not only in a huge market like India, but in other countries as well, as digital transactions gain increasing appeal among global consumers. 

Is there a catch?

The deal announcement spurred discussions over data sovereignty and the role of US-based tech giants in India’s fintech sector as well as their access to the vast financial data generated by Indian consumers.

A report by Global Trade Research Institute (GTRI) warned that Meta’s investment in Cred could deepen foreign tech influence over India’s fintech sector and consumer financial data. The think tank has urged greater transparency on data‑sharing safeguards and stronger regulatory oversight of the deal. GTRI founder Ajay Srivastava noted that the Meta-Cred transaction “comes at a time when India’s digital-payments ecosystem is increasingly dominated by platforms linked to US firms.”

Allowing global firms to hold sway over public digital infrastructure risks of foreign-controlled ecosystems gaining access to valuable financial data assets, the GTRI report argued, noting that Cred processes more than 40% of India’s credit-card bill payments.

“The central issue is not whether Meta gains access to Cred’s data today. It is whether India is gradually allowing control over the financial data of millions of economically active citizens to migrate into foreign-owned digital ecosystems,” Srivastava wrote.

Data sovereignty concerns linked to startup acquisitions and regulatory oversight have also been flagged by a Mumbai-based entrepreneur Arnab Mitra. The deal is “data arbitrage at national scale,” he said in a LinkedIn post, citing that Meta would have access to “25 million Indian credit profiles. Affluent. Verified. Creditworthy.”

India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 stipulates explicit consent before personal financial data is transferred to any third party and restricts cross-border transfer of personal data to countries not on an approved whitelist. According to Mitra, the catch here is that the government “has not notified the whitelist, and the US is not on it yet.” The implications are that data crossing borders is not a possibility that is ruled out.

In 2021, the Competition Commission of India (CCI), the national antitrust regulator, penalized Meta over WhatsApp’s privacy policy and the way user data was collected and shared with other Meta companies.

It remains unclear to what extent the CCI – whose approval will be required for the deal to go through – will be willing to probe the deeper contours of the transaction and focus on data concerns, rather than limiting itself to competition issues.

India has honored Russian scholar Dr. Lyudmila Khokhlova, acclaimed Indology professor and linguist, with the Padma Shri award for her contribution to the field of literature and education, and advancing Indian languages and culture.

The Moscow State University scholar has a decades-long academic career spanning historical linguistics, the origins and evolution of Sikhism, and the study of Hindi, Punjabi, Gujarati, and Marwari. She has authored six books and 92 publications, while teaching generations of young India specialists.

President Droupadi Murmu presented India’s fourth highest civilian honor to Dr. Khokhlova on Tuesday in New Delhi.

Earlier in January, speaking to RT when the award was announced on India’s Republic Day, she said: “I wish for Indians to keep moving forward, continue their rapid economic development and preserve all the glorious spiritual traditions since ancient times.”

“This award means a lot to me both personally and professionally. And I will work as much as possible to make myself worthy of this award,” she added. Dr. Khokhlova is an Associate Professor in the Department of Indian Philology at the Institute of Asian and African Studies, Lomonosov Moscow State University.

Fewer than ten Russian scholars have received the Padma Shri since it was instituted in 1954. 

The Iran conflict shows that the era of the unipolar world is over, a leading policy expert has said. The US can bomb a country to the Stone Age, but cannot “create global governance,” Samir Saran, the head of the Observer Research Foundation, told the Primakov Readings International Forum in Moscow.

“If the biggest power in the world cannot open the Hormuz Strait, I don’t think that power should be recognized as being anything close to being powerful,” he said on Wednesday at the event.

Speaking exclusively to RT on the sidelines of the event, Saran stated that traditional friends Moscow and New Delhi do not have another partnership that can claim the same level of trust.

“India and Russia have a very special relationship and a special connection with each other,” he said.

On New Delhi’s concerns regarding Moscow’s ties with Beijing, he said Russia and India should “view only what we do with each other. We should double it, then triple it, then grow [the relationship].”

“We should be each other’s most essential partners and we should continue to invest in that. What we do with others should not be a concern to either of us.”

“We will not have the dominance of the USA and USSR of the past ever. There will be no real superpower in the next 25-30 years,” he said.

Saran went on to say that commodities will be key among the “four drivers of the world of the future,” listing technology, demography, and identity as the other three.

He slammed the “new export control ethic emerging around AI,” saying it will create divides like never before. “Technology is going to create an underclass,” he warned.

Saran predicted that “identity and sovereignty are going to be stronger in the next 20 years than they were in the last 20 years.” 

Russia and India are working on increasing bilateral trade volumes, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said, as the countries pursue a trade target of $100 billion by 2030.

Ties between Russia and India, the world’s most populous country and one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, are set to reach new heights, Peskov told RT on the sidelines of the 12th International Scientific and Expert Forum ‘Primakov Readings’ in Moscow.

“We are working on increasing the volume of economic relations. This volume has a stable growth trend. We will work together further,” Peskov said.

The bilateral trade target of $100 billion to be reached by 2030 was set during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India in December.

Earlier this month, Putin expressed confidence in achieving the target, saying, “At present, trade turnover stands at approximately $58 to $60 billion. However, all the necessary conditions are in place to intensify our joint efforts and achieve even more ambitious goals.”

China is currently India’s largest trading partner, with bilateral trade at $151.1 billion.

India is a country with potential in all areas, Peskov said, adding Moscow’s ties with New Delhi have a “particularly privileged status.”

Earlier at the Primakov Readings, Peskov posed a query on India’s role in the emerging global order, linking its bilateral ties with Russia, to policy expert Samir Saran, the head of the Observer Research Foundation think tank.

In reply, Saran said the role of Russia-India relations is crucial in the emerging world. India will play a pivotal role in a world “where commodities and climate change and development challenges exist. If the Russians and the Americans were the military superpowers and the Chinese are the economic superpowers, India is the development superpower,” he said.

Saran pointed out that India, with a population of about 1.47 billion, has lifted “more people out of poverty, provided more food, provided more solutions to more people than anyone else in the world.”

The World Bank said last year that the number of Indians living on less than $2.15 a day, the international benchmark for extreme poverty, fell sharply from 16.2% in 2011-12 to just 2.3% in 2022-23.

India has called for the emergence of a strong voice for the Global South at a meeting of the security chiefs of BRICS countries in New Delhi.

Warning that multilateralism is on the decline globally, Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval struck a note of caution about the growing security challenges. “Tumultuous times, marked by military conflicts and growing security challenges, need a stronger voice of the Global South,” he said.

The two-day meeting was attended by top security officials from the bloc’s countries, including Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. 

The BRICS leaders "reaffirmed their commitment to combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including through countering the use of new technologies being utilized by them," India's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Doval pointed out that BRICS was created to promote a more multipolar world order, strengthen the voice of the Global South, and advance peace, development, and cooperation. The NSA said the bloc is “gaining strength day by day.”

Backing Doval about waning multilateralism in global relations, Russia’s Shoigu said BRICS should play a key role to reform “failing international organizations, including the UNSC and WTO.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously pushed to reform the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank. “A reform of leading UN institutions and global financial structures is long overdue,” Putin said in the presence of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the 2024 BRICS summit in Kazan. “The weight of the developing nations in the world economy has radically changed in the past decades.”

🇷🇺 Security Council Secretary Shoigu Calls For Creation Of BRICS Emergency Reserve

The mechanism would be "for storing stocks of medicines, food, energy, fertilizers, rare earth metals, and other vital goods" for use in crisis situations. https://t.co/VjyFc9CVC0 pic.twitter.com/nPVUv9maej

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) June 23, 2026

Shoigu also called for the creation of a ‘BRICS Emergency Reserve’ as a mechanism “for storing stocks of medicines, food, energy, fertilizers, rare earth metals, and other vital goods” for use in crisis situations.

The NSA meeting is a preparatory initiative to lay the groundwork for the BRICS Leaders’ Summit scheduled for September 12-13 in India, which Putin is expected to attend.

Doval also met with China’s Wang on the sidelines and held “constructive and forward-looking talks,” the ministry said.

The ministry “noted progress towards gradual normalization” of bilateral ties.

Twelve Indians are among the 13 killed in a blast at a Ras Laffan gas facility on Monday, the Qatari authorities say.

Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi said the blast at the Barzan plant in the Ras Laffan LNG complex was due to a “technical malfunction,” ruling out any “hostile” action.

Qatar suffered Iranian missile and drone attacks during the recent Middle East conflict triggered by US-Israel strikes on Iran, with the Ras Laffan facility extensively damaged in March.

The Indian Embassy in Doha said the Qatari authorities confirmed that 12 of the deceased were from India. The 66 reportedly injured are Qatari, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Kenyan, Ghanaian, Tanzanian, Nigerian, and Nepalese nationals, Qatari officials said.

The Qatari authorities said the injured are in stable condition and are receiving medical treatment.

Qatari authorities have confirmed that 12 Indian nationals have unfortunately passed away in the Ras Laffan incident yesterday night. We extend our deepest condolences to the bereaved families and prayers for the departed souls.

Qatari authorities have also confirmed that all…

— India in Qatar (@IndEmbDoha) June 22, 2026

The Indian Embassy said officials are in touch with the authorities to extend “all possible help to the Indian nationals and their families affected by this incident, including ensuring that the mortal remains of the deceased are sent back to India at the earliest.”

The Ras Laffan Industrial City around 80 km north of Doha houses the world’s largest LNG export complex and produces around a fifth of global supply.

Qatar Energy did not provide details on the extent of the damage in the blast. Al-Kaabi, who is also the CEO of the state-owned company, said the blast “will not affect in any way our exports to the world.”

Qatar is India’s largest LNG supplier, accounting for nearly half of the country’s imports. Qatar owns nearly all of the plant, with ExxonMobil holding a small share.

The explosion occurred as workers were restarting operations at the complex. There was no gas leakage, Qatar’s Interior Ministry said, adding that the incident does not pose any danger to public safety.

A blaze in a commercial building in the northern Indian city of Lucknow on Monday has left at least 14 people dead, most of them students.

The fire broke out in a building located in the Aliganj neighborhood, which housed a pet shop and veterinary clinic on the lower floors, in addition to an animation studio and a study center upstairs.

The deputy chief minister of the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, Brajesh Pathak, confirmed that 14 bodies have been recovered, while ten people were undergoing treatment in a hospital.

Local media reports that several people were injured. Rescue efforts were coordinated by officials from the fire department, police, and district administration.

Disturbing and scary visuals from Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh where people were seen jumping from the first floor of a shop caught in a massive fire. pic.twitter.com/ofT6vlKOQW

— Piyush Rai (@Benarasiyaa) June 22, 2026

Authorities have not determined the cause of the blaze. Videos circulating on social media showed people shimmying to the ground on makeshift ropes, as well as a person falling from the first floor while trying to escape. Local media later reported that the man has been hospitalized.

Some animals rescued from the pet clinic were also injured.

Firefighters broke open a wall to gain entry to the building as thick smoke hampered rescue efforts. Exhaust fans were used to clear the smoke.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that cash assistance would be provided to the families of the victims and those hurt in the blaze.

“Anguished by the loss of lives in a fire mishap in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. My condolences to the bereaved families. May the injured recover at the earliest,” he posted on X.

India is in initial talks with the United Arab Emirates for the potential sale of BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, Reuters reports.

The Gulf nation is ramping up weapons purchases in the aftermath of the Middle East conflict and amid concerns about regional stability.

The negotiations also include the potential purchase of India’s Akashteer air defense system, Reuters reports, citing two sources.

“The talks between India and UAE are at initial stages and are progressing fast,” the report quoted a third source as saying.

BrahMos, jointly developed by India and Russia, is among the world’s fastest cruise missiles and has land, sea, and air variants. The missile, with speeds reaching up to Mach 3, was employed with lethal effectiveness against Pakistani targets last year by Indian forces.

Akashteer is a fully automated air defense system developed by state-run Bharat Electronics Ltd and the Indian Army.

Russian oil exports to India rose in June, with shipments surging despite the third US sanctions waiver on oil purchases from Russia ending last week.

India imported an average of 2.66 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil from Russia this month up to June 19, compared to 1.91 million bpd in May, data from Kpler shows.

India’s oil imports in June are likely to top 2.35 million bpd, driven by competitive discounts and rising demand, PTI reported, quoting a Kpler analyst.

Imports from the US during the period slumped to 91,000 bpd from 252,000 bpd in May.

India is the world’s third-largest energy importer. New Delhi diversified its crude basket after its crude, LNG and LPG imports from the Gulf region were disrupted by the Middle East conflict and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Nearly a fifth of global energy shipments were routed through the strait before the US-Israeli war against Iran, sending oil prices soaring.

Oil shipments to India from the United Arab Emirates stood at 636,000 barrels per day (bpd), a slight dip from the 644,000 bpd imported a month ago. Venezuela emerged as India’s fourth-largest supplier with shipments of 209,000 bpd, behind Saudi Arabia’s 384,000 bpd.

The US sanctions waiver on Russian oil expired on June 17. Washington initially waived sanctions on Russian oil purchases on March 5, and extended it twice, despite claims to the contrary.

Reports suggest that another extension is unlikely, as oil supplies from the Middle East may return to the market as a US-Iran peace deal takes shape.

The US waiver was issued to stabilize global oil prices after the Iran war. Washington slapped a 25% punitive tariff on Indian imports for its Russian oil purchases in 2025, although it was lifted earlier this year.

A New Delhi court has rejected the messaging app Telegram’s appeal to overturn a temporary ban introduced by India’s federal government.

The restrictions were imposed on the popular messaging app earlier this week to prevent its use by “cheating rackets” to defraud candidates taking a nationwide medical entrance examination.

The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test held last month was cancelled following allegations of question leaks and exam irregularities; about 2.2 million students will take the retest on Sunday.

The Delhi High Court found ‌the government’s action legal and reasonable. The government is “empowered... to issue directions for blocking public access to Telegram,” it ruled.

The ban is effective June 16 to June 22, with the app’s message-editing feature blocked until June 30. The government says the feature was misused to circulate back-dated messages, creating the impression that exam questions had been leaked in advance.

India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology invoked the provisions of its information technology law, which enables authorities to block access to online sites in the “interest of sovereignty and integrity of India,” to temporarily ban the app founded by Russian tech entrepreneur Pavel Durov.

India is Telegram’s biggest market by downloads, although Meta’s WhatsApp remains the top messaging platform in the country of 1.4 billion.

The legal battle is the most high-profile case between a global tech giant and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. ⁠In 2025, it reduced the number of officials who can order content takedowns following a bitter legal battle with Elon Musk’s X.

India has directed the state-backed Oil and Natural Gas Corporation to build and fill another strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) facility, which would expand its reserve capacity by a third, a report has said.

The oil explorer and producer will invest an estimated $1.6 billion to implement the federal government’s directive. New Delhi is prioritizing energy security in the wake of the Middle East conflict, which depleted its strategic reserves and exposed its vulnerability to oil shocks.

The proposed 1.75 million metric ton (MMT) underground facility in the southern port city of Mangaluru is expected to increase New Delhi’s current emergency reserve capacity of 5.33 MMT by a third, The Economic Times reported.

ONGC would require $602 million for construction and $1.2 billion for filling the facility with crude oil, according to estimates based on current oil prices.

India currently has three SPR facilities located in the southern states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. These were funded by the government and are owned by Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd, a state-owned special purpose vehicle. 

A phase 2 plan to add 6.5 MMT was approved earlier.

India’s daily consumption is five million barrels of oil per day, making its SPR capacity of about 39 million barrels look meager compared to the reserves of other major economies. 

New Delhi held just 21 million barrels of strategic crude stocks at the end of 2025. 

China’s reserves, at more than 220 million barrels, can last 60 days, while Japan’s 324 million barrel-reserve can last 230 days.

The recent incident of the US Navy attacking an unarmed merchant ship off the coast of Oman with two Hellfire missiles and killing three Indian mariners as a result has deeply angered Indian public opinion.

The Indian government was forced to summon the US chargé d’affaires in New Delhi twice to register a protest. What has particularly offended India is the lack of any expression of regret by the US for killing Indian nationals. Whatever the circumstances that led to this killing, some words of regret from the US were expected given the friendly relations between the two countries.

India and the US have a comprehensive global strategic partnership. Both have been cooperating to promote maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region, with regular naval exercises and membership of the Quad. A US officer is stationed in Indian Navy’s Information Fusion Center – Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) in Gurugram. India maintains a reciprocal liaison officer in the US Central Command HQ in Florida as part of deepening maritime, counterterrorism, and undersea domain awareness cooperation.

Given this level of institutional engagement, and the fact that Indian seafarers make up roughly 10% to 12% of the global maritime workforce, the risk to Indian nationals in a region that is a major source of oil and gas not only for India but for Asia as a whole should have prompted the discussion and development of clear protocols to protect their lives.

It is in this context that Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar spoke to US Secretary of State Rubio and reiterated India’s strong protest at the attacks by the US Navy in the Gulf that killed three Indian mariners. During the call, Jaishankar stated that such lethal actions against commercial shipping were not justified.

Rather surprisingly, Rubio’s response was unusually harsh and peremptory. He stressed to Jaishankar that all commercial vessels should immediately comply with orders from US forces which seek to uphold peace and security in the strait. He underscored that violations of the US blockade and the illicit transport of Iranian oil will not be tolerated. 

Rubio implicitly not only justified the killing of three Indian mariners under the circumstances, but warned that this could happen again as the US will not tolerate the violation of its unilaterally imposed blockade. There is not even a pro forma expression of regret at the killing of nationals of a friendly country.

The irony of Rubio’s unyielding message to India is that two days later President Donald Trump announced the lifting of the US blockade and unhindered passage through the strait following a preliminary framework agreement with Iran. Rubio would have been aware of this development and yet he chose to respond to Jaishankar’s oral démarche in such hectoring language. This will only serve to seed more distrust in India towards the US.

Trump evaded the issue. This "working together" could have started with some expression of regret as a demonstration of  good faith. An opportunity was missed to close the matter and actually even win over Indian public opinion.

The broader context of US-India ties

The US has been building a relationship of trust with India ever since the presidency of George W. Bush. The nuclear deal with India reversed decades of mistrust between the two countries and opened the doors to an expanding relationship in several areas: economic, trade, technology, defense, and security. Presidents Obama, Biden, and even Trump in his first term continued to consolidate the relationship. India-US ties were described as the defining relationship of the 21st century.

Defense ties that were virtually absent in 2005 became a major confidence-building measure on India’s part, with New Delhi buying weapons and platforms worth over $22 billion. India and the US signed all the required foundational agreements in the defense area. India was declared a Major Defense Partner by the US and certain export control regulations were eased to allow the sale of US defense material and technologies to India.

Bilateral military exercises expanded during these years. Within the Quad, along with Japan and Australia, India and the US have been cooperating in the area of maritime security in the Indo-Pacific. The US linked the security of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, which was logical in view of Japan’s membership of the Quad. A major objective was to deter the maritime expansionism of China, though New Delhi worked to enlarge the remit of Quad to also include important non-security areas. 

In the US Congress, India has enjoyed a bipartisan consensus all these years. The large Indian diaspora in the US has been valued as a strong bond. The number of Indian students enrolling in US universities overtook the number of Chinese students, hitherto the largest. India was the biggest beneficiary of the H‑1B visa scheme, and this has played a large role in strengthening links between the IT giants in the US and Indian talent.

The US has continued to be uncomfortable with India’s ties with Russia. On the defense side, Washington has made no secret it wanted to dilute India’s defense ties with Russia, and even replace Russia as India’s biggest defense partner. The CAATSA legislation passed by the US Congress, with the encouragement of Trump in his first term, was to deter India from acquiring new high-end defense platforms from Russia such as S-400 air defense missiles. This legislation put India in a defensive position to seek waivers from the Washington to avoid risks of US secondary sanctions. The US compelled India to cease buying Iranian oil under threat from sanctions. India has had to seek waivers for its operations at the Iranian port of Chabahar. 

The US State Department has repeatedly targeted New Delhi in its annual reports on issues such as human rights, the treatment of minorities, and religious freedom in India – much to the annoyance of Indian opinion, which has long criticized Washington’s double standards and hypocrisy.

After Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine, pressure on New Delhi to condemn Moscow and cease buying Russian oil became contentious issues in the relationship.

While India has stood its ground, these pressures have constantly reminded India that the US is incapable of treating other countries as equals, that over dependence on the US would constrain India’s strategic autonomy which India must conserve at all costs.

In his second term, Trump has undone the progress in trust building between India and the US. From India’s viewpoint he has done this gratuitously, without any provocation from India. He has always been obsessed with high Indian tariffs, overlooking the fact that these are not US specific and are WTO compliant. He went on to impose 50% tariffs on India, the highest on any other country except Brazil, including 25% penalty tariffs for India buying Russian oil. He overlooked the fact that the Biden administration had encouraged India to buy from Russia in order to avoid a sharp spike in global oil prices.

India’s bipartisan support in the US Congress has not shielded it from Trump’s arbitrary actions. The Indian diaspora has not mobilized itself actively in the support of their homeland. The US corporate sector with large interest in India has chosen not to bat for India openly for fear of provoking the capricious Trump administration.

India has made major concessions to the US to secure a trade deal, a fact recognized by USTR Jamieson Greer, but Trump has kept it in abeyance because he wants to extract concessions from India on agricultural products in particular, which India cannot offer. He wants India to plead for a deal. He is now using Section 301 of the US trade legislation to reimpose high tariffs on India and others.

Trump has made insulting remarks about India, calling it a “dead economy” and a “hellhole.” Members of his administration, especially the commerce and treasury secretaries, have also used offensive language. Trump has further embarrassed India politically by claiming nearly 60 times that he brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan by threatening to use tariffs, and that he thereby prevented a nuclear war. India has officially denied this, but that has not deterred him. He appears resentful that India denied him an opportunity to bolster his case for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Trump has been strikingly insensitive to India’s concerns by politically bolstering Pakistan’s regional standing. His administration has lionized Field Marshal Munir, who is deeply hostile towards India, while drawing attention away from Pakistan’s terrorist affiliations. At the same time, it has also effectively strengthened the China-Pakistan axis by not questioning Pakistan’s high‑end arms purchases from China – as he does in the case of India’s arms purchases from Russia – even though Pakistan’s economy is in dire shape and dependent on IMF bailouts.

India’s concern is that in a bid to strengthen Washington regional military role Trump may supply US arms to Pakistan. Trump has gone to war with Iran on its nuclear program but the US ignores the expansion of Pakistan’s nuclear program, its China connection, and repeated Pakistani nuclear threats against India.

Just before the Trump-Modi meeting at Evian, the US announced that the US Indo-Pacific Command, so named in 2018 by Trump, will revert to its original name of the US Pacific Command. This erodes the salience of the Quad.

India, the only country with credible naval power in the Indian Ocean littoral, is an indispensable partner for ensuring maritime security in  these waters through which the vital trade and energy routes of ASEAN and East Asian countries – including China, Japan, and South Korea – pass. By its uncertain messaging in the Indo-Pacific area, the US is reflecting the same kind of strategic disarray that that the Trump administration’s adventurism in the Middle East has already exposed.

An energy vessel that crossed the Strait of Hormuz has docked in an Indian port for the first time since the announcement of an initial peace agreement between the US and Iran on Sunday, as shipping traffic began to trickle back through the chokepoint.

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier MT Disha docked at Dahej Port in the western state of Gujarat early on Friday, reports said. The tanker was said to be among the first to cross the strait after the agreement between Washington and Tehran and the subsequent lifting of the US naval blockade of Iran.

India is the world’s third-largest importer of oil, the fourth-largest of LNG, and the second-largest importer of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). Before hostilities broke out, 45% of India’s crude oil imports, half of its LNG imports, and 90% of its LPG imports were routed through the Strait of Hormuz.

The MT Disha had loaded its cargo in Ras Laffan, Qatar. LNG is a priority energy item for India, amid demand growth and a lack of strategic reserves. But with imports from Qatar and the UAE entirely halted, New Delhi has turned to the US, Oman, and Nigeria.

#WATCH | First LNG vessel to arrive in India after the Iran-US MoU docks at Dahej Port in Gujarat

LNG carrier Disha, which transited the Strait of Hormuz, reached the Petronet LNG jetty during morning hours, according to Bharuch Port Authority#LNG #India #IranUSDeal #Energy pic.twitter.com/Og8DEAVCWg

— ET NOW (@ETNOWlive) June 19, 2026

At least 12 tankers have moved through the strait in recent days, Turkish media reported. Among those were three Saudi oil supertankers and an Iranian products tanker, the report said, citing data analytics company Kpler.

It is not clear if any of them were bound for India.

Ships owned by Grimaldi Group, Cosco, Knutsen, and NYK were beginning to cross the strait after effectively being marooned there since February, Richard Meade, editor in chief of Lloyd’s List, said in a media briefing.

Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz had largely halted since the US-Israeli attack on Iran at the end of February, sending energy prices soaring globally. A fifth of global energy passed through the Middle East chokepoint before the conflict erupted.

About 100 vessels transited the route daily before conflict began.

All four of the world’s largest container carriers – Maersk, MSC, CMA CGM, and Hapag-Lloyd – had suspended Hormuz transit by March.

Some 40 ships carrying LPG, LNG, and fertilizers were waiting to sail through the strait to India, reports said in May.

A day after the announcement of a deal to end hostilities, an Indian official told Reuters that 16 India-bound vessels loaded with fertilizer were still stranded in the strait.

During active hostilities in the region, Iran repeatedly targeted vessels in the strait, although several India-bound ships passed through it.

Democratizing artificial intelligence (AI) should be India’s priority as the world’s most populous country, a top minister and ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has told RT India.

Nara Lokesh, the information and technology minister of the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, said India’s AI mission has a clear mandate: the technology’s effective use at the grassroots level.

“We don’t look at AI as a profit-making machine,” he said in the latest episode of ‘India, Russia and The World’ podcast. “But we look at AI at the scale of 1.4 billion people using it, using it effectively and enhancing their livelihoods.” 

The AI mission aims to bring in the physical infrastructure and build local models, while exploring how to use the technology to effectively improve outcomes for citizens, he said.

Lokesh argued AI should not remain a product for the elite or create a greater digital divide.

“It should help the farmer… it should help the street vendor… it should help the taxi driver, or the auto driver. And that’s when you would have really unlocked the value of AI,” he said.

“Some countries look at profiting from it, some countries look at regulating it. I believe India, given its scale, should democratize AI.” 

RT has launched a Hindi-language version of its Gateway to Russia project, expanding access for audiences in India and Hindi speakers around the world.

The new platform offers content on Russian culture, history, travel, education, and everyday life, along with practical guidance tailored for Hindi-speaking users. 

The Hindi version is designed to help users better understand Russia and explore opportunities related to study, travel, and relocation. The site includes information for those interested in learning Russian, pursuing higher education in the country, navigating visa and citizenship procedures, and understanding what it is like to move to and live in Russia.

The launch comes as Russia and India continue to expand people-to-people, educational, and economic ties, with growing interest among Indian students, workers, and tourists in opportunities in Russia.

The Gateway to Russia project has been developed by RT since 2024 and serves as an informational platform for foreign audiences interested in the country. With the addition of Hindi, the portal is now available in 11 languages: Russian, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese, Serbian, Arabic, German, and Hindi.

The Hindi launch marks RT’s latest effort to broaden its outreach in South Asia and make Russian-focused content more accessible to one of the world’s largest language communities.

Last year, RT launched a new India-dedicated channel – RT India. It was inaugurated in-person by Russian President Vladimir Putin during his state visit to the country. Putin hailed the RT India launch as an “important milestone” that will allow millions of Indians to receive information about Russia’s realities today, its perspectives, and its aspirations.

Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani is planning an ambitious project to launch a large constellation of satellites into low-earth orbit. 

The move would propel Ambani’s Reliance Jio, a dominant player in India’s telecom sector, into a global market currently dominated by Elon Musk’s Starlink and Jeff Bezos’ Amazon Leo. Ambani is the richest man in India and has an estimated net worth of about $100 billion.

Jio plans to launch around 1,600 satellites into a low-earth-orbit altitude of about 650 km, the Economic Times reported. This would enable the company to extend its dominance in the Indian telecom and fiber internet markets to space, and would critically enable India to reduce reliance on foreign infrastructure in the strategic sector.

Reliance Jio’s plan is being evaluated by the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center, the report said.

The role that Starlink has played in the Ukraine conflict has spurred national security concerns in India, especially because the US-based company could turn connectivity on and off remotely.

Starlink’s commercial launch in India is on hold, though it has received preliminary licenses. New Delhi is reportedly wary of constellations that use laser links to beam data directly between satellites outside of its control and even potentially through “surveillance hubs and hostile jurisdictions.”

Starlink has about 10,000 satellites in orbit, while Amazon Leo has about 370, with plans for up to 3,200.

The report said the Indian government is likely to back Jio in its filings with the International Telecommunication Union to secure orbital slots – scarce real estate in an already crowded chunk of space.

The constellation could cost Reliance Jio $10 billion-$15 billion and would take about three years to execute. It would enable Reliance Jio to offer services that are no longer dependent on towers, fiber, or geography, and even offer direct-to-device connectivity.

In March, Russia launched 16 communication satellites for its Rassvet (Sunrise) high-speed internet project, Moscow’s alternative to SpaceX’s Starlink.

India and Russia are jointly developing smaller hypersonic versions of the BrahMos missile, whose lethal precision was on display against Pakistani targets last year.

BrahMos is “an emblematic example” of bilateral defense cooperation between Russia and India, Moscow’s envoy to New Delhi, Denis Alipov, said while marking the 25th anniversary of the missile’s first test launch.

Named after the Brahmaputra and Moskva rivers, the BrahMos is among the fastest supersonic cruise missiles in the world.

“Today, work is underway to develop smaller and hypersonic variants, which will further enhance the Indian Armed Forces’ multi-domain strike capabilities,” he said Wednesday.

BrahMos is a supersonic missile with speeds reaching up to Mach 3, or three times the speed of sound. It is now available in land-, sea-, and air-launched variants.

BrahMos Goes Hypersonic: 🇮🇳 & 🇷🇺 Working On Next-Gen Missile Variants - Russian Ambassador To India

India and Russia are jointly developing smaller and hypersonic versions of the BrahMos missile, Denis Alipov has said.

"Today, work is underway to develop smaller and hypersonic… pic.twitter.com/4nPh10IsLA

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) June 18, 2026

Alipov recalled the use of the missile in Operation Sindoor, India’s brief military clash with Pakistan last year. Some 15-20 BrahMos missiles were fired by India in the clash, damaging several major Pakistani air bases.

The BrahMos joint venture, established in 1995, transformed bilateral ties from a “traditional buyer-seller framework” into one based on “technology sharing, co-development, and co-production,” Alipov said.

After a decade and a half, New Delhi has institutionalized this approach under its Make-in-India program, he said.

The envoy added that the joint development of fifth-generation fighter aircraft based on Russia’s Su-57 platform and the production of S-400 air defense systems would strengthen the trajectory of bilateral defense collaboration.

“The project also marked a turning point in our bilateral cooperation, paving the way for other landmark initiatives such as the licensed and localized production of Su-30MKI fighter aircraft and T-90 main battle tanks in India,” he noted.

BrahMos Aerospace Managing Director Alexander Maksichev said last week the company is ready to supply missiles to the Russian Navy and land forces.

Originally capped at a range of 180 miles (290 km), the weapon has since been upgraded for greater reach. The Philippines was its first foreign customer, signing a $375 million contract in 2022. The first batch of BrahMos missiles was delivered to Manila in April 2024 and the second in April 2025.

India confirmed it earlier this month it had also made a deal with Vietnam to supply the missiles.

BrahMos Aerospace reported a record revenue growth of 48.6% in 2025-26.

The US-Iran peace deal to end the Middle East conflict is a strategic achievement for Tehran, its envoy to New Delhi has told RT India.

While its details have not been disclosed, it is clear that the agreement is “a highly significant strategic achievement” for Iran, Mohammad Fathali told RT India.

“In my view, this agreement constitutes a major victory for the Iranian nation,” he said.

Those who spoke of “regime change” and the “complete destruction of Iran’s nuclear capabilities” failed to achieve those objectives, the envoy said.

“They have also been compelled to recognize the nuclear rights of Iran,” Fathali said. He added that Iran has always emphasized the legitimate and inalienable rights of the Iranian people to benefit from nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

The realities on the ground and the economic and strategic consequences of a prolonged war have also forced the United States to opt for a peace deal, he said.

“The continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz was harming not only the global economy but also the interests of the United States and its allies, imposing significant costs on international trade and global energy security,” Fathali said.

He made clear that Iran does not intend to impose transit fees on countries for passage through the Strait of Hormuz. “However, charges will be collected for services provided to passing vessels, such as navigation services, marine environmental protection, and vessel insurance,” he said.

A fifth of the global energy supplies passed through the choke point controlled by Iran, and its closure following the US-Israeli attack on Iran had sent energy prices soaring, sparking inflationary pressures across the globe.

Fathali rejected Israel’s statement that it is not a party to the deal, calling it “an attempt to justify the illegal and aggressive actions” in Lebanon and other parts of the region.

The envoy said Israel was primarily to blame for the instability, insecurity, and escalating tensions in the region.

Tehran believes that trust in US intentions could be gauged only through “practical evidence and genuine adherence to commitments.”

He also called the attacks on commercial vessels and the loss of Indian sailors’ lives “regrettable, inhumane, and contrary to all principles and norms of international law and humanitarian law.”

Three commercial ships were attacked by US forces near the Strait of Hormuz, and three Indian sailors on board one of them were killed.

US President Donald Trump has commented on the deaths of three Indian sailors near the Strait of Hormuz, saying he had heard about the incident.

The seamen were killed when US forces enforcing the blockade of Iran fired on their ship, the MT Settebello, last week. 

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France on Wednesday.

Replying to a question from the press as to whether he had words of condolence for the grieving families, Trump said, “It’s [seafaring] a rough profession, and there is no question about it.”

Pointing toward Modi, he said, “we will work together on it.”

“We love all those people, they are great people,” Trump added.

⚡Trump On Indian Seafarers: "I Heard About The Indian Sailors. It’s A Rough Profession. We Love All Those People'

📹 White House pic.twitter.com/ZIv12kz7X9

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) June 17, 2026

The killings led to domestic pressure on the Modi government to raise the issue with the Trump administration. India protested the attacks on commercial ships to US Chargé d’Affaires Jason Meeks, who was summoned to the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi twice. 

In his interaction with Trump, the prime minister said he hoped the deal with Iran would help ensure the safety of sailors.

“Hundreds of thousands of Indian seafarers are performing their duties across global maritime trade routes, including the Strait of Hormuz, contributing heavily to global progress,” Modi told Trump. “Their safety is of the utmost importance to us.”

Altogether, three commercial ships with Indian crew were attacked off Oman by US forces last week. In another case, an Indian sailor aboard a vessel trapped by the blockade died following an illness. Media reports quoting seafarers’ union officials alleged that US Navy ships nearby had not responded to SOS messages from the ship’s captain.

India has more than 300,000 seamen working across global shipping fleets. Of them, over 18,000 are employed in West Asia.

India’s defense production surged in the financial year that ended in March, driven by initiatives under the Make in India program as its defense industrial base rapidly expands.

Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said defense production surged 15% in financial year 2025-26 to $21 billion – from $18 billion a year ago.

New Delhi is seeking to reduce dependence on imports while developing indigenous capabilities across land, air, naval, missile, and space domains.

It has successfully indigenized thousands of military items, reducing import dependence and simultaneously boosting its own defense exports. Domestic ammunition production, for instance, has risen from 32% in 2014 to 90% in 2026.

India, however, remains the world’s second largest importer of major arms as it seeks to plug capability gaps quickly. Russia, France, and Israel are among its top arms suppliers.

Singh noted that the production figure for FY26 is a giant leap from the $8.94 billion recorded in 2020-21, and a 110% rise from $4.62 billion in 2013-14.

The defense ecosystem’s growth is spearheaded by nine public sector undertakings or government-backed companies, more than 430 licensed private defense companies, and thousands of medium and small enterprises.

Under the inspiring leadership of PM Shri @narendramodi, India’s defence production is reaching new heights every year. I am delighted to inform everyone that India’s annual defence production has surged to an all-time high of Rs 1.78 lakh crore in the Financial Year (FY)…

— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) June 17, 2026

India spent $92.1 billion on its military in 2025, making it the fifth largest country in terms of military expenditure, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. 

The South Asian nation has earmarked $82.9 billion for defense in the federal budget for the current financial year. This accounts for 15% of the total federal spending.

Of this, $14.7 billion is for procurement from domestic defense industries, in sync with the Make in India push.

Russian-born tech billionaire Pavel Durov blamed Indian multinational conglomerate Reliance on Tuesday, as well as WhatsApp, for what he called a “lobbying effort” to get his messenger Telegram restricted in India. 

Telegram appealed to the Delhi High Court on Wednesday against the Indian government’s temporary restrictions on the app ahead of the rescheduled national medical entrance examination, NEET-UG 2026, on June 21. The court agreed to hear the matter on “an urgent basis.” 

But it looked like in his haste to criticize WhatsApp, Telegram’s biggest rival and the dominant messaging app in India, Durov missed some crucial details and trained his guns on the wrong party. 

“Indian telecom Reliance is sabotaging access to Telegram for millions of users OUTSIDE India (including the UAE) via a rogue method called BGP hijacking,” Durov said in the post.” The sabotage seems intentional, as Reliance has ignored multiple reports.” 

He claimed that this “may be part of a competitive war, as Reliance is partially owned by Meta – the company behind WhatsApp.” 

The Telegram owner shared a screenshot containing what looked like hacking logs as proof of the alleged sabotage. But it showed Reliance Communications, or RCom, a bankrupt entity owned by the Anil Ambani group.   

Meta’s partnership is with Reliance Industries, owned by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, prompting X users to point out the distinction to Durov. Mukesh is the elder brother of Anil Ambani.   

Meta’s WhatsApp is the top messaging platform in the country of 1.4 billion, which is also Telegram’s biggest market by downloads. Meta has a stake of about 10% in Jio Platforms, a unit of Reliance Industries. 

New Delhi restricted Telegram on the recommendation of the National Testing Agency (NTA), which oversees the conduct of the exam for admission to medical courses nationwide, for which hundreds of thousands of applicants appear every year. The test held in May was cancelled following alleged question paper leaks and a retest is scheduled for Sunday. 

Indian telecom Reliance is sabotaging access to Telegram for millions of users OUTSIDE India (including the UAE) via a rogue method called BGP hijacking.

The sabotage seems intentional, as Reliance has ignored multiple reports.

This may be part of a competitive war, as…

— Pavel Durov (@durov) June 16, 2026

The app has been barred until June 22 and the platform has been directed to disable its message-editing feature until June 30. 

The NTA said the curbs would prevent “cheating rackets” from using Telegram to spread false claims about question paper leaks concerning the retest. 

The ban has triggered intense discussions on social media, but students and parents appear to want the authorities to focus on preventing question paper leaks.   

The Group of Seven countries no longer run the world, member Canada has said.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said the presence of countries such as India at the gathering of the world’s most advanced economies and democracies highlights the G7’s acknowledgement of the need for a wider global perspective.

“It’s a recognition that the G7, if it ever did run the world, no longer runs the world or pretends to,” the Canadian leader said at an interaction at Trinity College Dublin, ahead of the G7 conclave in Evian, France.   

The grouping comprises Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the US, in addition to the European Union, which participates in the meetings as a ‘non-enumerated’ member.

Carney pointed out that tackling major global challenges requires wider international cooperation and perspectives beyond the group’s traditional members.

The G7 summit is taking place shortly after Iran and the US struck a peace deal ending months-long hostilities that have paralyzed shipping in the Gulf of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical waterways. The deal is to be formally signed this coming Friday. 

The summit, which is already underway, also includes as partner countries Brazil, Egypt, Kenya and the Gulf states, including the United Arab Emirates – apart from India, which holds the BRICS presidency this year.

Carney said these countries provide a “broader perspective and a broader element of the solution” to discussions on key global challenges.

🌍🇮🇳 G7 No Longer Runs The World, India's Presence Proves It: Canada PM Carney pic.twitter.com/5YkL26l78F

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) June 16, 2026

This underscores the key role of emerging and middle powers in addressing global issues, he said, adding the expanded gathering could formulate the contours of a new world order.

US President Donald Trump, who is attending the G7 meeting, is expected to hold talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi amid strained relations over trade tariffs and the killing of Indian sailors by US forces enforcing the Iran blockade. 

Carney’s comments come on the heels of Modi and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico backing comprehensive reforms of multilateral institutions, including the UN Security Council.

The structure of the UN was decided in the aftermath of World War II, but is increasingly seen as out of step with the modern world, where countries such as India have increased their economic and military clout. Russia and China have also been left out of the G7.

At the World Economic Summit in Davos in January, Carney urged “middle powers to work together in response to growing geopolitical tensions.”

India has successfully flight-tested the indigenously developed Long-Range Land Attack Cruise Missile (LRLACM), boosting the country’s deep- and precision-strike capabilities.

The LRLACM can change altitudes and speeds in flight, much like the US Navy’s Tomahawk missile, leading some commentators to call it India’s Tomahawk.

India’s Defense Research & Development Organization (DRDO) conducted the test from Dr. Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha, according to an official statement.

Data from tracking instruments deployed by the Integrated Test Range in Chandipur showed that all test objectives were met.

Long Range Land Attack Cruise Missile (LRLACM) was successfully flight tested from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha on 15th June 2026.https://t.co/wVYJauGjNQ pic.twitter.com/nutCCfzWEd

— DRDO (@DRDO_India) June 15, 2026

The cruise missile reportedly has a speed of up to 0.8 Mach and is capable of hitting targets in excess of 620 miles (1,000 kilometers). It can evade radar by flying low and is capable of carrying a 500-kg warhead, reports suggest.

The missile is expected to add to the strike capabilities of the Indian Navy and Air Force as New Delhi builds out its missile arsenal. A few other tests were also conducted by the DRDO last week, including interceptor missiles for India’s ballistic missile defense shield.

BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture between DRDO and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya rocket design bureau, makes the BrahMos cruise missiles in land, air, and sea variants.

The LRLACM’s successful test comes after the reported failure of the similar long-range Nirbhay missile project.

The cruise missile was developed entirely with indigenous technologies. All its sub-systems were developed by DRDO-backed laboratories and domestic industry partners. The Aeronautical Development Establishment in the southern city of Bengaluru functioned as the Nodal Laboratory of the project.

India has temporarily blocked the popular messaging app Telegram in an effort to prevent its use to defraud candidates taking a nationwide entrance examination.

The app will be barred until June 22, the Indian Education Ministry’s National Testing Agency (NTA) said. The Indian government also asked the platform to disable its message-editing feature in the country until June 30.

The agency was forced to cancel the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, or NEET, last month following widespread outrage over reported leaks of questions for the test.

For thousands of young people in a country that views an engineering or physician job as proof of having arrived in life, the undergraduate entrance exam for admission to medical colleges nationwide is a gateway to social respect and relative wealth.

A retest is scheduled on June 21.

The NTA said the curbs would prevent “cheating rackets” from using Telegram to spread false claims about question paper leaks about the retest.

It alleged that the app’s message-editing feature enabled channel admins to edit older posts and replace attachments with question papers of a recently concluded exam, while retaining the original timestamp.

Such altered posts then circulated widely, creating the impression that the question papers were leaked ahead of the exam.

Indian authorities characterized the curbs as a “last resort” as earlier attempts to remove fraudulent content from the platform – which was founded by Russian tech entrepreneur Pavel Durov – had not worked.

The application was still working for many in the South Asian country at 12 noon local time on Tuesday.

The ban “punishes 150M+ ordinary Telegram users in India – not the insiders who leaked the exam materials,” Durov posted on X. “And the ban hasn’t stopped anything. The leaks just moved to other apps.”

The anger over the paper leaks raised a political firestorm for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, leading to the rise of a GenZ-backed mock political party called the Cockroach Janata Party.

The party, with little on-ground presence or structure, has kept the issue alive with sporadic protests, demanding that the education minister take responsibility for the fiasco and resign.

India is Telegram’s biggest market by downloads, although Meta’s WhatsApp remains the top messaging platform in the country of 1.4 billion.

Such sweeping blocking action is rare in India. In 2020, New Delhi banned dozens of Chinese apps, including PubG and TikTok, following a brief clash between troops at their common Himalayan border.

India has sought rare earth samples from a Siberian deposit owned by Russian company Rosneft, Reuters has reported.

New Delhi is pursuing a strategy to secure supplies and cut dependence on critical minerals from China, which is the world’s largest producer of rare earths.

India’s IREL, formerly known as Indian Rare Earths Limited – which spearheads the South Asian nation’s outreach to secure rare earth supplies – aims to study the mineral composition of the deposit in Tomtor, Siberia, before ⁠considering deeper engagement, the report said.

Rosneft acquired the deposit last year.

Rare earth magnets are key components in energy transformation, going into everything from electric vehicles to renewable energy production.

India sits on the world’s third-largest rare earth reserves of nearly 7.23 million metric tons, but does not produce rare earth magnets domestically. Its consumption is expected to double by 2030.

Last year, Reuters reported that IREL is in talks with Japanese and South Korean companies to manufacture rare earth magnets commercially.

Globally, nations are frantically pursuing rare earth minerals amid trade tensions between the US and China. Beijing has restricted rare earth exports in response to US tariffs, sparking supply disruptions for the automotive and other high-tech industries.

India is also exploring rare earth mining pacts with Russia, Australia, Argentina, Chile, and several African countries.

India has repeated its demand for reforms in the United Nations, saying that global institutions should reflect contemporary geopolitical realities.

On his first visit to Slovakia, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Slovakian counterpart affirmed their commitment to multilateralism.

Modi and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico also backed – in a joint statement – comprehensive reforms of multilateral institutions, “including the United Nations, particularly the United Nations Security Council, to make them more representative, inclusive, effective, and reflective of contemporary geopolitical realities.”

The United Nations’ structure was decided in the aftermath of the Second World War, but is increasingly seen as out of step with the modern world where countries like India have grown their economic and military clout.

❗️ ‘India Has to Be Part of Reformed UNSC’ – 🇸🇰 PM Fico https://t.co/urWfSdzybg pic.twitter.com/Bl42PjDK9a

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) June 15, 2026

The call comes ahead of the G7 meet in Evian, France, where the Indian Prime Minister is expected to hold talks with world leaders, including US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron.

Indo-US trade talks could figure in the meeting on the sidelines of G7, but whether Modi will raise his concerns on the US attacks on Indian merchant navy ships in the Middle East recently is something that is keenly watched in the country.

Formal discussions on the final touches to a trade deal between India and the US are expected only during US Trade Representative ‌Jamieson Greer’s visit India on June ⁠23-24.

The Modi-Trump meeting assumes significance as it comes at a time when the tech rivalry between the US and China and wars in the Middle East and Ukraine are reshaping New Delhi’s foreign policy choices. India warned against double standards in how global security issues are treated at last month’s International Security Forum in Moscow.

The Indian prime minister is also expected to hold bilateral meetings and discussions with G7 countries, partner countries, and international organizations, including South Korea, Kenya, Brazil, and Egypt, and officials of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and OECD.

Modi’s bilateral engagements in Paris include addressing the VivaTech Summit, Europe’s premier technology and startup conference. President Macron visited Mumbai and Delhi in February this year for the AI Impact Summit.

On Sunday, Macron hailed India as “a major driver of global innovation” at the Bharat Innovates 2026 conclave in Nice.

An Indian sailor has died on board a vessel stranded near the Strait of Hormuz. US forces had earlier searched the ship and diverted its course, suspecting it of attempting to sail to an Iranian port.

Nishanth Uirthanathan, second officer of the MT Celestial, died on June 11 after falling seriously ill. There was no response to repeated distress calls from the ship for a medical evacuation of the 35-year-old, the crew said in a video that went viral on social media on Sunday.

Media reports citing ship records alleged that the crew of MT Celestial Sea had repeatedly called the US Navy on VHF Channel 16 but received no response.

The Forward Seamen’s Union of India posted on X that the crew had to keep the body on board the ship for two days and used cold water bottles in the absence of refrigeration systems. 

On Sunday, the body was finally disembarked at Duqm Port in Oman. The Indian Embassy in Oman said it is coordinating with local authorities to send Uirthanathan’s remains to India and is in touch with his family.

"That was very horrible that the master tried to reach out all the authority including the port authority as well as the US naval forces. We have heard his statement that he tried to reach out to the Indian embassy as well.
Due to the shortage of the medical care on board, he tried to approach to all the appropriate authority by releasing SOS. But unfortunately, nothing has been received from the other side," Yadav said.

At the same time, in an unrealted incident, the US Naval Forces Central Command announced on Sunday that it assisted in the rescue of the crew of another stranded vessel, MV Virat 1, in the Northern Arabian Sea on Sunday. Eleven of the crew were later transported to the M V Jabal Ali. Three mariners, whose life raft capsized, were airlifted to Jabal Ali.

US President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that the blockade of Iranian ports would be lifted immediately, after a peace agreement with Tehran was finalized.  Hundreds of ships had been stranded in the Persian Gulf area after Iran closed the area and the US blockaded Iranian ports in retaliation.

Uirthanathan's death comes amid the killings of three Indian crew members aboard a chemical tanker in a US missile strike last week. Two other tankers were also struck by US forces for allegedly trying to run the blockade of Iran.

India has more than 3,00,000 seafarers working across global shipping fleets. Of them, over 18,000 are employed in West Asia. India conveyed its concerns about the attacks on commercial ships to US Chargé d’Affaires Jason Meeks, who was summoned to the Foreign Ministry in New Delhi twice last week.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to meet Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France this week.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has reiterated to his Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar that Washington will enforce its blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, despite New Delhi’s protest over a deadly US strike on a commercial vessel earlier this week.

According to a US State Department readout of the phone conversation between the two officials on Saturday, Rubio “stressed that all commercial vessels should immediately comply with orders from US forces” in the Strait of Hormuz, and that violations of the US blockade “will not be tolerated.”

US forces struck three commercial vessels with Indian crew members in the Strait of Hormuz area this week, according to Indian media reports. One strike, on the Palau-flagged MT Settebello, left three Indian seafarers dead. Washington claimed that the vessel had violated its blockade of Iranian ports and failed to comply with instructions from US forces.

“Use of lethal and deadly force against civilian shipping… [is] unacceptable,” the Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday. Such actions undermine the safety and security of international maritime commerce, it added.

Even so, Saturday’s readout made no mention of the deaths.

“Deeply shocking to read this official US statement, which contains absolutely no expression of regret or condolence for the loss of innocent Indian lives. How can a ‘friend’ and strategic partner be so deeply insensitive?” Shashi Tharoor, an opposition lawmaker from the Indian National Congress, wrote on X on Saturday.

“No regret, No remorse, no empathy, no sympathy. Abrupt, abrasive confrontational. Hardly the language you use with a country you call a ‘friend’,” another senior Congress leader, Manish Tewari, wrote on X.

The United States created the so-called “rules-based order,” but breaks it with impunity as those norms were always meant for “other people,” popular Indian journalist Palki Sharma has told RT.

Washington has always taken a capricious attitude towards complying with that system, Palki Sharma told RT India in the weekly ‘India, Russia and the world’ podcast.

“The US made the rules, but did the US follow those rules? I think it’s as mythical as the US Army fighting aliens in Hollywood films,” she said. “The US has always bent rules to suit itself.”

Sharma said the US remains the biggest military power in the world and its largest economy, and it is miles ahead of competitors in technological advancement.

“What has cracked is this veneer of invincibility. The world has begun to entertain ideas that there could be an alternative,” she said.

“The dollar will remain the big currency for the foreseeable future. But the very talk of de-dollarization unsettles Washington,” she noted.

Whether the US acknowledges it or not, the wars it has entered “have shown them the limits of their military power.”

“The Americans thought that Iran will be a Venezuela. Iran is not a Venezuela. You cannot go and abduct their president or kill their president and then have the rest of the system succumb,” Sharma, whose show ‘Vantage’ is popular in India, said.

Iran has prepared for this eventuality for more than two decades, she said of the US-Israeli attacks on the country. Tehran is definitely bruised and battered, “but in terms of the political outcomes of this war, Iran has emerged stronger.”

She pointed out that India’s ties with Russia have stood the test of time. “The relationship with Russia has endured because there is a [level of] maturity,” she said.

The rise of China as a dominant force can’t be wished away, she said. “There is no other manufacturer like China that can deliver on the scale at which China does,” Sharma said.

India has demanded that Washington take measures to protect the lives of civilians after repeated US attacks on merchant ships off the coast of Oman.

India’s concern was conveyed to US Chargé d’Affaires Jason Meeks, who was summoned to the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi for the second time this week.

New Delhi registered its “strong protest” over the continuing attacks with Meeks, the ministry said in a statement. Conveying its condemnation of the use of lethal force against civilian shipping, Meeks was told to “convey India’s strong concerns to his authorities and to ensure that US forces operating in the region take all necessary measures to prevent the loss of civilian life.”

Meeks, the deputy chief of mission at the US Embassy in New Delhi, was first summoned to the Ministry of External Affairs on Wednesday after three Indian crew members on board the MV Settebello were killed when US forces fired at it for allegedly trying to run the blockade around Iran.

Speaking earlier on Friday, a ministry spokesman demanded: “These attacks must cease” and called for dialogue and diplomacy for a return to peace.

❗45 Minutes Later! US Chargé d’Affaires Jason Meeks Leaves MEA After Meeting

This marks the second time the US mission has been summoned in about 48 hours by the MEA. Three Indian seafarers, initially reported missing, have now been confirmed dead following one of the US… https://t.co/YTZDNNSmlb pic.twitter.com/NYDsqVJPBO

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) June 12, 2026

Diplomatic circles have called the US actions illegal, and domestic pressure has mounted on the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to stand up to the United States after another ship, the MV Jalveer, was fired at on Thursday. It was the third such attack this week.

None of the ships involved were sailing under the Indian flag, but their crew were mostly from the South Asian nation, and US attacks are seen as disproportionate in the country. India has the world’s second-largest seafaring workforce, and the attacks endanger Indians working aboard merchant ships more than those from other nationalities.

Kanwal Sibal, a former foreign secretary, was unequivocal in his criticism of the US actions and India’s lack of a strongly-worded response. “These are illegal actions even if the ships are not Indian-flagged,” he posted on X.

“If India and the US cooperate on maritime security in the Indian Ocean, hold elaborate naval exercises, subscribe to the concept of the Indo-Pacific, the US can’t be indifferent to killing Indian seamen in the Indian Ocean whatever the circumstances.” he added.

Speaking to RT on Thursday, Rajesh Sharma, whose only son Aditya Sharma was killed in the US strike on the Settebello, said, “They hit it with a missile, and that was not a way to control the cargo ship.”

“You can send your navy person[nel] to the ship,” Sharma said. “You can arrest the crew members. There are a lot of ways, but hitting a cargo ship with a missile is foolishness and madness.”

European nations should stop moralizing about India’s foreign policy stances, considering the West’s own ambivalence on other issues, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar has said.

The top Indian diplomat was responding to queries about New Delhi’s foreign policy vis-a-vis the Ukraine conflict and Russian oil purchases while in Finland, where he was on a state visit on Thursday.

“I buy oil based on cost and availability,” he said in response to a question on India increasing its oil purchases from Russia since 2022. “So at that point of time, much of the oil available in the market was Russian because Europeans were essentially buying oil from the Middle East, which was our traditional supplier.”

Jaishankar then went on to call out the West’s lack of moral clarity on other geopolitical questions.

“No European country has been attacked with Indian weapons. I wish I could say that for Europe weapons vis-à-vis India,” he said.

📹 'Europeans Sell Weapons Used to Attack India': EAM S. Jaishankar Rebuts Criticism of India's Russia Policy

Responding to a question on New Delhi's alleged "moral ambiguity" over 🇷🇺, Jaishankar argued that European countries have supplied weapons later used against India,… pic.twitter.com/3FDBbOqXtF

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) June 12, 2026

“Europe sells weapons, which are used to attack India. Not just now but for many years. We Indians have never done anything to endanger Europe. I think that’s a reasonable point,” Jaishankar elaborated.

He reiterated that New Delhi became a major buyer of Russian oil only after the US imposed sanctions on Moscow in 2022. New Delhi currently imports energy from 41 countries.

“At that time, the US specifically asked India to buy Russian oil to stabilize the oil market,” the minister said.

“Right now, if you see, after having first put tariffs on us for buying Russian oil, the US then again lifted its sanctions... Let’s not pretend there’s some great principle involved here. I don’t think making this about sanctimony is really warranted,” he said.

The US also extended sanctions waivers on Russian oil purchases three times after the US and Israel attacked Iran, in order to curb soaring global energy prices.

Jaishankar said earlier this week that “many Western countries are increasingly embracing the idea of “strategic autonomy,” a stance India has repeatedly advocated.

Relatives of the deceased Indian sailors killed in a US missile strike on a merchant ship off the coast of Oman on Wednesday are demanding to know why the civilian vessel was targeted.

The Palau-flagged MT Settebello had a crew of 28: 24 Indians, two Pakistanis, one Russian, and one Ukrainian. The US military fired at it with a precision munition for allegedly trying to run the blockade of Iran.

On Thursday, New Delhi confirmed that three sailors had lost their lives, the others were rescued. 

Rajesh Sharma, the father of Aditya Sharma, a deck cadet on the Settebello, was inconsolable when he spoke to RT India.

Sharma told RT that he had spoken with his son after hearing about the strike on another vessel, the MT Marivex, on Monday, and that the family was worried for Aditya’s safety. “In my family it was me, my wife, and my only son… our only son who has left us now,” his father said.

Sharma urged the government to direct all shipping companies “to not move [ships] toward the Strait of Hormuz or the Gulf.”

RT India also spoke to Panna Lal Chaurasia, a relative of another deceased sailor. Speaking from Deoria in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, he said that his brother-in-law, Shivanand Chaurasia, who was killed in the strike, had two young children. Chaurasia added that the family is demanding that the authorities hand over his mortal remains “at the earliest.”

The Settebello was the second commercial vessel to be struck by US forces near the Strait of Hormuz in less than three days. Earlier, on Monday, US forces hit the MT Marivex, which had an all-Indian crew. All of the sailors were rescued following the attack.

A petrochemical tanker reported a fire off the coast of Oman on Thursday after US forces struck it, marking the third such incident this week.

A petrochemical tanker reported a fire off the Oman coast on Thursday after US forces fired at it, the third such incident this week around the Strait of Hormuz. 

India’s foreign ministry called the attacks deeply concerning and said all the 20 Indian crew members on board the ship are safe. 

The incident comes after New Delhi lodged a diplomatic protest with the US Charge d’Affairs on Wednesday following the death of three Indians when another tanker was struck.

The US Central Command said it acted against the Guinea-Bissau flagged MT Jalveer as it “attempted to transport oil from Iran through the Gulf of Oman.” 

It said an aircraft fired two Hellfire missiles into the ship’s engine room after the crew “repeatedly failed” to comply with directions from US forces.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs described the incident as a “maritime security incident” and said the all-Indian crew on the Jalveer were safe. “The continuing incidents affecting commercial shipping in the region are deeply concerning,” it added.

❗️All 20 Indian Crew Members Onboard MT Jalveer, Attacked Near Shinas Port In Oman, Are Safe - MEA

Authorities are working with Oman to coordinate their safe evacuation. pic.twitter.com/YKQyW0S53P

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) June 11, 2026

A shipping ministry spokesman said the crew were being evacuated to Shinas port, and that the ministry is monitoring the situation and coordinating with the Indian foreign ministry, diplomatic missions and the Indian Navy. The Omani Navy was helping with the evacuation, India’s embassy in Oman tweeted.

On Wednesday, three Indian crew members of the MV Settebello had died in an attack by US forces in the same area. And on Monday, the MT Marivex was hit but all its Indian crew were safely rescued. All three tankers were allegedly trying to run the US blockade around Iran.

The United States has been enforcing a naval and economic blockade of all Iranian ports since mid-April. Washington says it is in retaliation for Iranian restrictions on the movement of merchant ships through the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world’s energy passed before the conflict began. 

After the death of the crew members on the Settebello, New Delhi also raised its concern at the UN Security Council, pointing out that several Indian nationals had died or gone missing due to attacks in the region.

BrahMos Aerospace has said it is ready to take on orders for supersonic cruise missiles from either the Russian Navy or land forces.

A potential procurement by Moscow would see the system, partly produced in India, being supplied back to one of its original technology partners, underscoring New Delhi’s growing role in advanced defense manufacturing.

The BrahMos comes in land, air, and sea variants and India has already integrated it into its ground, air, and naval forces.

Such an order by Russia would also boost New Delhi’s push for domestic defense manufacturing under the ‘Make-in-India’ initiative.

Named after the Brahmaputra and Moskva rivers, the BrahMos is among the fastest supersonic cruise missiles in the world. It was used to deadly effect by India last year in its short military clash with Pakistan.

“We are ready to fulfill the order if there is an appeal from the Russian side. Either it will be missiles for the Navy, or for ground forces,” BrahMos Managing Director Alexander Maksichev told TASS on the sidelines of the International Naval Salon ‘Fleet-2026’.

“We have sufficient capacities, and we understand what the Russian side wants,” Maksichev said.

The missile was jointly developed by India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya rocket design bureau, which produces the Oniks anti-ship cruise missiles. In 1995, a joint venture, BrahMos Aerospace, was established to produce the missile.

Originally capped at a range of 180 miles, the weapon has since been upgraded for greater reach.

All three missing crew members from a chemical tanker struck by the US military in the Gulf of Oman are confirmed dead, Indian Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said on Thursday.

The Palau-flagged MT Settebello had on board a 28-member crew – 24 Indians, two Pakistanis, one Russian, and one Ukrainian – when the US military fired at it with a precision munition for allegedly trying to run the blockade of Iran. The incident occurred off the coast of Oman, where authorities rescued 25 crew members, while three were initially reported missing.

This was the second attack on commercial shipping by US forces near the Strait of Hormuz. The MT Marivex – also flying the Palau flag – was struck on Monday. The Marivex carried an all-Indian crew, who were rescued after the attack.

It is deeply unfortunate to learn of the tragic incident aboard the Palau-flagged MT Settebello. Sadly, three Indian seafarers initially reported missing are now confirmed dead after bodies have been located and identified.

This is a profound loss to our maritime family. The…

— Sarbananda Sonowal (@sarbanandsonwal) June 11, 2026

New Delhi summoned US Chargé d’Affaires Jason Meeks and lodged a protest after the attack on the Settebello. “The continuing incidents of attacks on shipping in the region are deeply worrisome and a direct result of the ongoing conflict in the region,” the Indian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday, calling for an “immediate de-escalation of tensions.”

The Indian Foreign Ministry has condemned an attack on an oil tanker off the coast of Oman and called for an “immediate de-escalation of tensions” in the Strait of Hormuz. 

New Delhi also summoned US Chargé d’Affaires Jason Meeks to protest the assault on the ship.

Three Indian crew members are missing following the attack on the vessel, which had 24 on board, New Delhi said.

The Palau-flagged products tanker MT Settebello issued a distress call on Wednesday, reporting a missile attack on its engine room, 20 nautical miles northeast of Sohar in the Gulf of Oman.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a post on X that  "U.S. aircraft fired precision munitions into the ship’s engine room after the crew repeatedly failed to comply with directions from American forces."

“We condemn the attack on the commercial vessel Settebello off the coast of Oman, earlier today,” the Indian Foreign Ministry said. “Of the 24 Indian crew onboard, 21 Indians have been rescued thus far and three Indians are reportedly missing.”

“The continuing incidents of attacks on shipping in the region are deeply worrisome and a direct result of the ongoing conflict in the region,” the ministry said.

The Indian Embassy in Oman said it is monitoring the situation and “proactively coordinating with the Omani authorities in the ongoing search and rescue operation.” The ship tracking website Marine Traffic has listed the ship’s destination as Fujairah, UAE.

⚡️ 🇺🇸 CENTCOM Confirms Strike on Commercial Tanker Off Oman Coast – Claims ‘Disabled Non-Compliant Vessel’

Three Indian crew are reportedly missing following the strike, the 🇮🇳 MEA stated earlier.

📹: CENTCOM https://t.co/SJx3JKhj0Z pic.twitter.com/JYfYpeO6vn

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) June 10, 2026

This is the second attack on a commercial ship with Indian crew members in the past three days. On Monday, the oil tanker MT Marivex was attacked by US forces south of the Strait of Hormuz. CENTCOM said that the Palau-flagged vessel was transiting international waters in the Gulf of Oman toward Iran when it was targeted. The ship was “attempting to sail to an Iranian port,” it said.

The sea lanes in and around the Strait of Hormuz have become a dangerous environment for merchant ships following the US-Israeli attack on Iran earlier this year.

The US treatment of teams and officials arriving for the 2026 World Cup amounts to racism and seriously undermines the integrity of the tournament, while football governing body FIFA is guilty of double standards, Indian coach Ranjit Bajaj has told RT.

The 2026 World Cup – co-hosted by the US, Canada, and Mexico – is set to get underway this week but has already been marred by controversy after a key Somali official was denied entry to the US and players from some countries were humiliated on arrival.

Iraq’s star striker, Ayman Hussain, was reportedly detained for hours at Chicago’s O’Hare airport, while the Senegal and Uzbekistan teams were subjected to intrusive screen checks upon arrival. Somalian referee Omar Abdul Qadir Artan will be unable to officiate at the championship after being denied entry to the US.

“What happened with Senegal, the way they were put on the tarmac... They have not come to be disrespected, they’ve come there to represent their country,” Bajaj, the founder of the Minerva Football Academy, who promotes grassroots development of football, told RT India.

Bajaj also slammed the detention of Ayman Hussain, saying, “It’s not a striker who’s just been born yesterday, who’s come to do espionage in your country.” “This is what racism is,” Bajaj said.

The Minerva Football Academy has emerged as a beacon of hope for football in India, with its under-14 and -15 squads scoring a series of victories across the world – the latest being a 6-0 win against English giants Liverpool in the under-15 category at the Mediterranean International Cup last month. In stark contrast to its cricketing prowess, the nation of 1.4 billion people has qualified for the World Cup only once, in 1950. This time round, the Indian team was eliminated in the second round of Asian Football Confederation qualifiers.

During the 2018 World Cup in Russia, FIFA was “censoring Russia and telling Russia that, listen, you better get your act (together),” Bajaj said. He added that Russia, South Africa, and Qatar had hosted “the most successful World Cups in history.”

Bajaj also blasted the US visa curbs on players, likening them to how teams lose strength when their star players are missing. “If you have a Haaland missing in (the) Norway team or a Harry Kane missing in England, you’ve made it 50% weaker.” He said the US tactics amount to undermining the merit of the tournament. “That means they can actually fix the World Cup. That’s what’s happening.”

Bajaj rued that the controversy is impacting the World Cup’s attractiveness, which has always been “its ability to bring together countries that agree on almost nothing except football.”

The European Union’s latest proposed sanctions package on Russia includes entities based in India, potentially clouding the ratification of a trade deal the bloc signed with the South Asian nation.

Focusing on energy, crypto, and financial services and trade, including fisheries, according to European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen, it would be the 21st such package targeting Russia.

The new listings cover drone manufacturing and also seek to enforce export control measures on 50 companies, “including entities based in China, Türkiye, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, UAE and India,” top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas said in a post on X.

The nature and identities of the Indian entities in the sanctions list are not clear.

Any new sanctions will have to be agreed unanimously by all 27 EU member states before being finalized. This is expected to happen by July 15.

We are also targeting companies providing support to Russia military-industrial complex.

The new listings will cover more than 30 designations in the drones manufacturing as well as new export control measures on 50 companies, including entities based in China, Türkiye,…

— Kaja Kallas (@kajakallas) June 9, 2026

A temporary freeze on the EU’s Russian oil cap and new curbs on the resale of Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) tankers to Russia are also included in the package.

The inclusion of Indian entities in the EU sanctions package is not without precedent, although the development comes amid a push to finalize a trade deal agreed with New Delhi in January. Dubbed the “mother of all deals” by EU leaders, it was the result of tortuous negotiations which were first launched in 2007.

The sanctions proposal has elicited a sharp response from diplomatic circles, with former Indian Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal demanding that New Delhi retaliate by sanctioning EU companies doing business with Pakistan.

“These EU sanctions are illegal under international law,” Sibal said.

New Delhi has rejected unilateral sanctions that are not backed by the United Nations and questioned the legitimacy of such actions against the backdrop of EU nations’ purchase of Russian gas and LNG.

New restrictions imposed by the EU would be in addition to 81 current listings targeting what the bloc describes as Russia’s shadow fleet, military-industrial complex, human rights violators, and propagandists, ANI reported.

Last week, India reacted angrily to a statement Kallas made in Islamabad that mentioned Jammu and Kashmir. Those with “no locus standi in such matters should refrain from making any comments on them,” the Foreign Ministry said.

The EU’s attempt to punish countries that have relations with Russia comes as India has repeatedly advocated “strategic autonomy” in trade and security.

On Tuesday, Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar noted that “many Western countries are increasingly embracing the idea of strategic autonomy,” a stance India has repeatedly advocated.

New Delhi has maintained that India’s purchases of Russian oil were based on national interests, despite Western pressure and a US imposition of 25% tariffs as punishment for such buys.

India has deployed nuclear warheads for the first time, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), indicating a shift in New Delhi’s military posture.

In its annual report, SIPRI Yearbook 2026, the think tank reported that India is estimated to have a growing stockpile of “about 190 nuclear weapons as of January 2026,” up from 180 last year.

The report suggested the development is a shift from the long-held assumption that India stores its nuclear warheads separate from its deployed launchers during peacetime.

SIPRI noted that these weapons were assigned to a maturing nuclear triad of aircraft, land-based missiles and nuclear-powered submarines (SSBNs).

SIPRI also noted that more warheads are thought to be in production for additional missiles. As of January, India may have started to deploy a small number of nuclear warheads on a single Ship, Submersible, Ballistic, Nuclear (SSBN) platform, according to SIPRI’s assessment.

It added that New Delhi is also developing hypersonic cruise missiles (HCMs).

The SIPRI report said rival Pakistan’s nuclear warhead stockpile has remained stable at nearly 170 warheads as of January.

India’s nuclear planning has put a greater emphasis on investing more resources in longer-range weapon systems that appear to be focused on China, although New Delhi’s planning remains heavily influenced by its long-standing rivalry with Islamabad, it said.

China had 620 nuclear warheads as of January, 34 of which were in deployed state.

In May 2025, India and Pakistan were engaged in a brief military clash following a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir that left 26 dead.

New Delhi has blamed Islamabad for backing insurgent groups carrying out terror attacks. Pakistan has denied the accusation.

India has pitched collaborative efforts in quantum computing with Russia. Its objective is to achieve its $730 million National Quantum Mission (NQM) targets by 2030-31.

The initiative is aimed at creating a complete national quantum ecosystem, including intermediate-scale quantum computers, communication networks, and quantum materials and components, Indian Ambassador to Russia Vinay Kumar told the BRICS Quantum Technologies forum in Moscow on Monday.

The envoy cited the four technology hubs set up at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Madras, IIT Bombay and IIT Delhi as well as in Bengaluru, which connect researchers and institutions as drivers of human resource development, training and international collaboration in the fledgling field.

“A key mandate of these four hubs is international cooperation. India is looking to collaborate in advanced computing technology,” he said.

New Delhi is committed to taking a leadership role in the field, with international collaboration including researcher mobility, startup partnerships and joint innovation efforts, he said.

The NQM, headed by the Department of Atomic Energy, aims to create a vibrant ecosystem in Quantum Technology (QT); the Indian federal government approved the policy in 2023.

The NQM aims to build quantum computers with between 50 and 1,000 qubits – the basic units of information in such computers. The more qubits one has, the more powerful it is.

Russia unveiled its first 50-qubit quantum computer prototype developed by the Lomonosov Moscow State University and the Russian Quantum Center in December, 2024.

New Delhi is also planning satellite-based secure quantum communications between ground stations over 1,200 miles away from each other within the country, and long-distance secure quantum communications with other countries.

Last week, a top minister from India’s southern state of Andhra Pradesh called for collaboration with Moscow on artificial intelligence and quantum computing during a visit to the recently concluded St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

India is exploring options to buy coking coal assets and import more nickel from Russia, Reuters reported, as New Delhi tries to secure supplies to boost steel production and speed up its energy transition.

An Indian delegation visited Russia in May for preliminary talks with government and industry executives, the report said, citing unnamed sources.

In January, India, the world’s second-largest producer of crude steel after China, designated coking coal a critical and strategic mineral because of import dependence.

“Both SAIL (Steel Authority of India Limited) and NMDC (India’s largest state-backed iron ore producer) are exploring sourcing of ⁠raw materials and are in talks with Russia,” the report cited a source as saying.

SAIL has set up an internal panel to study the issue, it said.

New Delhi sources more than half of its coking coal from Australia, while much of the rest is procured from Russia and the US.

Coking coal and nickel are used in the production of steel, which is essential in India’s renewable energy and EV push. Nickel is also a critical element used in the clean energy transition, especially battery production.

New Delhi has set a target: it hopes electric vehicles to account for 30% of cars and 80% of its two-wheeled vehicles by 2030, up from about 6% and 9% now.

India procures nickel mainly from China, Japan, Norway and the US, ‌and only a small amount from Russia.

India and Russia are reportedly also intensifying trade and investment cooperation in the Far East and the Arctic zone, with a program covering energy and mining.

In January, Reuters reported that New Delhi is exploring rare earth mining pacts with Russia, Australia, Argentina, Chile, as well as some African countries as part of its push to secure critical minerals.

The South Asian nation has committed to reaching 500 GW of non fossil electricity capacity by 2030; it was able to reach the 220 GW milestone by 2025, putting it broadly on track to meet this goal.

The Indian crew on board a merchant vessel that caught fire after it was struck by the US Navy for allegedly attempting to run the blockade of Iran has been safely evacuated, New Delhi has said. 

The tanker MT Marivex was carrying a crew of 24 Indians when it was reportedly targeted near Oman’s Masirah Island on Monday south of the Strait of Hormuz. SOS calls began at 1:30 local time, according to reports. 

The incident came amid a flare-up of tensions around the strait after Israel and Iran traded missile strikes early on Monday. 

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a post on X that the Palau-flagged vessel was transiting international waters in the Gulf of Oman toward Iran when it was targeted. The ship was “attempting to sail to an Iranian port,” it said. 

The United States has been enforcing a naval and economic blockade of all Iranian ports since mid-April. Washington says it is in retaliation for Iranian restrictions on the movement of merchant ships through the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world’s energy passed before the conflict began. 

An F/A-18 Super Hornet from the USS Abraham ⁠Lincoln fired a precision munition at the Marivex after the crew failed to comply with directions from US forces, CENTCOM said. 

Swift response by #MRCC #Mumbai following missile attack on MT Marivex in #OmanSRR.

On receiving information, MRCC Mumbai immediately coordinated with OMSC Oman, ensuring the safe rescue of 24 #Indian crew by #Oman Navy helicopters.@IndiaCoastGuard remains steadfast in its… pic.twitter.com/ULDjzgEK4g

— Indian Coast Guard (@IndiaCoastGuard) June 9, 2026

An External Affairs Ministry spokesperson said in New Delhi on Tuesday that the crew have been rescued and are safe. He also thanked the Omani government for its assistance.

“We understand there was some exchange of communication between the ship and the US navy before the incident,” he said, adding the Indian mission continues to be in touch with the rescued seafarers.

He said the Indian authorities were coordinating across government agencies to see to the welfare of the evacuees. The Forward Seamen’s Union of India has urged swift action to ensure the safety of the crew. 

The Indian Coast Guard said the Marine Rescue Coordination Centre in Mumbai coordinated with its counterpart in Oman, to ensure the safe rescue of the crew by Omani Navy helicopters. 

The ship was not carrying cargo when it was struck. 

The Indian-flagged cargo vessel MSV Haji Ali sank off the coast of Oman following a suspected drone or missile strike last month. 

In March, the US Navy sank an Iranian Navy vessel off the Sri Lankan coast, killing at least 87 sailors on board.  

An oil tanker is sinking off the coast of Oman after being hit by a projectile, according to reports. The merchant vessel MT Marivex was carrying a crew of 24 Indians when it was reportedly targeted near Oman’s Masirah Island.

SOS calls from the crew originated at 1:30 PM local time on Monday, India Today reported.

Some media reports, citing an SOS call by a crew member on board the stricken ship, said the vessel could have been fired upon by the US Navy. RT could not independently verify the reports.

India’s Shipping Ministry confirmed the incident and acknowledged the 24 crew on board were its citizens. The Indian Embassy in Oman said all crew members have been rescued.

“Based on the preliminary information received, all Indian seafarers are presently safe,” the Shipping Ministry said on Monday evening. “They were rescued by the Omani authorities.”

The ministry said it was coordinating with the Ministry of External Affairs, Indian missions abroad, the Indian Navy, and Ministry of Defense to ensure the crew’s safety.

Later on Monday, the US military said it had disabled the Marivex oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman after the vessel “violated the ongoing blockade against Iran by attempting to sail to an Iranian port.”

“An F/A‑18 Super Hornet from USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN‑72) fired a precision munition into the ship’s engineering and steering spaces after the crew failed to comply with directions from US forces. Marivex is no longer sailing to Iran,” US Central Command (CENTCOM) said.

The Palau-flagged vessel, which was heading to Oman’s Duqm from Karwar in India, was not carrying any cargo, NDTV reported. The report said the All India Seafarers Union had received a distress call from a Marivex crew member.

According to ship-tracking website Marine Traffic, the 135-foot vessel is an oil/chemical tanker. The website reported the ship’s latest status as “at anchor” in the Arabian Sea.

In March, the US Navy sank an Iranian Navy ship off Sri Lanka’s coast, killing at least 87 sailors on board.

India has denied that its energy policy has been influenced by external pressure, saying its oil buying decisions are based purely on national interests and pricing calculations.

India’s international agreements, made at the highest levels, have enabled it to diversify its energy sources and reduce risks spurred by global disruptions, especially the Middle East conflict, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri told CNN News18.

“India was never told not to buy Russian oil,” Puri said.

The US and EU have actively pressured India to reduce its purchases of Russian oil. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent accused India and China of funding Russia’s war effort.

The US placed sweeping sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, the largest Russian oil companies. It imposed 25% tariffs on Indian imports specifically for the country’s purchases of Russian oil, last August.The punitive tariffs on oil were removed earlier this year after Washington struck a trade deal with India.

The Middle East conflict and the disruption of energy supplies from the region have brought the focus back on oil purchases by India, which depends on imports for most of its energy needs.

The US has issued sanctions waivers on purchases of Russian oil three times since the conflict began. Washington said the move was aimed at cooling oil prices, which spiked in the aftermath of the conflict.

New Delhi currently “imports energy from 41 countries,” he said, underscoring the country’s efforts to diversify its sources.

Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) last week that India is one of the main drivers of global energy demand right now.

India occupies a special place in the oil market, Sechin said, adding that over the next ten years, the country “will account for around half of the increase in global oil demand.”

The uncertainty regarding the passage of energy through the Strait of Hormuz will have a negative impact on India, but also serve as an incentive to seek long-term energy solutions, he said.

Western capitals usually dominate geopolitics, but Russia made the Global South an equal partner at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), a prominent lawmaker from India’s ruling party has said. 

“This is a platform where you have far greater representation of the Global South, far greater participation... and their voice is heard,” Sujeet Kumar, a lawmaker from the upper house of the Indian Parliament, told RT on the sidelines of the forum, in which more than 130 countries attended.

Kumar thanked Russia for giving the Global South the opportunity to take part as an equal partner.

He noted that the Global South has almost no voice in global institutions such as the UN Security Council, IMF, and World Bank – and until India brought in the African Union as a member during its G20 presidency in 2023, Africa had no voice there either.

The UN Security Council with its five permanent members with veto power was created 80 years ago in the immediate aftermath of World War II. Noting that the African continent and India, the world’s largest democracy and most populous nation, is not a permanent member of the council, Kumar called for “alternate platforms” such as BRICS and the G20.

Moscow has supported the expansion of the Security Council to reflect the realities of the multipolar world.

The Indian lawmaker added that America’s behavior has often been hegemonistic in the last 30-40 years, after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

He also stated that India did not buckle to threats and pressure from the US, saying: “We are a self-respecting nation.”

India has resisted pressure from the US and Europe to stop buying oil from Russia and to scale back its ties with Moscow, saying its national interests will dictate its policies.

“The India of today is not a pushover... you can’t dictate terms to India... and the US has learned it the hard way,” Kumar said.

Kumar is the second politician from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP party in recent days to slam the West.

On Wednesday, spokesman Jaiveer Shergill told RT: “The West has a single power dominance hangover,” adding that “The era of global hegemony... is over.”

In January, US troops kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro and the Trump administration took control of the country’s oil sales, with the funds going into US-supervised accounts. 

India is considering increasing its use of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) running through the Arctic ocean in the future because of disruptions to seaborne trade in the Hormuz strait, Alexey Chekunkov, the Minister of the Russian Federation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic, has said.

Speaking to RT on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2026) on Friday, Chekunkov said that the operational shipping line between Vladivostok and Chennai, called the Russia-India sea transport corridor, can be extended to link India to European markets via the NSR.

Russia wants the NSR – which runs through the Arctic Ocean off the country’s northern coastline and is the shortest shipping route between East Asia and Europe – to become a major shipping lane, and is investing heavily in its infrastructure.

It would provide India with alternative routes to ship commodities to markets in eastern and northern Europe, saving up to 40% in distance and about two weeks of travel time – compared to traditional routes through the Suez Canal.

The disruption of shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz following the conflict in Iran has made this route more appealing for India. 

“The Indian side is very interested in it,” Chekunkov said.“We have dramatic common capabilities, common opportunities to jointly develop ice-level fleet to jointly develop container shipping, which is happening.”

Indian shipyards are building four non-nuclear icebreaker ships to navigate the harsh waters of the Arctic route.

He added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian business community are interested in developing trade ties with the Russian Far East, recognizing its major logistical and economic potential.

Venezuela is seeking India’s participation in its oil sector, as it looks for reliable markets for its oil and foreign investment to rebuild its energy industry.

The offer comes as India, the world’s largest oil importer, is diversifying its energy sources following disruptions in the Middle East caused by the US-Israeli war against Iran.

Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, who is on a visit to New Delhi, told Indian Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri that she welcomes the participation of Indian companies in the country’s oil and gas sector.

She highlighted the complementarities that exist between India and Venezuela in the energy sector and invited an Indian delegation to visit the country to explore opportunities for enhanced cooperation, the Indian Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry said in a press release.

Before 2019, India was a major buyer of the heavy, sulfur-rich Venezuelan crude oil until US sanctions restricted trade. Indian refineries are equipped to process heavy grade Venezuelan crude, making the country an ideal buyer.

Indian refiners resumed imports in February when Washington eased the sanctions.

Puri told Rodriguez that Indian companies are ready to deepen their presence in Venezuela and expand energy trade. Venezuela, which has the world’s largest proven oil reserves, emerged as one of India’s top suppliers in April and May, Puri said.

Venezuela Urges Indian Firms To Participate In Its 'Reformed' Oil & Gas Sector - Ministry Of Petroleum pic.twitter.com/XjDwzBaw35

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) June 5, 2026

Indian public sector oil majors have had a presence in the South American country’s upstream oil sector since 2008, with a total investment of around $1 billion in the San Cristobal and Petrocarabobo-1 projects in Venezuela’s Orinoco Belt.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said US attempts to exert pressure on India over its ties with Moscow are “futile.”

“The US is trying to pressure India on certain issues, particularly on certain issues of cooperation with Russia,” Putin said. “Pressuring Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi, who leads a country with a population of 1.5 billion, is futile.” 

The Russian president made the remarks on Thursday during a Q&A session with the heads of leading global news agencies, including Indian outlet PTI, at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

Putin stated that coercion harms international and bilateral relations, “no matter from which side this pressure comes.” He added, however, that there are no serious adverse effects on India-Russia relations.

“To date, we have not observed any serious adverse effects. Russia and India continue to strengthen their partnership, and we regard India as a reliable partner.”

ICYMI: Putin Says 'The West Is Trying To Put Pressure On India - For Example When It Comes To Cooperation With Russia'

"Everyone understands that putting pressure on PM Modi is detrimental to international and bilateral relations...India is a very reliable partner," he added. pic.twitter.com/OAfmqOP8O2

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) June 5, 2026

Putin also lauded the Indian prime minister, saying, “India is currently demonstrating the highest economic growth rates among the world’s major economies. This doesn’t fall out of the sky; it is the result of consistent and purposeful efforts, above all by the government led by... Modi.”

New Delhi’s ties with Washington do not impact Russia’s relations with India, he said, praising the country’s independent foreign policy. “We are glad that India is developing relations with all countries. India is a major global power with a population of 1.5 billion people, a rapidly growing economy, and one of the world’s largest democracies. It is entirely natural for India to develop relations with a wide range of countries in accordance with its national interests.”

Pakistan signed a landmark defense deal with China last month to acquire 40 Shenyang J-35 fifth-generation stealth fighter jets (export variant J-35AE) to modernize the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). The agreement positions Pakistan as the first international operator of the advanced Chinese stealth aircraft. Pakistan is scheduled to receive its first batch of J-35s by late-2026, making it the first air force in South Asia to operate fifth-generation combat aircraft.

In April, Pakistan launched the first of eight Chinese-built Hangor-class submarines, expanding its undersea fleet in deepening cooperation with Beijing. The Hangor-class submarines are advanced, diesel-electric attack submarines being manufactured by China for the Pakistan Navy. They feature Air-Independent Propulsion (AIP) and are equipped with modern sensors and heavyweight torpedoes.

Pakistan-China Strategic Partnership

Islamabad and Beijing maintain a deeply integrated “all-weather strategic cooperative partnership,” with China serving as Pakistan’s primary defense supplier. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), China accounted for approximately 81% of Pakistan’s arms imports in 2020-2024. Imports included jets, submarines, and drones. This “threshold alliance” features extensive technology transfers, joint production (Pakistan Aeronautical Complex and China’s Chengdu Aircraft Corporation are co-developing the fourth-generation, lightweight multirole combat aircraft JF-17), and deep interoperability to counter regional security challenges. 

The militaries conduct regular, high-level joint exercises across air, land, and sea, focusing on increasing operational interoperability. The cooperation is driven by a shared strategic goal of maintaining a regional balance of power against India. 

China is aiding the expansion of Pakistan’s naval power in the Arabian Sea, enhancing maritime surveillance and operational capabilities. During the 2025 India-Pakistan standoff, Islamabad deployed Chinese-origin aircraft, demonstrating the operational maturity of the systems. China also provided intelligence and satellite communication support, as well as live radar networking. Chinese aerospace engineers and state technicians provided on-site support to optimize Pakistani assets during the conflict. 

The recent commissioning of advanced Chinese-built submarines for the Pakistan Navy will be followed with local construction via technology transfer. The relationship is increasingly characterized as “brothers in arms,” focused on defending collective interests, including the security of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Clearly Pakistan is beginning to pull ahead in some areas with Chinese support, thus creating an environment for a sub-continental arms race. 

Conventional Submarines and Advanced Jets 

Pakistan’s most significant naval acquisition from China is a $5 billion contract for eight Hangor-class (AIP) conventional submarines. The first four submarines will be constructed by China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation in Wuhan, and next four at the Karachi Shipyard under a technology transfer agreement, greatly boosting Pakistan’s maritime strike capabilities.

This deal inked in 2015 is the cornerstone of Pakistan’s sea-based deterrence. It strengthens naval interoperability with the PLA Navy and ensures a strategic foothold for Beijing along the Arabian Sea. Some Chinese media outlets say the Beijing-Islamabad submarine deal will “shake” the Indian Ocean.

New Delhi has not commented, but its navy has previously said it is closely monitoring China’s supply of submarines to Pakistan, while stepping up efforts to expand its own undersea fleet, citing Beijing’s expanding naval presence in the Indian Ocean. India is also advancing its nuclear and conventional submarine programs in order to strengthen its maritime capabilities.

Pakistan has been increasingly relying on Chinese advanced Chengdu J-10C multirole fighter jets. The initial agreement was finalized in late 2021 for 25 aircraft with an option to take it to a total of 36. Deliveries were completed across multiple phases, with the latest following the May 2025 aerial clashes with Indian Air Force.

Procured as a direct counterbalance to India’s induction of French-made Rafale aircraft, the agreement with China for these jets established Pakistan as the platform’s first and largest foreign operator. Because of Pakistan’s economic constraints, defense ties with China are heavily subsidized, with much of the procurement financed through direct economic loans rolled over by Beijing. 

There fresh agreement for J-35 jets positions Pakistan as the first international operator of the advanced Chinese stealth aircraft. The aircraft are meant to replace the PAF’s aging fleet of American F-16s and French Mirage aircraft, countering regional aerial threats. Deliveries are being highly accelerated, with the first aircraft expected to arrive in Pakistan in late 2026 as part of a broader military modernization package. PAF pilots have undergone extensive training on the J-35 platform in China. The deal also includes the acquisition of KJ-500 airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft and HQ-19 ballistic missile defense systems.

India’s Strategic Priorities 

New Delhi is closely watching these developments. The introduction of fifth-generation J-35 aircraft into the PAF could significantly alter the balance of air power in South Asia. It grants Pakistan a major technological edge, boasting advanced sensors, reduced radar cross-section, and network-centric combat, years before India expects to introduce its own indigenous fifth-generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA). 

Last year, Russia offered a “golden deal” to India, including the supply of ready-made twin-engine stealth Su-57 multirole fighter aircraft, the production of it in India, and assistance with Indian’s own AMCA.  Russia further sweetened the deal by offering fully licensed production, 100% technology transfer, and a “potential two-seat variant.” 

The twin-seat variant of the Su-57 could have entered testing amid an intensified export pitch to India. Images of the two-seater variant appeared on social media in May, accompanied by claims that the Russian military had begun taxi trials of this aircraft.

India’s preference for a twin-seat jet was clear very clearly during the discontinued India-Russia joint-venture of the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) project, which was the predecessor to Russia’s Su-57 project. In 2023, the United Aircraft Corporation patented a “multifunctional two-seat low-observable tactical aircraft,” which was said to be a two-seat variant of the Su-57 at the time. It is pertinent to note that the new tail logo depicts the Su-57 alongside the S-70 Okhotnik drone, probably suggesting its intended role as a crewed fighter operating alongside loyal wingman drones in a manned-unmanned teaming configuration.

The IAF views the procurement of two to three squadrons of the Su-57 as a temporary bridge fleet to counter regional stealth programs. While the Su-57 has received significant attention and technological sharing offers, India is conscious of over-dependence on a single foreign country. Geo-strategically, currently India has no other choice. While India is trying to hasten its own AMCA, the reality is that it is likely to enter IAF service only around 2038. With Pakistan acquiring the J-35, there will be pressure on India’s security establishment to acquire an interim fifth-generation aircraft.

In the maritime defense domain, India’s first AIP-equipped submarine will be the INS Khanderi, a Kalvari-class (Scorpene) submarine, which is undergoing an upgrade with an indigenous fuel-cell system developed by the state-owned Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). 

Beyond the existing Kalvari-class, India is slowly pushing Project 75 (India), a mega $8.4 billion submarine program, to build six next-generation diesel-electric submarines. These new boats will feature factory-fitted, advanced AIP systems to offer even greater stealth, range, and firepower.  For this project the Indian Navy and Ministry of Defense are partnering with the German defense conglomerate ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems.

Action Plan India

The deep tactical and strategic nexus between Islamabad and Beijing fundamentally alters India’s defense calculus and operational readiness. India’s military leadership has recognized that Pakistan is making use of advanced Chinese assets, treating engagements as a live combat laboratory for China to test its latest weaponry against Indian defenses. 

China needs Pakistan for access to the Arabian Sea. The debt-ridden CPEC was once a flagship program, but has since been put on the back burner due to severe financial constraints, low return on investment, and security reasons. Yet Pakistan is a great testing ground for Chinese weapons while also keeping Beijing’s adversary India engaged. 

Meanwhile, as part of its evolving counter-strategy and offensive-defense posture, India has lowered its threshold for retaliation, treating major terror incidents as acts of war, and has been responding with calibrated, targeted counter-strikes. India needs military power, and luckily its growing economy can support it. 

On the diplomatic front, New Delhi continues to drive strategic autonomy through greater engagement with BRICS while at the same time deepening interoperability through the Quad (albeit, this format has slowed down in the second Trump administration).

To counter the technological parity China ensures for Pakistan, India is prioritizing indigenous defense R&D and production. It is acquiring or negotiating for top defense systems from Russia (S-400, Su-57, R-37M), France (Rafale), Germany (submarines), and Israel (radars, air defense). India is also looking for a partner to co-develop jet engines (Safran/Rolls Royce/GE). 

India needs to accelerate decision making and contract signing on all of the above deals to maintain its superiority in the subcontinent. While India and China are also working to mend their relationship, India must learn to live with the close ties between Pakistan and China, and accordingly reassess and redraw its own security capabilities and architecture.

Western nations have not come to grips with the demise of old notions of global hegemony, a spokesperson for India’s ruling party has told RT India.

“The era of global hegemony, dominance is over,” Jaiveer Shergill said, adding, “That ship has sailed. I think the West needs to be woken up from a deep slumber.”

Appearing on the latest episode of the ‘India, Russia and the World’ weekly podcast, Shergill did not hold back in his criticism of the collective West. “The West has a single power dominance hangover,” he said.

“India is not in the business of giving sermons of governance to the world. And neither India is in the business of receiving certification, especially from the West,” said Shergill, who also practices law in India’s Supreme Court.

The US and EU have slapped sanctions on Russian oil. In August last year, the United States imposed 50% reciprocal tariffs on Indian imports, half of which was punishment for New Delhi’s oil purchases from Moscow. The levies were scaled down to 18% after a trade deal with the US was agreed upon in February.

Shergill slammed the double standards of the West. “The same people who were questioning [the] import of Russian oil were indirectly sourcing the same oil from India into their countries.”

India’s sole objective is to reduce dependence on any one energy source, he said, adding that New Delhi is now importing oil from 40 different sources.

India-US ties, he said, should be viewed through the lens of defense partnerships, technology exchange, geography, and human resources.

He underscored New Delhi’s sovereign choice of global alliances, saying, “If India is part of Quad, India is equally a partner in BRICS.”

A minister from India’s southern Andhra Pradesh state has cited “speed of doing business” as a unique factor in his pitch for increased investment from Russia. 

Andhra’s IT and human resources minister, Nara Lokesh, told the ongoing St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on Thursday that large industrial projects are being executed at a rapid pace. 

“What we are most proud of is not policy on paper, it is our prowess, it is our execution, it is our record of delivery on ground,” Lokesh, who is an ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said. 

“We are known for moving with speed when an investor makes a commitment. That speed matters. We call it speed of doing business,” he said, declaring that he is “available to the investors of Russia.” 

Lokesh said Andhra, which is a $215 billion economy, is aspiring to become a $2.4 trillion economy by 2047. 

In April, Google held the groundbreaking ceremony for a $15 billion artificial intelligence hub in Andhra Pradesh. 

The project includes India’s first gigawatt-scale AI hub comprising three data center campuses. It will enable Google to deploy advanced AI capabilities and scale digital services across the South Asian nation. 

‘In a Value-Driven World, Trust Matters: Russia & India Ready to Build the Future Together’ - Minister for HR Development of Andhra Pradesh, @naralokesh at SPIEF

📹 Roscongress pic.twitter.com/gWrlUUfwvN

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) June 4, 2026

On Thursday, Lokesh held talks with Anton Zakharov, head of international commercial projects at Element Group, a leading Russian producer of semiconductor components; and Julia Suhoroslova, CEO of Nanotronica, on business opportunities in Andhra. 
 
He pointed to Russian aluminum giant Rusal’s intention to increase its stake in Pioneer Aluminium Industries, which operates a 1.5-million-ton alumina refinery in his state, as an example of the favorable investment climate there.  

There is a “special opportunity” for doing business between India and Russia, New Delhi’s ambassador to Moscow said at the ongoing St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2026).

Invoking Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Make-in-India initiative, Vinay Kumar suggested that the model can be a bellwether for expanding business ties between New Delhi and Moscow.

“There is a new and very special opportunity between our two countries, that is, making in Russia for India,” Kumar said.

He cited sectors including mineral resources, critical materials, and fertilizers as areas where these new opportunities could be explored and “in which Indian and Russian companies can set up joint ventures in Russia.”

Such an approach would facilitate “a captive export market for India,” he added.

Kumar also said natural resources, manpower and mobility should be tapped as the countries work toward achieving the $100 billion trade target set by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Modi at their New Delhi summit in December.

The envoy pointed out that over the last couple of years, the number of Indian workers in Russia has risen to 100,000.

He said companies need to develop new manufacturing sites and create new supply chains, which would enable them to meet “the demand scale, demand in India and also in third countries.”

The envoy also cited India’s transformation in the digital landscape, including the unified payment interface (UPI), which processes over 18 billion transactions monthly, making it one of the largest real-time payment systems on the planet.

The economic cooperation program initiated by Putin and Modi is a “shared commitment, a roadmap that spans energy, transport, technology, science, and people-to-people ties,” Kumar said.

Indian pharma major Hetero Labs has agreed with the city of Moscow to build a new plant and expand pharmaceutical collaboration in a special economic zone in the Russian capital. 

A memorandum of cooperation was signed by Anatoly Garbuzov, minister of the Moscow government, and Murali Krishna Reddy, director of Emerging Markets at Hetero Labs Limited, on the sidelines of the ongoing St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2026). 

“We believe that such a synergy between the city and foreign partners will help create the most promising, the most high-tech pharmaceutical drugs,” Garbuzov told RT. 

He added that Moscow is one of the largest centers of pharmaceuticals and medical instrumentation in the country and that more than 300 industry enterprises operate in the capital.

🇮🇳🇷🇺 A Dose Of Investment! One Of India's Largest Pharma Firms Signs Deal For Moscow Production

At SPIEF, Moscow authorities signed a memorandum of intent with Hetero Labs on the implementation of a new industrial investment project.

Under the agreement, the company will… pic.twitter.com/ax5bMakhe2

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) June 3, 2026

Garbuzov, who is also the head of investment and industrial policy in Moscow, said the pharma industry in Russia’s capital is looking for international expertise. “India is really the world leader in the production of various pharmaceuticals.”  

Sanjay Nayak, CEO of Makiz Pharma, a wholly owned unit of Hetero Labs, said his firm would set up a factory for producing oncological and other products.  

The Moscow government has provided the land for the facility and offered incentives such as tax rebates and assured buy-back of some pharma products, he said. 

Hetero Labs produces active pharmaceutical substances and ready-made dosage forms for the treatment of HIV, hepatitis, cancer, and tuberculosis. Makiz already has a manufacturing facility in Moscow. 

The Technopolis Moscow SEZ has 14 companies, ten of which have already started production of drugs for the treatment of oncological, autoimmune, cardiological, and other diseases.  

Garbuzov also said the city is open to investment from the Indian electric car industry, and that a delegation of 18 Russian companies had visited India to explore market opportunities.

India has expressed an interest in buying up to 200 Russian regional aircraft, the head of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) has said.

Airline companies in the country have expressed an interest in the Il-114-300 and SJ-100 planes, Vadim Badekha, the head of the UAC, told TASS in an interview ahead of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF-2026).

Russia showcased the SJ-100 Superjet and the Il 114 300 turboprop plane at the Wings India 2026 airshow in Hyderabad earlier this year.

“We are talking about 100-200 aircraft,” Badekha said. He added that the first Superjet could be made in the South Asian country in 3 years.

The twin-engine Superjet can seat up to 100 passengers, while the Il-114-300 can carry 68. Both planes fall under the category of regional aircraft; they can be used to connect small towns to major airline hubs. For India, they are ideal for connecting its rapidly growing tier-2 and tier-3 cities.

India was the third-largest global air passenger market in 2025, with 160 airports operating scheduled flights, compared to 74 in 2014. New Delhi has allowed 100% foreign direct investment in most sectors of civil aviation.

India's regional aircraft market is also growing rapidly, with the demand for such aircraft projected at 300-400 over the next two decades. Currently the market is serviced by planes made by the Franco-Italian company ATR, Canada’s Bombardier and Brazil’s Embraer.

Venezuela’s Acting President Delcy Rodriguez will hold discussions with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi this week, with energy security topping the agenda amid the war in Iran. 

Rodriguez, who will be in India on Wednesday on her first visit to New Delhi after taking over as acting president, is expected to hold discussions on the "full spectrum of India-Venezuela relations," the Indian Foreign Ministry said. Interestingly, her visit to India was announced by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in New Delhi last week. 

Rubio had made an open push for the sale of both US and Venezuelan oil to India, saying Washington wanted "a bigger part" of India’s energy import portfolio and also pointed to “opportunities with Venezuelan oil.”  

India, which imports about 85% of the crude, has been looking to diversify its sources of oil following the supply disruptions in the Middle East.  

Rodriguez became Venezuela’s acting president following the capture and removal of President Nicolas Maduro by US forces in January. The Trump administration then took control of Venezuela’s oil sales, with the funds going into US-supervised accounts. “When you add Venezuela and the United States together, we have 55% of the oil in the world,” Trump said at the time.  

Ironically, India was once a major buyer of the heavy, sulfur-rich Venezuelan crude before US sanctions severely restricted trade in 2019. 

After the Ukraine conflict began, Russia became India’s single largest oil supplier. Imports amounted to around 40% of New Delhi’s crude basket, helped by discounted Urals that improved refinery margins and tempered the import bill. 

But the US imposed 25% punitive tariffs on India for the Russian oil purchases as it sought to wean New Delhi away from Moscow. But as supply constricted in the global markets, Washington has issued sanctions waivers for Russian oil purchases.

India has slammed the European Union (EU) for a joint statement it issued with Pakistan that mentioned Jammu and Kashmir, a deeply sensitive issue for New Delhi. 

The document issued by the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas and Pakistani Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Monday equated Jammu and Kashmir with the Ukraine conflict. It expressed support for the “peaceful resolution of conflicts through dialogue and diplomacy, in accordance with the principles of the UN Charter.” 

Kallas was in Islamabad for the eighth round of strategic dialogue between the country and the EU. 

On Tuesday, the Indian Foreign Ministry said New Delhi categorically rejected “unwarranted references” to its internal affairs. 

“The Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are integral and inalienable parts of India. Those who have no locus standi in such matters should refrain from making any comments on them,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. 

VIDEO | Delhi: Responding to a media query regarding the EU-Pakistan joint statement referring to Jammu and Kashmir, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) says, "Regarding the reference to Jammu and Kashmir, we would like to state that we categorically reject such… pic.twitter.com/QLHZumaVPP

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) June 2, 2026

India has repeatedly emphasized that Jammu and Kashmir is an internal matter and vehemently opposed any third-party involvement or mediation in its dispute with Pakistan. 

Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan have fought three major wars over Kashmir, and India struck Pakistan last year following a terrorist attack in Pahalgam. 

In January, India raised its concerns to Polish Deputy Prime Minister Radoslaw Sikorski about his visit to Pakistan in October last year. Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said New Delhi expects its partners to not help “fuel terrorism” in its neighborhood. 

Sikorski’s visit irked New Delhi as it came a few months after the India-Pakistan conflict in May 2025. Citing the EU’s sanctions on India’s trade and oil imports from Russia, Jaishankar said that “selective targeting of India is unfair and unjustified.” 

India and the EU finalized a trade deal in New Delhi in January, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen describing it as “the mother of all deals.”

India today operates within one of the most demanding geopolitical environments of the post-Cold War era. Two simultaneous and interconnected pressures are reshaping its foreign policy calculus: the accelerating economic and technological rivalry between the United States and China, and the cascading humanitarian and economic consequences of conflicts across the Middle East.

Rather than being paralyzed by these pressures, India has responded with a doctrine of principled multi-alignment, engaging deeply with multiple power centers while preserving its sovereign decision-making. Understanding how and why India has done this strategic balancing requires each pressure to be examined in turn.

India as a preferred alternative 

The structural decoupling of Western supply chains from China has placed India in an unusually advantageous position. The ‘China Plus One’ strategy, the drive by multinational firms to diversify manufacturing away from China, has directed significant investment toward India. Apple’s decision to shift substantial iPhone production to Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan, Micron’s semiconductor fabrication plant in Gujarat, and GE’s agreement for jet engine co-production are just some of the concrete expressions of this shift.

The India-US initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET), launched in 2023, formalized cooperation across semiconductors, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and space, a qualitative upgrade in bilateral technology ties.

India has actively shaped this opportunity through its Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, which offers structured financial incentives across sectors including electronics, pharmaceuticals, and solar energy deliberately targeting the supply chain gaps left by de-risking from China.

The China relationship: Complexity without capitulation

Despite the 2020 Galwan Valley clashes which killed Indian soldiers and severely damaged bilateral trust, China has remained India’s largest source of goods imports. Bilateral trade has exceeded $100 billion annually, reflecting a structural interdependence in electronics, industrial machinery, and pharmaceutical precursors that cannot be unwound rapidly. India has responded not by accepting this vulnerability but by investing heavily in domestic manufacturing to substitute Chinese imports over time, with PLI schemes being the primary instrument.

Strategic autonomy in practice

India’s participation in the Quad alongside the United States, Japan, and Australia represents a meaningful strategic signal, yet India has been consistent that the Quad is not a military alliance and that it will not subordinate its defense decisions to any external partner. This posture is not evasion; it reflects a considered judgement that India’s security interests are served by flexible engagement rather than rigid treaty obligations.

India’s continued purchase of discounted Russian oil during the Ukraine conflict drew criticism from Washington and Brussels. However, India has maintained that energy security is a sovereign concern, particularly for a developing economy managing high import bills, and that India’s diplomatic channel with Moscow provides a useful avenue for advocating restraint, a role that rigidly aligned nations cannot play.

This same logic governs India’s simultaneous membership of BRICS, the SCO, the Quad, and the G20. Far from being contradictory, this positioning gives India access and influence across competing blocs – a diplomatic asset of growing strategic value.

Technology sovereignty and the digital divide

India’s exclusion of Huawei and ZTE from its 5G rollout was a consequential choice, effectively aligning India with the Western technology ecosystem at a moment when the world is bifurcating into rival digital architectures. India made this decision based on its own security assessment rather than external pressure, a distinction that matters for its credibility as an autonomous actor.

As AI governance frameworks emerge with the EU, the US, and China each advancing rival standard-setting architectures, India’s democratic credentials, large technology workforce, and proven digital public infrastructure (UPI, Aadhaar, DigiLocker, collectively studied globally as the ‘India Stack’) position it as a credible participant in shaping international norms rather than merely adopting them.

Humanitarian stakes and diplomatic balance

The Israel-Gaza war, which erupted in October 2023, placed India in a position of genuine difficulty. India initially expressed solidarity with Israel’s right to self-defense, reflecting substantive defense, counterterrorism, and agricultural ties built over decades. As civilian casualties mounted, India shifted to calling for a ceasefire and unimpeded humanitarian access, and abstained on several UN resolutions rather than explicitly condemning Israeli military operations.

This calibration was driven by real constraints: India’s Gulf Arab partners Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar – on whom India depends for energy and diaspora welfare – demanded a stronger humanitarian stance. Over 9 million Indian workers in GCC countries remit approximately $50 billion annually – India’s single largest remittance source. Alienating Gulf partners was not a diplomatic abstraction; it carried direct consequences for millions of Indian families.

The Red Sea disruption and naval assertiveness

The Houthi campaign against Red Sea shipping from late 2023 onward directly struck Indian economic interests. India is a major maritime trading nation, and rerouting shipments around the Cape of Good Hope added weeks to transit times and significantly increased freight costs; a damaging blow at a moment when India is positioning itself as a global manufacturing export hub.

India’s response was notable: the Indian Navy deployed warships in the Arabian Sea to escort merchant vessels, marking a shift toward proactive protection of sea lanes. This was not merely a tactical decision but a strategic signal; India is prepared to bear the costs of securing its maritime lifelines unilaterally, whenever necessary.

The Iran-Chabahar tension and the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor 

Iran presents India with a particularly layered challenge. The Chabahar port project in southeastern Iran is central to India’s overland connectivity strategy toward Afghanistan and Central Asia, a route that bypasses Pakistan entirely.

One of the most consequential developments in this period is the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), unveiled at India’s G20 presidency summit in New Delhi in September 2023. Backed by the US, EU, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and India, IMEC proposes rail and shipping links connecting South Asia, the Gulf, and Europe, an explicit alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

The ongoing Middle East conflict has complicated IMEC’s near-term prospects, particularly given the critical role Saudi Arabia plays in the corridor. Nonetheless, the project represents India’s most ambitious connectivity vision and demonstrates its capacity to anchor major multilateral infrastructure frameworks.

The costs and rewards of strategic autonomy

India’s foreign policy response to these multiple geo-political and geo-economic pressures has been neither passive nor purely reactive. It has pursued technology partnerships with the West while managing economic interdependence with China; it has built naval capacity to protect Red Sea interests while balancing Arab and Israeli relationships; it has led the Global South through the G20 while maintaining ties with Russia.

Each of these choices carries costs such as strained relations with Western partners on Russia, trade vulnerability with China, and complexity in the Middle East. But collectively they reflect a strategy of building maximum leverage and minimum dependency, befitting a nation whose weight in global affairs is only set to grow. Strategic autonomy and multi-alignment are the doctrines of this new India.

The author will be speaking at the Valdai Club session, ’Shared Future, Universal Good: How to Manage Competition for Resources and Spaces’, at SPIEF 2026 on June 4, 2026.

India and the US have begun another round of talks aimed at finalizing a trade deal, amid New Delhi’s concerns about tariff actions that could arise from an unfair-practices probe in Washington.

After months of negotiations, New Delhi and Washington are in the final stages of concluding a tranche of a trade agreement, Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday.

A US delegation led by Assistant Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch is in New Delhi for discussions that will continue until June 4.

New Delhi’s reservations to the deal would be about “opening up agriculture without any constraints, without any limits,” Ajay Dua, a former commerce and industries secretary in India, told RT India. He also cited the issue of digital data protection, that is data gathered by foreign companies about India should be stored locally, which Western companies are resisting.

India is expected to seek shielding from Washington’s investigations of countries under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, a law that grants the US broad authority to probe trade practices and impose retaliatory measures.

There is a sense of urgency to get the talks over the line as tariffs under Section 301 are expected to come into effect on July 24 – in place of the reciprocal tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump last year, The Indian Express reported.

Deal Breakers For Delhi: India Seeks Shield & Access In US Trade Talks

Negotiators are expected to push for preferential access to the US market and protection from potential penalties linked to Washington's Section 301 investigations during bilateral trade talks, according to… pic.twitter.com/f0KMdsKmme

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) June 2, 2026

Underscoring India’s concerns, the US on Tuesday slapped a 25% tariff on Brazil over trade practices it decided were unfair under Section 301. New Delhi is seeking to avoid the same playbook being used against it after a trade deal is signed.

Early last year, Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi set a goal to more than double bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030. They outlined plans to negotiate the first tranche of a multi-sector Bilateral Trade Agreement by the fall of 2025.

However, Trump’s tariffs were deemed illegal by the US Supreme Court in February this year, effectively scuppering the agreement.

Amid the talks over an India-US trade deal, reports say New Delhi may review the broad contours of its trade pact with the UK. India is reportedly looking at reducing the tariff concessions on Scotch whisky and some other items over steel quotas and duties in the UK, the Times of India reported.

Nepalese Prime Minister Balen Shah reignited a long-running border dispute between his country and its large southern neighbor India, adding fuel to the fire by saying the United Kingdom and China have to be at the talks.

Shah, who was elected last year following the massive ‘Gen Z’ protests against corruption that swept the country, said on Sunday, “Not only has India encroached on Nepal’s land, but Nepal has also encroached on India’s land in multiple places.”

He said that the disputes over Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura and Kala Pani would be resolved through diplomatic dialogue.

While he sounded reconciliatory in calling for talks, he added that Kathmandu has spoken with not only India and China – whose Tibet region borders the disputed zone – about the issue but also with the UK government.

“Our view is that the UK should also take an interest, as the issue dates back to the period when the British left the region,” Shah said. Britain ruled India for nearly 200 years, until its independence in 1947, and is still bitterly remembered for its brutality and exploitation, particularly the partitioning of the territories under the Raj into India and Pakistan.

He said Shah’s statement should be seen as more positive than negative as it shows a shift in Nepal’s approach to the issue.

India had said earlier last month that it remains open to constructive interaction with Nepal on all issues in the bilateral relationship, including on resolving agreed-upon outstanding boundary issues through dialogue and diplomacy.

Meanwhile, media reports said that Rabi Lamichhane, the president of Shah’s Rashtriya Swatantra Party, will make a five-day official visit to India starting Monday at the invitation of its ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

Myanmar has vowed not to allow its territory to be used against neighboring India’s security interests.

President Min Aung Hlaing, who is in New Delhi on his first foreign tour, held comprehensive discussions with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday.

President Hlaing’s statement is important in light of India’s March arrest of a group of seven foreigners, including six Ukrainian mercenaries, who were allegedly training and supplying weapons to insurgents in Myanmar.

The insurgents had crossed into Myanmar and back through India’s eastern border in India’s northeastern state of Mizoram. The region around this border is a hotbed of insurgent activity, according to Indian military experts. These groups were reportedly in touch with insurgent groups in India too.

Modi told Hlaing that New Delhi remains Myanmar’s “trusted neighbor, a reliable partner, and steadfast first responder in times of crisis” in line with India’s Neighbourhood-First policy. He reaffirmed India’s readiness to support peace and dialogue with Myanmar, India’s foreign ministry said in a post on X.

PM @narendramodi held wide-ranging discussions with President U Min Aung Hlaing of Myanmar on further deepening India-Myanmar bilateral ties.

Anchored in the enduring historical and people-to-people relationship, both sides agreed to advance 🇮🇳-🇲🇲 partnership for peace,… pic.twitter.com/kYt5cPl7NE

— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) June 1, 2026

The two leaders held talks on issues such as trade, defense, security, and border management and agreed to enhance cooperation.

Both sides stressed the need to prevent activities detrimental to each other’s security interests within their respective territories. India shares a 1,020-mile border with Myanmar and a maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal.

Cross-border immigration and the consequent demographic changes have increased socio-political tension in much of eastern and northeastern India.

With regard to concerns raised by rights groups about Myanmar’s military-backed government, India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said, “History has shown that disengagement doesn’t give us any results that are better than engagement.”

Hlaing’s previous visit to India was in 2019, when he served as Myanmar’s military chief.

India has signed an agreement to supply BrahMos cruise missiles to Vietnam, Defense Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh has confirmed.

A similar deal with Indonesia is in the final stages, Singh said at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore over the weekend.

“My understanding is that with both Indonesia and with Vietnam, the deal is in the final stages… in fact, for Vietnam, I understand that it has already been signed, probably not publicly announced, but it’s already been signed,” Singh said.

Vietnamese President To Lam was in India on an official visit early last month.

Vietnam has become the second Southeast Asian nation to induct the supersonic cruise missiles into its arsenal. Last year, the Philippines became the first third-party customer for the BrahMos system, taking delivery of an initial batch in April under a $375 million agreement signed in 2023.

The BrahMos, named after the Brahmaputra and Moskva rivers, is among the fastest supersonic cruise missiles in the world. It was jointly developed by India’s Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya rocket design bureau, which produces the Oniks anti-ship cruise missiles.

Originally capped at a range of 180 miles, the BrahMos has since been upgraded for greater reach, increasing its strategic value and drawing heightened interest from Southeast Asian countries amid shifting regional security dynamics.

The missile, which can be launched from ships, submarines, land, and air-based systems, was first unveiled at the MAKS-2001 airshow in Moscow.

Backed by the Indian and Russian governments, BrahMos is reportedly in advanced talks with Indonesia for a deal valued at $200 million to $350 million.

The next phase of the BrahMos project could involve the joint development of a missile system based on Russia’s Zircon hypersonic missile.

BrahMos Aerospace posted record revenue in the last fiscal year, the DRDO has said.

Indian scientists may have discovered new evidence of subsurface ice on the Moon, potentially paving the way for more lunar landings.

Scientists from the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the Physical Research Laboratory have analyzed data from the Chandrayaan-2 mission and found radar signatures consistent with buried ice inside four “doubly shadowed craters” in the moon’s south polar region, the Indian Express reported.

These are extremely cold regions of the lunar surface, as they never receive direct sunlight, making them ideal for preserving water ice. Temperatures in these spots could drop to around 25 Kelvin, or -248.15C.

The data is from an imaging instrument on the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter that studies the lunar surface. The findings, which were made using advanced radar polarimetric analysis, were published in the journal npj Space Exploration on May 6.

Water ice on the Moon is considered one of the most valuable resources by lunar missions, as scientists see scope for converting it to drinking water, breathable oxygen, and rocket fuel, according to the Indian Express report.

The probable presence of the subsurface ice may result in more expeditions to the Moon’s south pole.

ISRO has received approvals to develop its Next Generation Launch Vehicles (NGLV), which can be used in its future lunar missions.

Merely two weeks after India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, proclaimed a historic electoral victory in the state of West Bengal, the Indian political establishment found itself facing a curveball. 

On May 16, Abhijeet Dipke, a 30-year-old graduate of the public relations program at Boston University, launched a website of the satiric Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a parody on BJP, with a cockroach as a symbol. 

The reason? An off-the-cuff remark by the chief justice of India, Surya Kant, in an open court, who compared young people to cockroaches. 

“There are youngsters like cockroaches, who don’t get any employment or have any place in the profession. Some of them become media, some of them become social media, RTI (Right to Information) activists and other activists, and they start attacking everyone,” he said.

Kant later had to clarify that he wasn’t talking of India’s youth in general, but specifically those individuals entering the legal profession through “fake and bogus degrees.” 

The careless remark was a part of specific conversation that was clearly taken out of context.

But the damage had been done.

The satire gained national and international media attention. Reports highlighted the fact that the number of followers of the parody party on social media exceeded the following of Modi's party.

The CJP’s Instagram account racked up 11.1 million followers in three days and is now at 22.5 million. By contrast, the BJP’s account has 9.4 million, despite being the dominant party in the country for about 12 years. The main opposition Congress party has 13.6 million followers. (Modi himself is in a different league, with 101 million.)

The CJP’s website lists more than a million followers as of this writing.

But a week later, on May 27, several key international outlets practically simultaneously published detailed reports on the “cockroach party” and its founder – specifically highlighting how it is a challenge to the Modi government. The timing was a coincidence hard to miss in the world of information warfare.

World’s largest party they said🤭 pic.twitter.com/Yogr9Ig0GM

— Abhijeet Dipke (@abhijeet_dipke) May 20, 2026

What did Western media say?

The Reuters report called the party “the largest online expression of dissent against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 12-year rule.”

“The lid on the discourse of discontent has been prised open, and the scuttling cockroaches may be hard to contain,” warned France24. 

The Washington Post followed the narrative: “The movement’s growth reflects the depth of frustration of a generation that feels unseen and unheard.”

The reason this coverage came all in one day, a week after the party made headlines and with no clear news development, can only be guessed. 

Furthermore, this coverage doesn’t come out of nowhere. In the past two years, a wave of GenZ protests has hit states in India's neighborhood. While they succeeded in toppling the governments, the problems that triggered them, including corruption and unemployment, remain. 

FT, in a report titled “India’s viral ‘cockroach party’ challenges Narendra Modi,” notes: “Economists say that despite relatively high economic growth, India faces a serious challenge from rising youth unemployment, with even graduates struggling to find decently paid jobs. India has also not experienced youth protest movements such as those in Nepal, Indonesia and Bangladesh in recent years. But the rapid march of the cockroach party has caused alarm.”

The idea is not new. In October, a BBC feature bluntly asked ”Why young Indians aren’t taking to the streets.”

Western media coverage appears to be following a familiar, well‑worn script, much like the “cockroach party” itself: a catchy name, a mascot, and a young “revolution leader” who instantly becomes a foreign media “darling.” 

Who is Abhijeet Dipke?

The founder of the satiric platform, according to his social media profiles, earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism in Pune and later moved to the US for higher education. 

Dipke recently graduated with a master’s degree in public relations from Boston University and remained in the US. 

Dipke was reportedly associated with India’s opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), a rival of the BJP,  from 2020 to 2023. He volunteered with the party’s social media team and reportedly worked on meme-based digital campaigning during the 2020 Delhi Assembly elections, which the APP won. 

The APP is led by Arvind Kejriwal, an activist who rose to national prominence as an anti-corruption crusader. Kejriwal was briefly jailed in 2024 in connection with a liquor policy which authorities alleged gave undue advantages to private retailers. He was granted bail by the Supreme Court in September 2024 and was formally cleared by a court in February 2026, which closed the corruption case against him. 

Like Dipke now, Kejriwal was then branded by Western outlets as “Modi’s biggest critics” and “India’s Assange.” 

His arrest even triggered a diplomatic row between New Delhi and western capitals. After US State Department commented on the arrest of Kejriwal, New Delhi quickly summoned an American diplomat to “strongly object” to the remarks.

What CJP stands for 

The Cockroach Janta Party describes itself as a “satirical political movement that emerged in May 2026, in response to the public use of “cockroach” as a slur against young, unemployed and politically active Indians.”

The CJP’s manifesto has five “non-negotiable” demands. This includes a ban on post-retirement seats in the Parliament for chief justices, action against the chief election commissioner for supposedly deleting legitimate votes, 50% of the makeup of Parliament to be women without increasing the size of the house, and a 20-year ban on legislators who “defect from one party to another.” 

Interestingly, the movement demands the cancellation of licenses of media houses owned by Indian tycoons Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani “to make way for truly independent media.” It also calls for a ban on accounts of ‘Godi media’ (a popular reference to news outlets that are uncritical towards the ruling BJP). 

For now the party remains a satire and online movement. While an Indian lawyer reportedly petitioned the Election Commission for formal recognition, it remains just a meme-driven online protest. 

How did the government respond? 

The Modi government quickly ordered social media platforms and internet service providers to block the CJP’s X account and website. The accounts were blocked after the Intelligence Bureau (IB) flagged them as a national security threat. Dipke created a second handle, “Cockroach is Back,” which remains active.

Dipke’s attempt to get back his initial X account received a further setback on Friday when the Delhi High Court refused his plea, saying it wants to hear the government’s argument first. It also said the content posted on the account was “slightly offensive.” 

The court, however, directed the deferral to the government to file a comprehensive response within four weeks and scheduled a hearing on the matter for July 6. It also ordered a review of the blocking order by the review committee constituted under the relevant rules governing online content blocking.

Kiren Rijiju, India’s minister for parliamentary affairs, posted on social media without mentioning Dipke, that he pitied those who “seek their followers in social media from Pakistan & George Soros gang.”

Dipke countered by sharing a screen recording of his Instagram audience analytics. The data claimed over 94% of his followers were based in India. 

Does CPJ have any reasoning? 

Justice Kant's remarks were like a spark to gunpowder. It is easy to see why. Almost two-thirds of India’s 1.4 billion population is under 35. However, what is termed by economists and strategic exerts as “India’s demographic dividend,” faces a hard reality check if ones looks at the data. 

With India, one of largest energy importers globally, feeling the impact of the Middle East crisis, headlines about rising inflationary pressures, job losses, and a slowing economy are contributing to the growing anger among youths. 

Why the timing is important? 

The appearance of the CPJ came barely two weeks after the BJP swept to power in West Bengal, an eastern state that had long resisted its politics, and improved its electoral performance in a couple of other states. The BJP’s flag is now flying in most major state capitals and the party looked almost invincible. Indian voters seemed to have spurned the opposition in favor of Modi’s message of a strong India. 

The "cockroach" movement also spread right in the wave of the NEET paper leak, a massive scandal in India’s medical entrance system, where confidential question papers were illicitly accessed and sold to candidates before an exam. The breach compromised the integrity of the test, voiding results for over 2 million medical aspirants and forcing the government to order nationwide re-examinations. 

The US has targeted an Indian firm over its links to the Iranian oil trade, as part of the State Department’s latest list of entities and individuals to be hit with unilateral sanctions.

The move comes as the US tries to further squeeze the already heavily sanctioned Islamic Republic amid Washington’s inability to end the conflict in the Middle East.

In its statement, the State Department identified the sanctioned Indian petrochemical trading firm as Rishabh Triexim, which it said imported $54.6 million worth of Iranian-origin petrochemical products from multiple companies between February and August 2024. Swaroop Jayantilal Bagrecha, its partner, has also been sanctioned.

Indian businesses are more vulnerable to possible secondary sanctions, as unlike Australia, China, and the EU, New Delhi has not adopted any “blocking statute” that prohibits local entities from complying with foreign sanctions.

As the world’s third-largest oil buyer, India relies on imports for around 85% of its oil needs, leaving it vulnerable to rising energy prices and disruptions in the supply chain through the Strait of Hormuz.

The Trump administration likely sees this as an opportunity to sell more energy resources, mainly oil and LNG, to India.

India, which was Iran’s third largest oil buyer, halted its crude oil imports from the Islamic Republic in May 2019 to comply with US sanctions.

Western pressure on India over its purchases of oil is “neocolonial,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said earlier this month.

Since 2022, New Delhi has ramped up imports of Russian oil significantly and continues to rely on Russian crude to meet its ⁠demand, despite continuous pressure from Western countries over the Ukraine conflict.

The US had earlier imposed a 25% additional levy, now lifted, on Indian imports as a punitive measure for purchases of Russian oil. New Delhi has always maintained that its energy purchases are dictated by national interests.

Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval has been given a guided tour of Russia’s National Space Center while on a visit to Moscow for the International Security Forum.

Doval and Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov visited the Roscosmos Joint Industry Information Center – established to monitor and analyze the massive data related to the rocket and space industry.

The center will also manage the proposed Russian Space Station (ROS). Ahead of the tour, Doval and Manturov were given a briefing on space technology.

The highlight of the visit was a live call the two senior officials held with the Russian crew of the International Space Station – Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, Andrey Fedyaev, and Sergey Mikaev. The cosmonauts told the officials about their spacewalk on May 27.

The senior officials were also shown the world’s most powerful four-chamber liquid rocket engine, the ROS base module, and other exhibits at the center.
Russia and India plan to boost space cooperation significantly, Dmitry Bakanov, the head of the Russian space agency (Roscosmos), said ahead of President Vladimir Putin’s trip to India in December 2025.

Last month, Russia celebrated the 65th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s first human flight in space.

At the inauguration of the Russian Space Forum, government officials, scientists, and investors from over 40 countries, including Russia, China and India, took part.

India and Russia are collaborating to develop technologies for making rare-earth magnets, which are key for industries ranging from electric vehicles to renewable energy.

Last week, JSC Giredmet, a unit of Rosatom’s scientific division, signed a memorandum of understanding with India’s Nexon Geochem Pvt Ltd, for research and development of technologies for processing raw materials of rare-earth magnets.

JSC Giredmet also signed a letter of intent with Technology Innovation in Exploration & Mining Foundation (TEXMiN) for research and development of technologies for producing permanent magnets.

Rare-earth magnets are described as the unseen foundation of the green economy, being key components in computer hard drives, wind turbines, electric motors, biomedical devices, and other industrial applications.

India’s consumption of rare-earth permanent magnets is expected to double by 2030. New Delhi imports most of what it needs.

New Delhi has been looking to expand its rare-earth supply chains. During US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s India visit earlier this week, New Delhi and Washington formalized a framework for the supply, mining, processing, recycling, and investment in critical minerals and rare earths.

In February, India said it aims to start producing rare-earth permanent magnets by the end of the year in partnership with the private sector. It allocated $802 million for a program to manufacture rare-earth permanent magnets last November.

The South Asian nation is home to the world’s third-largest reserves of rare earths, at 6.9 million tons, though it mines only a tiny part of it.

There should be no double standards in tackling threats to international security, Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval has said at the first International Security Forum in Moscow on Thursday.

Terrorism remains one of the most serious threats to international security, Doval said, citing the April 2025 Pahalgam terrorist attacks in Kashmir, India that killed 26 civilians.

“Responsible nations must evaluate their choice and decide whether they support sponsors of terrorism or counter them,” he said.

In response to the attacks, India launched a series of strikes against suspected terrorist-linked sites in Pakistan, in a three-day military operation dubbed Operation Sindoor.

❗️🇮🇳 NSA Doval Praises ‘Multifaceted’ India-Russia Partnership, Highlights ‘Further Broader Cooperation’ in Bilateral Meet with 🇷🇺 Security Council Secretary Shoigu pic.twitter.com/X4dOV8tna6

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) May 28, 2026

The national security adviser also used his address to the forum, which is held under the auspices of the Russian Security Council, to draw attention to security and economic issues that face the global community as it transitions to a multipolar world.

“Power is no longer concentrated in a few hands, although a few may think it to be,” he said.

The current geopolitical and economic instability – in part due to the ongoing tensions in the Middle East – has posed challenges to trade and technology, Doval said. “Risks to maritime traffic and disruption to energy infrastructure show how fragile the... situation is.”

Maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, through which around a fifth of the global energy supplies once passed, has remained largely blocked following the US-Israeli strikes against Iran. This has sent oil prices soaring, forcing energy companies in India to raise prices for the fourth time in two weeks.

“India stands ready to continue to constructively support all efforts to reduce tensions and help restore stability,” Doval added.

He also drew attention to the need for equitable access to critical minerals, rare earths, and energy supplies for the Global South, as supply chains and “access to tech are being weaponized.”

Doval went on to say that the UN has become incapable of addressing global security challenges. “There is an urgent need for reform in the UN,” he said, adding that the voice of the majority of the world’s population must be factored into global decision-making.

All BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states are taking part in the forum, in which key global security challenges are being discussed.

India is planning a major upgrade of its Sukhoi 30MKI fleet, The Times of India has reported.

The program aims to give the fighter jets, the backbone of the Indian Air Force, an improved ability to survive in a modern electronic warfare environment, according to the outlet.

The Indian Defense Ministry has issued a request for proposal to equip the fighters with state-of-the-art anti-jamming and anti-spoofing global positioning system (GPS) antennas, the report said.

Jamming and spoofing are vital elements of electronic warfare, which aim to disrupt the radio and GPS signals that allow pilots to navigate and fire munitions accurately. Jamming stops the signals, while spoofing sends false signals to the enemy’s navigation system.

The Indian Air Force currently operates about 258 Su-30MKI fighter aircraft. The proposed upgrade is part of the IAF’s Super Sukhoi modernization program. The Defense Ministry aims to acquire 300 antenna systems.

The move comes amid plans to procure a fifth-generation stealth fighter. In February, The New Indian Express reported that Russia’s Sukhoi Su-57 has emerged as the top contender.

Moscow had announced an offer of full licensed production of the Su-57 in India at the Dubai Airshow in November, 2025.

New Delhi has initiated a Make in India program to boost domestic production capabilities. Nearly 60% of the defense hardware of the Indian Armed Forces is of Soviet/Russian origin, while the Sukhoi SU-30MKI air superiority fighter currently accounts for 45% of the IAF’s fighter fleet.

India has formed a high-level committee to study the demographic changes driven by illegal immigration and to suggest measures to address the challenges it poses, fulfilling a pledge made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year.

Modi had, in his Independence Day speech last year, said a “high-powered demography mission” would be set up as he warned of a “premeditated conspiracy” that was altering India’s demography and threatening national security.

Announcing the constitution of the panel on Tuesday, India’s Home Minister Amit Shah called “unnatural demographic change” a “very big challenge.” The 5-member High-Level Committee on Demographic Changes (HLCDC) will be headed by a former judge of India’s Supreme Court.

No reliable figures exist on the number of illegal immigrants to India, but cross-border immigration and resultant demographic changes have increased socio-political tensions in much of eastern and north-eastern India.

‘Beyond the Census’: Think Tank 'ORF' Development Studies Head @DrNilanjanG on Why Authorities Say Border Action ‘Can’t Wait’

Officials argue urgency stems from impacts on 'sovereignty, welfare delivery, electoral integrity, local social balance, and national security,’ he tells… pic.twitter.com/rEa6nkc7To

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) May 27, 2026

Most such illegal immigrants are from Bangladesh, seeking jobs to escape the grinding poverty in their home country. Political instability in Myanmar has also increased immigration across the border to India.

Tensions between India and Bangladesh has risen recently following a crackdown on illegal immigration by the government of the West Bengal state in eastern India. Prime Minister Modi’s BJP came to power in West Bengal following the recent elections, and the state government has vowed to deport thousands of illegal immigrants back to Bangladesh.

Shah said the committee will analyze the “abnormal population changes at the level of religious and social communities” and offer a time-bound solution to the issue within a year.

Shah had said last year that the decadal growth of the Muslim population in Assam state, which shares a border with Bangladesh, was 29%, reported The Hindu.

The HLCDC is also tasked with suggesting a clear and permanent system for identifying, detaining, and deporting illegal immigrants. Strengthening border control, population monitoring, and policy formation to improve coordination between the federal and state governments on illegal immigration and demographic imbalance are also in its purview.

No cases of the deadly Ebola virus have been confirmed so far in India, the Health Ministry has said. India is continuing to conduct screening, surveillance, and precautionary measures, while monitoring the disease’s rapid spread in Central Africa, the government-backed-DD News said in a Facebook post.

A Ugandan national who was quarantined in the southern city of Bengaluru on suspicion of having contracted the disease has tested negative, the authorities said on Wednesday.

The 28-year-old woman, with a recent history of travel in the East African nation, had developed mild symptoms of Ebola and was moved from a hotel to the state-backed Epidemic Diseases Hospital on May 26.

“The National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, has communicated orally that the woman’s blood report has come back negative,” said a top health official in the southern state of Karnataka, the Hindu reported.

India is implementing public health protocols in line with WHO guidelines for the outbreak. The WHO on May 17 declared the Ebola outbreak in Africa a “global public health emergency.”

The woman will be tested again in 48 hours, in line with the protocols. “The individual is otherwise in a healthy condition now,” officials said.

Also on Wednesday, a 47-year-old man who returned from Uganda was placed under home isolation in Nagpur, western India. The individual has not shown any symptoms of Ebola so far and has said that he did not come into contact with any Ebola patient in Uganda.

On May 23, New Delhi issued a travel advisory for citizens, saying all non-essential travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Uganda, and South Sudan should be avoided.

The WHO website says the average fatality rate for Ebola disease is around 50%. The US Center for Disease Prevention and Control has said more than 100 deaths have been reported so far.

The Bundibugyo virus is a relatively rare strain of Ebola first identified in Uganda in 2007. Unlike the more common Zaire strain, there is currently no approved vaccine available against Bundibugyo Ebola. The virus spreads through close contact with infected bodily fluids.

Russia and India are in talks concerning the sale of an additional batch of S-400 surface-to-air missile systems, authorities said in Moscow.

India has expressed interest in these advanced missile systems, the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC) told Interfax.

“Russia is ready for this. Negotiations are underway,” the FSMTC stated on the sidelines of the International Security Forum, which began in Moscow on Tuesday.

The FSMTC noted that the S-400 had “proven itself” during India-Pakistan military conflict in May last year.

Dmitry Shugaev, head of the FSMTC, said last week that the current contract for supplying India with S-400 systems is being fulfilled on schedule.

He had said earlier that Russia is not ruling out new deliveries of S-400 systems to India.

There had been reports earlier that India might be in the market for the even more advanced S-500 systems, which are capable of taking out targets in low-earth orbit.

In March, India’s Defense Acquisition Council (DAC) approved proposals to buy defense equipment worth $25 billion, including S-400 air defense missile systems, various types of aircraft, and artillery systems, as part of a rapid military modernization drive.

A statement from India’s Defense Ministry said those approvals cover five S-400 units in addition to the five it ordered in 2017. New Delhi went ahead with the earlier purchase despite heavy pressure from the United States.

Three of the missile systems contracted in 2017 have already been delivered to India. A fourth is expected to reach India before the end of this month, and the last before the end of this year.

The procurement of transport aircraft to replace the country’s Soviet-era An-32 and Il-76 planes, as well as various artillery systems, was also approved by the DAC.

New Delhi is the world’s fifth largest military spender and the second largest arms importer after Ukraine, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

Over 60% of Indian weaponry is of Soviet or Russian origin. New Delhi has recently been positioning itself as a defense manufacturer under its Make in India program.

India’s state owned oil marketing companies raised prices at the pump for the fourth time in two weeks on Monday, fueling concerns about the impact of the Middle East conflict on the country’s economy.

The first fuel price hike took place in mid-May, when refiners, including Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum, and Hindustan Petroleum, increased retail prices by over 3% – the first hike in four years. According to Reuters, the cumulative increase since the beginning of the month now stands at 8.6% for diesel and 7.8% for gasoline.

The latest hike comes despite global crude oil prices slipping below the psychological $100 per barrel mark amid easing concerns around disruption in the Strait of Hormuz. Analysts say Indian state-run firms remain under pressure because retail fuel prices were frozen for four years even as global crude soared.

Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said earlier this month that while India has sufficient energy reserves to manage short term disruptions, state run refiners were incurring daily losses, and further hikes would be likely if disruptions linked to the Iran war continue.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was put on the defensive during his first official visit to India when confronted about racist remarks Americans have made about Indians.

During a joint press conference with Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar in New Delhi on Sunday, a local journalist asked Rubio about “a lot of racist comments” targeting Indians and Indian Americans in the US.

When Rubio asked him to clarify whose comments he was referring to, the reporter replied that the remarks were “pretty well known” and “endorsed,” without initially specifying further.

The journalist later posted on X that he was referring to US President Donald Trump’s recent post endorsing an American podcaster’s description of India as a “hellhole.” New Delhi had officially responded to the post, calling it “in poor taste.”

"Who said that...", US Secretary of State Rubio in response to my question on racism agaisnt Indians in US.

US President Donald Trump had endorsed a post terming India "Hellhole" pic.twitter.com/UC37RYIcHK

— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) May 24, 2026

Rubio offered a general answer, saying there were “stupid people” everywhere, including in the US, who make “dumb comments all the time.” He then added that the US has been “enriched by people who have come to our country from all over the world, become Americans, assimilated into our way of life, and contributed greatly.”

The US State Department shared a clip of Rubio’s response on social media, but as the post went viral, it took it down, drawing even more attention to the controversy.

On Monday, Rubio was asked by an American journalist about the previous day’s exchange. He said he was not clear about the question, while repeating his comments about “people posting stuff online.” When told by the journalist that the question was linked to Trump’s earlier posts, Rubio countered back: “The president loves India. The president is a big fan of India, a big fan of PM Modi,” he added.

🙈 🇺🇸 State Sec SQUIRMS In Cringe Moment Where He Tries To Downplay Racist Remarks Against Indian Americans

"The President loves India. The President is a big fan of India, a big fan of PM Modi."

This comes after Trump previously described India as a "hellhole" with a "dead… pic.twitter.com/fyt75Wssn9

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) May 25, 2026

Rubio’s visit has been seen by foreign policy commentators as an attempt to mend ties strained by Trump’s tariff policy targeting India over its connection with Moscow. The trip also comes amid Washington’s growing closeness with India’s neighbor and rival, Pakistan, which is involved in mediating between the US and Iran.

Earlier this year, the Trump administration imposed steep tariffs on Indian goods, including as punishment for buying discounted Russian oil. Multiple reports suggested the move was indirectly linked to India’s refusal to acknowledge Trump’s role in brokering a ceasefire to end the four-day India–Pakistan military conflict in May 2025. While New Delhi maintains that the ceasefire was achieved bilaterally, Pakistan openly hailed Trump’s involvement and even advocated for him to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has held talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi focused on expanding an energy “partnership” amid the global crisis caused by the US-Israeli war with Iran.

During a meeting on Saturday, part of Rubio’s four-day visit to India, the US secretary of state said the two sides had discussed “the situation in the Middle East and US-India partnership in energy, securing critical supply chains, and collaboration on emerging technologies.”

Modi described the discussions as focused on “sustained progress” in the India-US strategic partnership, as well as regional and global security issues. “India and the United States will continue to work closely for the global good,” he wrote on X after the meeting.

India, the world’s third-largest crude importer, relies on foreign suppliers for more than 80% of its energy needs and has been heavily affected by the crisis, even though Tehran has allowed Indian vessels to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which it closed off to “hostile” nations.

Ahead of the trip, Rubio said the US wanted to become “a bigger part” of India’s import portfolio and “sell them as much energy as they’ll buy,” while also pointing to “opportunities with Venezuelan oil.”

He said that interim Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez, who assumed power after the US military raid on her country in January, would travel to India next week to discuss oil sales being conducted under Washington’s full control.

Shortly after meeting Modi, Rubio claimed that India had “committed” to purchasing $500 billion worth of US goods over the next five years, focused on energy, technology, and agriculture. New Delhi, however, has yet to officially confirm any new commitments.

New Delhi has refused to halt Russian oil imports, insisting it will continue to source energy from all available suppliers to protect its economy and national interests. Earlier this year, the Trump administration imposed punitive tariffs on Indian goods linked to trade with Russia, but later eased the measures under a preliminary deal with Modi.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrapped up a five‑nation European tour this week with upgraded Nordic partnerships and new trade, security and research agreements. Yet a single incident in Oslo once again raised uncomfortable questions about how the West sees India.

Modi embarked on a six-day European tour, signaling India is keen on diversifying its partnerships amid global disruptions caused by the US-Israeli war on Iran.

After a brief stop in Abu Dhabi, where he signed a massive infrastructure and energy deal, Modi proceeded to the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, and Italy, with an itinerary running from May 15 to 20. The mission was to deepen India’s partnership with Europe following the recently concluded India-EU Free Trade Agreement which, according to Ursula von der Leyen, will be formally signed and operationalized by the end of the year.

Why did Modi go to Europe?

The culmination of Modi’s six-day tour was supposed to be the top-level Nordic summit in Oslo, where India and the five Nordic countries (Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, and Denmark) would discuss ways to expand strategic and trade ties.

According to a statement by India’s Ministry of External Affairs, the summit would “impart a more strategic dimension to India’s relationship with the Nordic countries, especially in technology and innovation, green transition and renewable energy, sustainability, blue economy, defense, space and the Arctic.”

In The Hague, Modi met Dutch King Willem-Alexander, along with his wife, Queen Maxima, discussing defense issues, semiconductors, green hydrogen, and water management. In Stockholm, Modi met the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen.

In Norway, the third edition of the India-Nordic summit took place. In 2024, India signed a trade and economic partnership agreement which eliminates the majority of customs duties on industrial products with Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. The pact also has a commitment to invest $100 billion in India, which is expected to lead to 1 million new jobs over the next 15 years.

This time around, energy was one of the top issues on the agenda as India, one of the major global importers of oil and gas, is facing an increasing impact from the Middle East crisis on its energy supplies.

Modi pointed out that bilateral trade between India and the Nordic nations had increased fourfold in the past ten years, and that investment from the Nordic nations into India had gone up by an impressive 200%.

PM @narendramodi participated in the 3rd India-Nordic Summit in Oslo. It reflected the expanding scope and growing strength of India’s partnership with the Nordic region. The leaders discussed cooperation in sustainability, innovation, clean energy, emerging technologies and… pic.twitter.com/xXUO1YsgZF

— PMO India (@PMOIndia) May 19, 2026

The Norwegian king, Harald V, awarded Modi his country’s highest civilian award, the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit Grand Cross, making it the 32nd such international recognition bestowed upon him and the second on this particular tour, after the Swedish Royal Order of the Polar Star.

But those were not the issues that made headlines during Modi’s stay in Oslo.

What Happened in Oslo?

It all started on Tuesday, when a video of Svendsen Helle Lyng, a journalist for the Norwegian newspaper Dagsavisen, started doing the rounds on social media. In the video, Lyng was seen throwing a question to Modi just as he finished his joint press statement with his Norwegian counterpart, Jonas Gahr Store. “Prime Minister Modi, why don’t you take some questions from the freest press in the world?” she shouted across the room. Lyng then seemed to have followed Modi to the elevator.

Primeminister of India, Narendra Modi, would not take my question, I was not expecting him to.

Norway has the number one spot on the World Press Freedom Index, India is at 157th, competing with Palestine, Emirates & Cuba.

It is our job to question the powers we cooperate… pic.twitter.com/vZHYZnAvev

— Helle Lyng (@HelleLyngSvends) May 18, 2026

In another video, Lyng could be heard asking the Norwegian PM to answer questions from the Indian press: “Why don’t you take questions from Indian journalists? Show them how we do this in Norway.”

The Indian mission in Norway shared Lyng’s post on X and invited her to a press briefing, saying she was “most welcome” to ask her questions there. At the briefing, she pressed the Indian foreign ministry’s secretary, Sibi George, on why should Norway have trust in India.

“Why should we trust you (India)? Can you try to stop the human rights violations that goes on in your country?” she asked.

George delivered a longish response, delving into India’s ancient traditions and history, highlighting the country’s vastness and complexity, which is often misunderstood by foreign observers. He argued that critics lack an understanding of the country’s actual scale, noting that the capital city alone has at least 200 television channels operating in English, Hindi, and various other languages. He also dismissed criticisms of India’s democratic record, pointing out such opinions often rely on selective reports from “godforsaken, ignorant NGOs.”

Journalist: Why should Norway trust India? Will you stop human rights violations in your country?

Amb. Sibi George: *starts to answer*

Journalist: *interrupts*

Amb. George: No, you asked me a question. Let me answer it pic.twitter.com/hjT4dC75tW

— Shashank Mattoo (@MattooShashank) May 19, 2026

Lyng’s posts on X set off a storm in India. Social media erupted, Western outlets praised her, and Indian TV channels hauled her on air for tough questioning.

#TheBuckStopsHere with @GaurieD #NDTVExclusive | Is racism & stereotyping what masquerades as journalism in Norway?

Norwegian journalist Helle Lyng (@HelleLyngSvends) responds to questions on press freedom and racism in media narratives in Norway. pic.twitter.com/utCojsylf1

— NDTV (@ndtv) May 20, 2026

But then the matter got even worse.

Why Indians called out a ‘racist’ cartoon

Aftenposten, Norway’s largest newspaper, published an opinion piece by journalist Frank Rossavik. The article includes a cartoon of Modi as a snake charmer. The headline says, “A clever and slightly annoying man.” The cartoon has set social media on fire.

The cartoon was originally published on May 16 but came to light only after Modi’s visit to Oslo. Numerous social media comments call the cartoon and the opinion piece “derogatory,” “racist” and “utterly disgraceful.”

“[The] West has completely run out of structural arguments. When they cannot beat India on GDP growth rates, cannot match India’s digital public infrastructure, and cannot stop India from anchoring global supply chains, their only remaining tool is to pull out a racist drawing of a snake charmer,” wrote one X user.

Shocking. Racist. Derogatory.

Norway’s largest broadsheet newspaper Aftenposten brazens it out with a shocking cartoon depicting Indian PM @narendramodi as a Snake Charmer with the headline: “A sneaky and slightly annoying man”.

They can’t digest India’s rise and success. Pity! pic.twitter.com/g905xHNIWm

— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) May 19, 2026

Commentators in India also pointed out that the image chosen for the cartoon is particularly offensive because it reflects on Modi’s famous 2014 statement that India is no longer a nation of “snake charmers” but a modern nation of “mouse charmers,” driven by technology and innovation. The snake charmer is one of the oldest racist colonial clichés used against India, and it not only mocks the leader but the nation, many commenters pointed out.

“How many more decades will the West continue to look at India through the exhausted lens of snake charmers, cows, fakirs and colonial fantasy before somebody in its supposedly enlightened liberal establishment realizes the joke stopped being funny a century ago?” Stela Dey wrote in her column for The Print.

Why is the West obsessed with India’s democracy?

Developed countries have long commented on the state of democracy in India, the world’s most populous democracy, highlighting issues related to press freedom and the treatment of minorities. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) and the US State Department consistently call out India in their reports for alleged “ongoing and egregious religious freedom violations.”

New Delhi has repeatedly rejected such reports, calling them “biased.”

When EU chief von der Leyen traveled to New Delhi in February this year and pressed India to agree in general on a deal with the bloc – which she calls “the mother of all deals” – European commentators could not refrain from raising the question of India’s “democratic backsliding” as a stumbling block to expanding this potential cooperation.

“Europe is very Eurocentric in its vision. They view everything from the European lens of how it helps their national interest. So they were not very supportive of issues of the Global South, of strategic autonomy, of the path of development. They have a kind of method of intervening in other countries, which India and countries of the Global South do not,” Professor Anuradha Chenoy told RT India, commenting on the Norwegian episode during Modi’s European tour.

'EU Has A Trust Deficit With Everyone Apart From Themselves' - Professor Anuradha Chenoy

Europe is very euro-centric in its vision and they seem everything through a European lens of how it helps their national interest, she tells RT India Presenter @osamashaab. pic.twitter.com/TEx8LZ1Iju

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) May 19, 2026

Meanwhile, back in Norway, some commentators, too, questioned why local media chose to mock the leader of a nation of 1.4 billion people and the world’s fourth largest economy.

“Unless you believe democracy only fits a handful of small, homogenous, ultra-rich Western nations, India is the miracle of democracy. The large, complex, linguistically and religiously diverse nation with many poor people – which has established a vibrant democracy and is much less violent than Europe or America,” wrote former Norwegian minister Erik Solheim.

The administration of US President Donald Trump is looking to sell more energy resources, mainly oil and LNG, to India, which has been hit by the disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. US Ambassador Sergio Gor told Bloomberg that India “has been receptive to diversification” of its sources of energy imports, which means “buying more American energy.”

“People have been very receptive to buying from the United States, and we’ve been very happy with that,” Gor said, according to Bloomberg.

Gor’s comments come days before Secretary of State Marco Rubio is due to visit New Delhi next week. The US has long tried to pressure India to stop oil imports from Russia, which has been the nation’s largest energy supplier since 2022.

Earlier this year, the Trump administration imposed punitive tariffs on Indian goods, linking them to trade with Russia. The tariffs were later removed as part of a deal announced by Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Under a preliminary trade agreement, the US cut tariffs on Indian goods from 50% to 18% in exchange for India halting purchases of Russian oil.

The Indian government has been under pressure to secure energy imports amid disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz caused by the US-Israeli war against Iran. New Delhi is considering a series of measures, including a fuel price hike and restrictions on non-essential spending, to shield its foreign exchange reserves from soaring oil prices linked to the conflict.

Responding to a question about pressure on India as a result of the war, Gor blamed Iran for closing the strait. “The blame is not on the United States,” he told Bloomberg, adding that the US Treasury Department has allowed India to buy Russian oil, which would otherwise be subject to sanctions.

India, the world’s third-largest oil buyer, relies on imports for around 85% of its oil needs, making it vulnerable to rising energy prices and disruptions to supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.

Russia-India relations, underpinned by their status as a privileged strategic partnership, are emerging as a benchmark for bilateral cooperation between major powers. The rapid growth in mutual trade and the ambitious goal of reaching a total volume of $100 billion by 2030 indicate a significant new phase.

However, the sustainability and depth of such growth in the long term will be determined not only by trade flows or joint infrastructure projects but also by the ability to create a shared educational and scientific-technological space.

The development strategy for the Russian Far East holds particular significance, representing a point of mutual interest for both Moscow and New Delhi. Russia sees this region as a strategic priority due to its enormous natural resources, its role as the main logistics hub in the Asia-Pacific region, and the importance of strengthening its eastern borders.

India, in turn, views the Far East as a promising direction for investment and expanding its economic influence in Asia. However, despite mutual interest, many promising intergovernmental agreements, including the Program of Russian-Indian Cooperation in Trade, Economic, and Investment Spheres in the Far East of the Russian Federation for 2024-2029, and the agreement on cooperation principles in the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation, signed by ministers from both countries, lack notable successful implementation examples. 

Attracting foreign workers represents the main solution to this workforce shortage. The existing influx of labor migration of Indian citizens to Russia, which has grown from 8,000 to 36,200 work permits in recent years, is predominantly low-skilled and does not solve the problem of personnel shortages for high-tech segments. Solving this requires moving beyond targeted labor migration toward a comprehensive system of training and subsequent retention of specialists whose competencies meet the specific demands of the Far Eastern economy.

Academic exchange between Russia and India needs fundamental restructuring. Despite an impressive 58.9% growth in the number of Indian students in Russia from 2022 to 2024, there is a serious structural imbalance. More than 95% of students are majoring exclusively in medicine. After completing their education, the majority of graduates return to India without integrating into Russian society and the economy, which minimizes the long-term effect of this educational export.

Paradoxically, entire fields that are hugely popular among Indian applicants in the US, EU, and Australia are virtually unrepresented in Russia. These include critically important areas for technological development such as new materials production, transport engineering, medical chemistry and instrumentation, and information technology. This imbalance is exacerbated by a poorly developed network of inter-university agreements. Compared to the well-established partnerships with Chinese universities, including numerous joint programs and even institutes, interaction with Indian universities appears less intensive. This highlights a strategic weakness in how Russian education is positioned in the Indian market and the absence of targeted, industry-oriented offerings.

This information gap slows practical cooperation in agriculture, logistics, and other areas despite existing political will and framework agreements.

Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU) has been contributing to the process of bridging this gap. It emerged as a unique platform that combines academic traditions of the Oriental Institute, founded in 1899, with the demands of modern economic diplomacy and technological development. As the largest university in the macro-region and a recognized leader in Asian studies in Russia, FEFU serves as a strategic operator for implementing state policies in these fields. 

A pilot model for diversifying scientific and educational cooperation between Russia and India could be the integration of science, education, and production in the agro-industrial complex, which can serve as a benchmark for other sectors. The Far East’s potential in agriculture is enormous: beyond crop production, it includes the development of greenhouse farms and the fishing industry, which saw a 7% increase in transportation in 2025. However, realizing this potential is impossible without modern biotechnologies and specialists skilled in deep processing methods, bioengineering, and aquaculture. FEFU has developed a unique model in partnership with industry leaders, where real manufacturing cases are incorporated into curricula and students can take up internships and participate in joint R&D.

Thus, the strategic priority for the Russian-Indian partnership today is moving beyond trade and isolated projects toward sustainable collaborative ecosystems, with education at their heart. The development of a network of specialized joint educational programs, especially in priority areas for the Far East (agriculture, IT, construction, logistics, tourism), is a direct path to solving the personnel deficit, diversifying the flow of Indian students and, most importantly, forming a common generation of professionals. These specialists will not only possess modern competencies but also serve as living bridges connecting the economies and societies of the two countries.

India has responded to remarks by Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten on press freedom and minority rights, saying that the comments stem from a “lack of understanding” of the country’s democratic and civilizational nature.

Jetten said the Netherlands has concerns “not just about press freedom” in India, but also about “the rights of minorities, which are under severe pressure there,” adding that these issues are “regularly raised” with New Delhi, Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant reported.

Sibi George, a senior diplomat in the Indian Foreign Ministry, said such criticism of India often stems from inadequate knowledge about its social and democratic fabric. “We face these kinds of questions basically because of the lack of understanding of the person who asks the question,” he added.

George noted that India, the world’s most populous country with 1.4 billion people, has a civilization dating back 5,000 years, saying: “It’s a diverse country – diversity in terms of culture, diversity in terms of languages, diversity in terms of food, diversity in terms of religion.”

“There is no other country in the world where four religions have originated,” George said. Four major religions – Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism – originated in India and continue to flourish there.

The Jewish community has lived in the country for over 2,500 years without persecution, he said, adding that Christianity and Islam have also prospered in the South Asian nation for centuries.

At the time of independence, minorities constituted 11% of the total population, a figure that has risen to more than 20%.

After meeting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the weekend, Jetten posted on social media that both countries attach “great importance to democracy, good governance and a world order based on rules and justice.”

Jetten’s remarks are not the first time Western nations and organizations have made accusations against India.

In March, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom called for sanctions on India’s external intelligence agency and a social service organization for allegedly violating religious freedom.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has vowed to sign an India-EU trade deal by the end of the year.

The pact, which would create a free trade zone of 2 billion people, and which has been stalled for nearly 20 years, was finally agreed upon in January. At the time, von der Leyen claimed the agreement would be the “mother of all deals.”

Meeting on Monday with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristerssonat at the European Round Table for Industry in Gothenburg, the EU chief also promised to make the deal fully operational “at record speed.”

“The trade agreement opened the door; an investment agreement walks us through this door,” she said.

Bilateral trade between India and the EU reached approximately $136 billion in 2024-25, making the bloc India’s largest goods trading partner.

India’s Commerce Ministry said the pact, further deepening economic and strategic ties, will result in export growth to the tune of $76 billion from Indian states to the EU.

Previously, India raised objections to what it sees as non-tariff barriers imposed by the EU and affecting steel, aluminium, and cement exports. The trade deal will enable India to have flexibility on carbon tax, according to reports.

A similar upgrade to the India-Netherlands relationship was reached during Modi’s meeting with the Dutch prime minister, Rob Jetten. As of 2025, bilateral trade between India and Sweden was estimated at $7.75 billion.

New Delhi and Stockholm also held discussions on widening collaboration in trade and investment, technology and innovation, green transition, space, emerging technologies, and defense and security, apart from people-to-people ties.

Modi pitched India as an investment destination to an array of leading European chief executives, including the leaders of Vodafone, Ericsson, Nokia, TotalEnergies, Nestle, and Unilever.

He urged them to make investment pledges to India over the next five years by invoking the recently concluded India-EU Free Trade agreement.

The Indian prime minister also invited Swedish companies to enhance their presence under the Make in India initiative and held talks with Maersk chairman Robert Maersk Uggla to discuss investment opportunities in ports and logistics.

China maintained the upper hand during US President Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing this week. He visibly tried to ingratiate himself with Chinese President Xi Jinping, but his counterpart made no attempt to reciprocate.

Trump has been heaping praise on Xi personally as a great leader and has vaunted his personal ties with him. He laid it thick at the start of formal delegation-level talks in Beijing, eliciting a smile from the normally impassive Xi who, in turn, did not feel the need to play to audience.

Trump is not particularly popular in China and Xi would have not have wanted, in any case, to unnecessarily rehabilitate him in the public eye in China.

Earlier, during the welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People, Trump made several overtly warm physical gestures toward Xi, but the Chinese leader remained formal and impassive. By acting as a suitor, Trump effectively handed Xi the political and psychological upper hand.

Trump effectively cast himself as someone who had come to seek favors from China. His boast that only the number ones, not number twos of top American corporations were accompanying him hardly projected strength, coming after years of Washington’s (and Trump’s own) tirades against China’s business practices, alleged “rip‑offs” of US consumers, and technology theft. This, despite the fact that Trump had imposed sweeping tariffs on Chinese goods and moved to restrict the flow of advanced technology, especially chips, to China.

From the media coverage of the visit, it does not seem that the Chinese side felt overwhelmed by the composition of Trump’s delegation. The emphasis in the reporting was on Trump’s praise for Xi, China’s rising stature, the US engaging China as an equal global power, setting a new framework of cooperation, and Trump visiting China when he was relatively weak domestically and needing trade deals before the mid-term elections.

Normally, before a visit of this importance, which has been under preparation for many months, the two sides begin working on a joint statement that would list the agreed-upon outcomes. In this case, no joint statement has been issued, which means that on many contentious points, the differences between the two sides could not be bridged.

The Taiwan issue is especially divisive; an agreed formulation on Iran, with the US being the initiator of the war and also militarily blockading the Strait of Hormuz, would have been difficult (China has been vetoing one-sided resolutions in the UN Security Council, prompted by the US). The same goes for the South China Sea and many other issues, including sanctions, tariffs and trade disbalance. All this signifies that the visit did not produce definable concrete results.

Ways to enhance bilateral economic cooperation  were discussed, including by expanding American businesses’ access to Chinese markets and increasing Chinese investment in US industries. Higher Chinese purchases of American agricultural products was discussed, but no figures for corn, soya beans, sorghum, beef etc. are mentioned, though in his public remarks Trump said China had agreed to buy 200 Boeing jets and US oil as well.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has told the American media that the US and China have also discussed forming a “Board of Trade” and “Board of Investment” to oversee commerce between the two countries.

Some understandings seem to have been reached but not anything major, as Xi speaks of the economic and trade teams having reached a generally balanced and positive outcome, which is a low-key formulation, contrary to Trump’s claim to have “achieved a fantastic trade agreement.” Xi has said that China will only continue to open up. 

That China expressed interest in purchasing more American oil to reduce China’s dependence on the Strait in the future is not only not a commitment it is ironical too, as the US has sanctioned China’s “tinpot refineries” buying Iranian oil and has ended the flourishing oil ties between Venezuela and China.

It is hard to believe that both countries genuinely agreed Iran can “never” have a nuclear weapon, given that this is the central justification for the US‑Israeli war on Iran. China, as a former JCPOA party, would in any case be reluctant to see Iran go nuclear because of the regional fallout. Trump’s claim that Xi said during their summit that Beijing would not provide military equipment to Iran sounds rather more like what Washington would like to hear – as also is the case with China’s purported military-tech support for Russia.

In response to Trump’s claim that Xi Jinping had offered China’s help in reaching a settlement with Iran, the Chinese Foreign Ministry set out Beijing’s position at some length. It said that China recognizes that the conflict has put a heavy strain on global economic growth, supply chains, international trade order and the stability of the global energy supply. It added that there is no point in continuing this conflict, which should not have happened in the first place, and that dialogue and negotiation are the right way forward while the use force is a dead end. It called for a settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue and other issues that accommodate the concerns of all parties, a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire as soon as possible, and laying the foundation for building a sustainable security architecture for the region.

The US didn’t mention Taiwan in its readout of the meeting. Trump acknowledged to the US media that Xi had raised the issue forcefully, including that of US arms supplies to Taiwan, but he listened and did not respond. Trump has since also equivocated on defending Taiwan and executive approval of $14 billion of arms aid to Taiwan cleared by the US Congress. He has also called on Taiwan and China to “cool it”, meaning avoiding provocations. 

The Chinese readout of the Xi-Trump summit has a hard, realistic and demanding edge to it. The emphasis is on a relationship based on equality. Centrality is given to US handling of the Taiwan issue, with Xi warning that it must be treated with utmost caution. If handled well, bilateral relations can maintain overall stability, but if handled poorly it can lead to confrontation and even conflict, pushing the entire relationship into a very dangerous situation. This has implications for Trump’s decision on the $14 billion arms package for Taiwan approved by the US Congress.

When Xi speaks about an agreement to establish a “constructive and stable relationship between China and the US,” it implies that the provocations have come from the US and that China is a victim. This is the usual Chinese tactic of placing the responsibility for handling ties on the shoulders of others and not accepting its own responsibility in creating tensions.

Xi says that faced with differences and frictions, equal consultation is the only correct choice, which is another formula that places the onus of making the “correct choice” on the other party and not China.

For Xi, stabilizing bilateral relations and strengthening communication were important. In his view, “we have established a new status called the ‘China-US Constructive Strategic Stable Relationship’" with the US. He added that the two sides had “achieved important agreements on stabilizing economic and trade relations, expanding practical cooperation in various fields, and properly handling mutual concerns.” The reference is to properly handling figures in statements that China makes on border issues with India. The sub-text is that it is not China but the other side that fails to properly address differences.

In his opening remarks to Trump at the formal talks, Xi called on the US to be “partners, not rivals,” and made a reference to overcoming the Thucydides trap. He has done so in the past, but that he chose to do so when the debate over this concept is no longer current internationally, suggests that Xi wanted to revive the debate and convey that China was now the risen power that was in a position to potentially clash with the US as the established power.

Trump seems to have understood the message belatedly and later in his Truth Social post called this an elegant way by Xi to refer to the US as a declining power. The subtle message here by Xi is also that China and the US are the principal powers today and bear the shared responsibility for global peace and prosperity – a possible hint of a G2.