Six Ukrainian nationals accused of providing drone warfare training to armed groups in Myanmar were freed on bail in India after the country’s counterterrorism agency failed to file terror charges within the mandatory 180 days of their arrest.

The immigration charges against the Ukrainians – Viktor Kaminskyi, Petro Hurba, Taras Slyviak, Ivan Sukmanovskyi, Marian Stefankiv, and Maksim Honcharuk – were also settled before the Foreigners Regional Registration Office. However, they will have to remain in Delhi while the investigation is ongoing.

The six, arrested by India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) in March along with American national Matthew Aaron VanDyke, had allegedly trained members of Myanmar-based ethnic armed groups, including the Chin National Front and Kachin Independence Army, in drone warfare, operations, assembly, and jamming technology.

However, the agency’s initial chargesheet filed on September 8 accused the seven foreigners of only relatively mild illegal entry and visa violations under the Immigration and Foreigners Act – and no charge was brought under India’s primary anti-terror law, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

The same Delhi court had last week given bail to VanDyke for the same reasons.

The seven were described as “mercenaries” and were alleged to have participated in combat operations and in a drone attack on a Burmese passenger plane. UAVs and related equipment detained by Indian customs authorities were later seized during the probe.

Indian investigators arrested them after alleging they had entered the country on tourist visas, traveled through the northeastern state of Mizoram without mandatory permits, and crossed into neighboring Myanmar illegally.

An Indian seafarer was killed when a commercial ship was attacked off the coast of Oman on Wednesday.

The Antigua and Barbuda-flagged bulk carrier MV Cape Dao was reportedly hit by two torpedoes, killing crew member Suraj Yadav from Deoria in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

All the other crew members, including 19 other Indian nationals, have been rescued. An Omani warship helped with the rescue operations, reports said.

The attack caused damage near the engine room and accommodation area, the Forward Seamen’s Union of India (FSUI) posted on X. Some reports said the ship, which was sailing from the port of Mina Saqr in the United Arab Emirates to India, was struck by projectiles. No group or country has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.

Another Indian seafarer killed.
Wiper Suraj Yadav of Deoria, Uttar Pradesh, is dead after MV Cape Dao was attacked today while sailing toward India.
28 crew on board, 20 of them Indian.
Two torpedoes: • Port side C-deck (accommodation) • Port side hull (engine room)
Assurances… pic.twitter.com/AvrD2p1Cwd

— FSUI (@FSUIINDIA) September 23, 2026

The Indian Foreign Ministry condemned the attack and said “the targeting of commercial shipping, seafarers and civilian infrastructure in the region must end.”

The Indian Embassy in Oman is closely monitoring the situation and coordinating with Omani authorities to facilitate the early repatriation of the rescued seafarers.

At least ten Indian nationals have died so far in attacks on commercial shipping in the Middle East since the start of hostilities there.

India is the second largest supplier of seafarers, with more than 300,000 Indians working in the shipping industry globally. New Delhi has repeatedly condemned such attacks and issued advisories for its nationals on ships transiting the Gulf and Black Sea conflict zones amid the rising attacks on commercial shipping.

Russian crude supplies helped cushion India from an oil-supply shock after the conflict in the Middle East disrupted energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz, showing Moscow’s reliability as an energy partner, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko has said.

Rudenko’s statement comes amid renewed scrutiny on India’s Russian oil purchases, and after Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky called for choking off Russia’s oil trade under a new US sanctions law.

Indian refiners turned heavily to Russian crude after the US-Israeli attacks on Iran disrupted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which used to handle roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies.

The scale of the shift was most visible in March, when India’s Russian crude imports nearly doubled from the previous month to 2.25 million barrels per day (bpd) and accounted for half of its oil purchases.

Gulf shipments to India simultaneously plunged 61% to 1.18 million bpd. Existing arrangements between Moscow and New Delhi helped “significantly mitigate” the consequences of disruptions to global energy trade, Rudenko told Russian news outlet NEWS.ru on Wednesday.

It showed Moscow could meet demand from its partners even in difficult geopolitical conditions, he added.

Good to meet @SecRubio of the US #UNHighLevelWeek

Reiterated India’s interests and concerns with regard to SRIA. Also discussed the Gulf and Ukraine situations.

🇮🇳 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/163YRVlMZG

— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) September 23, 2026

Meanwhile, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar, who is in New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly meeting, raised New Delhi’s concerns about the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday.

The law gives US President Donald Trump the authority to impose up to 100% tariffs on the top buyers of Russian oil and gas. India’s Russian oil purchases have eased from record summer levels as other supplies recovered, but Moscow remains India’s largest crude supplier.

Russia remains India’s largest crude supplier despite a second consecutive monthly decline in purchases, with September imports tracking at around 1.9 million barrels per day, according to commodity analytics firm Kpler.

Russian shipments reached a record 2.8 million barrels per day in July, before falling to around 2.1 million in August – a drop of about 25% on Kpler’s figures. India’s overall crude imports also fell nearly 8% during August to around 4.6 million barrels per day, showing the slowdown was not limited to Russian supplies.

The August pullback followed several months of heavy buying by Indian refiners as they sought to protect supplies amid disruptions linked to the conflict in the Middle East. Scheduled refinery maintenance and lower availability of Russian crude also contributed to the decline, while stronger competition from Chinese refiners reduced the number of Russian barrels available to India.

Russian supplies had surged earlier in the summer, rising 39% from May to 2.61 million barrels per day in June and accounting for 52.4% of India’s crude imports. Purchases then climbed further to the July record.

The decline is expected to continue in September, but at a slower pace. Preliminary Kpler data show Russian imports about 9.5% below August levels, a softer fall than the July-August correction.

Vladimir Zelensky has attempted to blame New Delhi over the West’s failure to end the conflict in Ukraine, right after the Indian foreign minister discussed peace efforts and bilateral cooperation with his Ukrainian counterpart in New York.

”Russia is basing its economy on India, sometimes Turkey and China,” Zelensky said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday.

The Ukrainian leader is in New York seeking more weapons and cash amid a $27 billion hole in Ukraine’s budget and a frontline collapse. The conflict is now in its fifth year, laying bare the West’s foreign policy failures, and Zelensky seemed to be making a case to US President Donald Trump to use his new sanctions authority to punish Russia’s trading partners.

But in India, the largest buyer of Russian oil besides China, the pitch has come across more as a call to punish New Delhi specifically.

Trump, who is set to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping soon in New York, would be loath to sanction China, especially after Beijing retaliated against earlier US tariffs with restrictions on exports of rare-earth metals and magnets that are crucial to US industries.

“Russia is basing its economy on India” and “ sometimes Turkey and China”.

How can he make this ridiculous assertion?

China is by far Russia’s biggest trade partner, including in energy.

Turkey is very critical as a country for Russia. Russia and Turkey are connected by major… https://t.co/Jr7IsZzcOS

— Kanwal Sibal (@KanwalSibal) September 23, 2026

Russian oil accounted for about 45% of New Delhi’s crude imports in August, at around 2.1 million barrels per day. The numbers were slightly lower in September, tracking at about 1.9 million barrels per day, according to commodity analytics firm Kpler.

India has said it remains committed to securing energy supplies for its 1.4 billion people and will take the necessary measures to protect its trade and economic interests amid repeated US tariff threats. New Delhi has also warned Washington of the sanctions impacting bilateral ties and global energy markets.

”This conflict … will not be solved because somebody is buying or not buying oil or alumina or minerals or metals or fertilizer,” Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar had said earlier this month in Kiev. He had discussed peace efforts, bilateral cooperation, and developments in the Black Sea, affecting markets with his Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha in New York just before Zelensky gave his interview.

Russia remains an important source of minerals and metals throughout the world amid supply chain disruptions. The US, too, has carved out exemptions for Russian uranium in the sanctions law it just passed.

Zelensky’s interview triggered some anger in Indian foreign policy circles. “How can he make this ridiculous assertion?” former Indian foreign secretary Kanwal Sybal posted on X. “China is by far Russia’s biggest trade partner, including in energy. Zelensky is targeting us openly.”

The West has “completely” misread India’s relationship with Russia by reducing it largely to one over oil, and overlooking the wider geopolitical, economic, and strategic ties between New Delhi and Moscow, former Indian Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai told RT.

Russia has historically helped India maintain strategic autonomy and contributed to its economic transformation, and remains important for future supply chains involving critical minerals, food inputs, and other key resources, Mathai told former Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid on the latest episode of RT India’s ‘In Conversation’.

“They have very clearly misunderstood the depth and the scope of India’s relationship with Russia,” Mathai stated. “I think it’s a complete misreading.”

Russia remains a major source of crude for India, with imports tracking at around 1.95 million barrels per day so far in September, according to commodity analytics firm Kpler. India-Russia trade reached $79 billion last year, having grown sevenfold in the last five years, Russian Economic Development Minister Maksim Reshetnikov told RT India earlier this month. 

Russia has also recently been buying gasoline and other fuels from India after Ukrainian drone attacks damaged some of its refining capacity. 

Mathai was the Indian foreign secretary from August 2011 to July 2013. He noted that the global rules were written by the West at a time when those countries dominated the world economically and politically – and that they want those rules to continue.

China, he pointed out, is increasingly seen as capable of shaping global rules because of its dominant position in fields including renewable energy, electric vehicles, artificial intelligence, and other emerging technologies.

China and India are both fast-growing major economies but China’s GDP was $19.5 trillion last year, according to World Bank data, compared to India’s $4.5 trillion.

“If we want to be a rule maker, we have to be able to significantly increase our weight in the global economy and particularly in the new technologies which are emerging,” Mathai said.

He added that Indian diplomacy should keep the welfare of its citizens living in Gulf countries top of the agenda amid the Middle East conflict, noting that New Delhi had maintained dialogue with Iran while preserving its relationship with Israel. An estimated 8-9 million Indians live and work across the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

Geopolitical tensions and active conflicts are putting the global order under growing strain, India has warned, saying that multilateralism must “assert itself strongly” to protect international cooperation.

Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar made the remarks at the inaugural Partners for Multilateralism, International Law, Peace and Prosperity (P4M) Summit in New York on Monday, held on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

The Indian foreign minister called for “reformed multilateralism,” saying more participative deliberations and transparent decision-making were overdue and could strengthen confidence in the UN system.

”Multilateralism will be best served when international law, rules, and norms are scrupulously observed,” he said.

Jaishankar pointed to the impact of ongoing conflicts on fuel, food, fertilizer, and finance, saying those pressures could be addressed even as countries pursue broader peace efforts. He also called for diversification where global supply chains face chokepoints, dominance, or disruption, and for safeguards around emerging technologies and capabilities.

Addressed the inaugural ‘Partners for Multilateralism, International Law, Peace and Prosperity (P4M) Summit’ #UNGA81#UNHighLevelWeek pic.twitter.com/eCNJnRT8HS

— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) September 21, 2026

The P4M initiative brings together India, Australia, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Kenya, and the European Union as its initial co-sponsors. Its declaration calls for the UN and other multilateral institutions to become more representative, inclusive, and effective, alongside greater cooperation on resilient supply chains, international finance, artificial intelligence, climate change, and global health.

The push aligns with a similar call by India at the BRICS Summit in New Delhi earlier this month. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said global governance should reflect present-day realities and called for greater representation of the Global South, including at the UN Security Council.

India’s bid for permanent Security Council membership received fresh backing in New York. Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar said the Visegrad Group – Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic – supported India becoming a permanent member of the council.

Russia is redirecting trade away from Europe and the United States toward India, China, and other Global South markets, with friendly countries now accounting for 85% of its foreign trade, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has said.

Trade with these partners reached around $299 billion (25 trillion rubles) in the first half of 2026, while Russian exports rose 15% year-on-year, Mishustin said in a video address to the Moscow Financial Forum on Monday.

“Trade with Europe and the United States is being reoriented toward the markets of China, India, Central Asia, Africa, and the Middle East,” he said.

The shift extends beyond commodities and energy, Moscow’s biggest exports. Russia’s non-resource and non-energy exports to countries it considers friendly increased 11% in the first half of the year, according to the prime minister.

Russia’s overall non-commodity and non-energy exports reached $58.8 billion in January-June, up 3% from a year earlier, Russian Industry and Trade Minister Anton Alikhanov said earlier this month. Chemicals, fertilizers, metals, and pharmaceuticals were among the sectors that recorded growth.

🚨 Russia redirects trade from EU, US towards India and other Global South markets: PM Mishustin

Friendly countries now account for 85% of Russia’s foreign trade.

Trade flows are shifting towards India, China, Central Asia, Africa and the Middle East, the Russian prime minister… pic.twitter.com/2q0AVe2UYx

— Sputnik India (@Sputnik_India) September 21, 2026

India has emerged as an important part of Moscow’s trade expansion effort. Bilateral trade currently hovers around $60 billion annually, with New Delhi and Moscow targeting $100 billion in annual trade and $50 billion in two-way investments by 2030.

Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said earlier this month that higher Indian exports of pharmaceuticals, engineering goods, chemicals, textiles, food products, marine products, and auto components would be central to increasing and rebalancing bilateral trade.

The push received fresh impetus when Russian President Vladimir Putin met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit earlier this month. The leaders reviewed economic cooperation and discussed closer trade ties.

India’s fertilizer industry is facing renewed pressure from soaring sulfur prices as attacks on energy infrastructure in Russia and the Middle East tighten supplies of a key raw material used in phosphate fertilizers.

Landed sulfur prices in India have doubled since the start of the year to around $1,050-$1,100 per ton, raising costs for producers of diammonium phosphate (DAP), single super phosphate (SSP), and other complex fertilizers.

India consumes around 3.8-3.9 million tons of sulfur annually, with more than half used by the fertilizer industry. Indian companies use sulfur and phosphate rock to manufacture fertilizers domestically. Sulfur availability is key for food security in the world’s most populous nation.

Most sulfur is recovered as a byproduct of oil refining and natural gas processing rather than mined directly. It is then converted into sulfuric acid, which is used to process phosphate rock for fertilizers such as DAP and SSP.

Ukraine doubled the number of Russian refineries targeted in the first five months of the year compared with the same period in last year, Reuters reported. Moscow has restricted exports of sulfur and sulfuric acid to protect supplies for its domestic fertilizer industry amid the disruptions. Sulfuric acid export restrictions are set to remain in place through the end of the year.

India’s exports to its four core BRICS partners jumped 34% in the first five months of the current financial year, with engineering and electronics exports to China driving the growth as New Delhi expands trade across major emerging markets.

Shipments to China, Russia, Brazil, and South Africa rose to $19.9 billion in the April-August period, from $14.9 billion a year ago, according to Indian Commerce Ministry data.

Indian exports to China rose 39% to $9.6 billion, with industry executives linking some of the increase to demand from the global build-out of artificial intelligence and data centers.

“It shows that Indian manufacturing is beginning to win credibility in one of the world’s most competitive global value chains,” chairman of the Indian Cellular and Electronics Association Pankaj Mohindroo told the Business Standard newspaper.

India and China have been rapidly normalizing bilateral ties, which had largely frozen following a border skirmish in 2020.

South Africa recorded the fastest growth rate, with shipments climbing 58%, while exports to Brazil and Russia increased 13% and 11%, respectively. Shipments to Brazil stood at $3.46 billion, and those to Russia at $2.04 billion.

India-Russia trade rose to $79 billion last year, Russian Economic Development Minister Maksim Reshetnikov told RT on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in New Delhi. The two countries have a trade target of $100 billion to be achieved by 2030.

India still runs large trade deficits with Russia and China. India, the second largest buyer of Russian crude, imported about $40.8 billion of Russian oil in the year ended March. New Delhi imported about $131.6 billion worth of goods from China in the same period.

A US national arrested along with six Ukrainians by India’s anti-terror agency for allegedly providing terror training to armed groups in neighboring Myanmar, was granted bail by a Delhi court on Friday.

The court granted the bail after the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which arrested them in March, failed to file a chargesheet on the terror charges within the mandatory 180-day period. The judge said that the agency’s chargesheet, which contained only sections relating to immigration, was a “piecemeal” job, according to the Bar and Bench website which reports on court proceedings.

That the agency is still investigating the offenses under the more stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or UAPA, does not mean that VanDyke is not entitled to default bail, Special NIA Judge Prashant Sharma said.

He added that all the other co-accused persons in the case are also entitled to default bail, if they apply for it. 

VanDyke is the founder of Sons of Liberty International, which provides military training in conflict zones. He has reportedly been involved in conflicts in the past, including fighting with Libyan rebels in 2011.

The agency had previously told the court it had found evidence that multiple consignments of drones from Europe were delivered by the accused to individuals and groups in the northeastern Indian state of Mizoram, and that they were involved in a drone strike on a Burmese civilian plane.

The seven were arrested from different cities while trying to fly out of India.

The court said that while on bail, VanDyke must stay in Delhi and appear before the NIA whenever required. He will be released on a personal bond of about $1,000 and a surety of the same amount.

Indian fuel exports could come under pressure if Saudi Arabia’s crude supply halt persists, an analyst has told RT, with refiners facing higher replacement costs and the risk of lower export volumes if supplies tighten further.

State-owned Saudi Aramco has reportedly told Indian refiners it will stop contracted crude supplies until further notice after attacks damaged the kingdom’s East-West Pipeline, a key alternative route as flows through the Strait of Hormuz remain disrupted. Aramco accounted for around 9% of India’s crude imports since the Middle East conflict began.

Indian refiners supplied about 60% of Europe’s diesel last month and about 15% of jet fuel in July, and any pressure on export volumes or prices can have cascading effects around the globe. For now, strong diesel margins are supporting Indian exports despite elevated crude prices, energy sector analyst and senior VP at Indian ratings agency ICRA, Prashant Vasisht, told RT.

Shortages in several markets are keeping demand for refined products strong, meaning exports may not be materially affected unless crude availability deteriorates sharply, he said.

Russia’s role as India’s largest crude supplier could become even more important if Saudi flows remain disrupted, depending on the sanctions environment, Vasisht told RT in a telephone interview. India faces up to 100% additional US tariffs for buying Russian energy, from a legislation passed by Congress on Wednesday. New Delhi has warned that any tariffs could affect the international energy market, and bilateral ties.

Russian-Asian rapprochement in the Arctic is currently unfolding along two distinct tracks: the first driven by logistics and operations, and the second focused on resources and investment.

Russia’s new Trans-Arctic Transport Corridor (TATC), whose key section is the Northern Sea Route (NSR) running along its Arctic coast, is intended domestically to connect major Russian ports – from St. Petersburg through Murmansk to Vladivostok – and link them to inland cities and towns via land, rail, sea and inland waterway networks.

On the international front, the larger TATC is aimed at linking the consumer markets of Europe and Asia via shorter, safer, more cost-effective, and alternative maritime routes. Similarly, on the resource and investment side, Russia remains keenly interested in developing Arctic and Siberian potential in critical minerals, energy resources, and infrastructure projects that require capital and technology.

The overall Russian approach in the Arctic remains focused on linking its energy and mineral projects in mainland Russia, the Arctic, Siberia, and the Far East to the TATC through multimodal transport connectivity.

The ice is moving

Last month marked a turning point for container transit along the NSR when Sea Legend Shipping launched its regular container service – the China-Europe Arctic Express – consisting of eight voyages, that are scheduled between August and early October 2026. The first shipment, which set sail from China’s Ningbo-Zhoushan port on August 15 via the Northern Sea Route, reached the Port of Teesport in the United Kingdom on September 9 – in just 25 days.

Similarly, South Korea’s PanStar Group has conducted its own pilot voyage along the NSR to European ports, carrying chemical products. South Korea’s Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and Panstar reported on Monday that the containership Panstar Arco has completed the first leg of its demonstration voyage, reaching the UK and Rotterdam on September 12 and 13 respectively – successfully covering the route in 21 days. The vessel will then sail to Gdynia, Poland, where it is expected to load additional cargo before beginning the return trip. The vessel is currently scheduled to return to Busan on October 12.

While Seoul hopes this pilot test will position Busan as a leading Arctic shipping hub, currently there are no plans to move regular commercial traffic along the NSR until 2030.

India’s logic of engagement

Against this backdrop, India’s interest in the Russian Arctic is positioned quiet differently. It is primarily about integrating into the resource and investment aspect of the region. The economic viability of sending goods to Europe from India by transiting the entire NSR remains unfavorable for the foreseeable future, but it does offer a secure, strategic alternative maritime route to the traditional shipping lanes, given ongoing geopolitical challenges.

Similarly, some segments or shipping connectivity between India and Eastern ports of Russia along the NSR can become viable options for enhancing point-to-point shipping connectivity between both the countries, if Russia becomes successful in integrating those with its energy and mineral development projects in the region.

New prospects for India-Russia partnership

The India-Russia partnership dates back to the 1971 Indo-Soviet Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation. Despite contemporary global geopolitical challenges, the underlying character of India-Russia bilateral cooperation has remained intact.

On bilateral trade and economic fronts, it in fact has grown exponentially. Despite western pressures, India’s oil imports for Russia have continued and it has emerged as a significant factor in supporting the Russian economy in challenging times. In 2022, India’s oil imports from Russia surged to $45.9 billion and crossed $79 billion last year.

Russia’s Pivot to the Arctic and its planned large-scale projects in terms of shipping, energy, and mineral development need Indian industrial attention to take these trade figures between the countries to new highs in the future.

Critical minerals

India’s projected demand for rare and critical metals is expected to increase four to tenfold by 2047. India is heavily dependent on imports of lithium, cobalt, nickel, and a number of other rare-earth elements. Furthermore, India’s net cumulative demand for minerals such as copper, graphite, silicon, and nickel is also expected to increase exponentially between 2025 and 2070. Russia’s resource base appears almost ideally complementary to such Indian needs.

The Pavlovskoye lead-zinc deposit in the Novaya Zemlya archipelago; the Tomtor deposits, which constitute one of the largest deposits of niobium and rare-earth elements in Yakutia; and the Angara-Yenisey cluster for the deep processing of non-ferrous and rare metals in Siberia are some of the potential projects that could fulfill India’s future mineral resource demands. Any significant progress in terms of joint investments and partnership could open new prospects for India-Russia economic partnership and reduce Indian reliance on traditional hegemons for these resources.

Energy imports to refined exports

India’s demand for oil is expected to be around 14 million barrels per day by 2050, while its gas consumption is also expected to rise to 103 billion cubic meters annually by 2030. Of this, around 65 billion cubic meters would be supplied by India’s LNG imports.

India, on the other hand, possesses substantial refining capabilities in terms of crude and its related derivatives while Russia is currently facing difficulties in meeting its own demand for refined petroleum products. This is opening another avenue for greater cooperation between the two sides. India has recently scaled up deliveries of refined petroleum products to Russia to meet its domestic needs.

Shipping synergy

In March this year, New Delhi allocated approximately $8.4 billion to bolster shipbuilding, shipbreaking, and maintenance infrastructure under the ‘Make in India’ initiative. Concurrently, Russia’s growing demand for vessel construction and maintenance presents high-value opportunities for Indian shipbuilding and ship-repair enterprises. Synergizing these capabilities directly aligns with both nations’ strategic interests, offering a mutually beneficial avenue for bilateral maritime cooperation. Both Russia and India are placing significant emphasis on developing sustainable maritime operations for the future.

Both countries are pursuing major reforms to build greener ports and cleaner maritime infrastructure, promote alternative fuels, deploy hybrid and electric vessels, and launch green shipping corridors. They are also focusing on advanced technologies and AI to modernize ports and improve logistics and cargo handling – creating strong potential for high-value economic cooperation between India and Russia.

In its efforts to advance its artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, India has recently allocated about $1.25 billion to the IndiaAI mission. Similarly, India’s ‘Semicon India Programme’ aims to build a self-reliant semiconductor ecosystem in the country. Such initiatives create new avenues for collaboration in high-growth digital sectors between India and Russia.

Russia’s Arctic pivot to the East is the sum of several parallel experiments at different stages of maturity. Container shipping along the NSR remains niche, seasonal, and dependent on who ultimately assumes the commercial risks. Russia’s Atomflot tariff depends on a vessel’s gross tonnage, ice class, distance, and the period of escort. Added to this are the higher costs of icebreaker escorts, high insurance premiums for Arctic voyages, and the need for crews trained to operate in Arctic conditions. Despite these challenges, countries like China and South Korea are already sending test consignments to Europe via the NSR and are competing for the benefits of first movers.

Russia’s total foreign trade turnover reached $697.3 billion in 2025, of which 73.4% was accounted for by Asia. India contributed approximately $63.6 billion, and remains Russia’s second-largest trading partner after China, significantly ahead of the UAE, Brazil, Iran, and South Africa.

India has highlighted its plans to send its first cargo via the NSR by 2027, but its broader comprehensive plans for the region are still at the nascent stage of development. Opening up of the Russian Arctic offers immense new untapped business potential for India and Russia, requiring a stronger government push and greater Indian industrial exposure.

This would not only help India and Russia to reach their bilateral trade target of $100 billion by 2030, but to surpass it in the future.

India is preparing to become a “trusted” global chipmaking hub as it expands its government-backed semiconductor program, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has told an industry conference, while laying out a vision to build a broader hi-tech industry in the country.

“The world needs new and trusted locations for chip manufacturing and India is preparing itself for this,” Modi told the SEMICON India 2026 conference in New Delhi on Thursday.

The pitch positions India to benefit from the surge in demand for chips – driven by the boom in artificial intelligence and data centers – which has outpaced production and driven up prices. It also offers up the country as an alternative manufacturing destination for companies amid global supply-chain worries and geopolitical tensions.

The start of commercial production at two Indian semiconductor facilities was announced at the event, taking the number of chip production units in the country to five. Twelve chip fabrication plants have been approved under Semicon 2.0, India’s ambitious semiconductor mission, which is backed by $13.5 billion in funding.

India is preparing today for the chips of tomorrow!

Semiconductor Mission 2.0

Deeper reforms.

A growing pipeline of projects.

An entire ecosystem is being built and at the core of it are our youth. pic.twitter.com/AY9XskTxeW

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 17, 2026

“This year, we are talking about the commercial production of our chips. India’s chips will go out to the world,” Modi said. He urged companies to expand research and development in India and called for the growth of fabless semiconductor firms, which design chips without operating their own fabrication plants.

Semicon 2.0 aims to broaden India’s semiconductor ecosystem to chip design, semiconductor equipment and materials, fabrication, advanced packaging, research and development, and talent development. Modi said the number of projects is expected to increase as the domestic ecosystem is built out.

Lam Research plans to invest around $1.04 billion over the next several years to establish its first silicon-component manufacturing facility in India and expand its research operations. The proposed facility will cover silicon ingot production and processing for advanced semiconductor technologies.

India’s semiconductor demand is projected to reach $87 billion by FY2030 and $206 billion by FY2035, according to the roadmap released by the country’s planning body, NITI Aayog. New Delhi spent almost $150 billion on semiconductor product imports between FY2017 and FY2025, while domestic manufacturing remains at an early stage.

India has also sought to expand cooperation in advanced technologies through the BRICS forum. The bloc’s New Delhi Declaration, adopted last week, backed greater cooperation in artificial intelligence and quantum technologies and welcomed a proposal to create BRICS Global Research Advanced Infrastructure Network centers.

Indian Army Chief General Dhiraj Seth is in Russia on a three-day official visit through Friday, where he will hold talks with Russian Land Forces chief Colonel General Andrei Mordvichev as the two countries deepen military cooperation. 

One of the key topics on Seth’s agenda is the availability of spare parts and supplies for Russian-origin military equipment in service with the Indian Army. The issue is also critical for the many upgrade programs New Delhi is running to extend the service life of some Russian hardware, such as the T90 Bhishma tanks.

Russia accounted for 40% of India’s arms imports over 2021 to 2025, making it the largest supplier over that period, according to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute data. In March, India signed a $46 million contract with Russia’s Rosoboronexport to procure the Tunguska air defense missile systems for the Indian Army.

Seth’s talks with Mordvichev are expected to cover professional military cooperation, training, and other areas of mutual interest. He is also scheduled to visit Russia’s National Defense Control Centre in Moscow and meet senior Defense Ministry officials, including Deputy Defense Minister Vasily Osmakov, whose portfolio covers defense industry and procurement.

📹 India Army Chief Pays Tribute At Moscow’s Tomb Of Unknown Soldier

Gen Dhiraj Seth began his Russia visit by laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Alexander Garden, honouring fallen soldiers.

The ceremony was held on Wednesday alongside senior Russian Ground… pic.twitter.com/x67sm8nV79

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) September 17, 2026

The India-Russia defense relationship has expanded beyond equipment purchases to joint production and technology cooperation, including projects such as the BrahMos missile. India and Russia also conduct regular military exercises, including the Indra series, which is a part of bilateral defense cooperation since 2003.

The Indian Army chief received a ceremonial Guard of Honor and paid tributes to fallen soldiers at Moscow’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The Indian Defense Ministry said the visit is aimed at strengthening the longstanding defense partnership and military-to-military cooperation between the two countries.

Seth will later travel to St. Petersburg, where he is scheduled to visit the Mikhailovskaya Military Artillery Academy and meet its leadership and faculty.

India has said it remains “firmly committed” to ensuring energy security for its 1.4 billion people, in response to the threat of steep new tariffs from the Russia sanctions bill that cleared the US Congress on Wednesday.

“The Indian side has also made clear its determination to take all necessary measures to protect its trade and economic interests,” the Indian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

The new US bill mandates up to 100% additional trade tariffs on the top buyers of Russian oil. India is the second-largest buyer of Russian oil, after China.

Russian crude accounted for 45% of Indian oil imports in August, at around 2.1 million barrels per day. New Delhi bought $40.8 billion of Russian crude in the financial year that ended in March, or about 30.3% of its total crude imports, according to the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) think tank.

The House of Representatives passed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 in a 262-159 vote on Wednesday, following the bill’s approval by the Senate last month. The legislation now goes to US President Donald Trump to be signed into law.

Our statement on passage of the Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act in the US Congress

🔗 https://t.co/kD0Yg9sWbU pic.twitter.com/rSc21AqwEh

— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) September 17, 2026

The Indian Foreign Ministry said the issue had been discussed at high levels in recent months with US officials, and that New Delhi had clearly conveyed the potential implications for both bilateral relations and the international energy market.

The Indian government will work closely with trade and industry bodies to deal with the implications, the Foreign Ministry said, adding New Delhi would continue to ensure energy security through diversified sourcing and on the basis of evolving market dynamics.

India summoned Pakistan’s envoy in New Delhi on Wednesday after a Pakistani Navy ship collided with an Indian Navy warship, which was on a routine surveillance mission in international waters in the northern part of the Arabian Sea.

The collision took place Tuesday evening after the Pakistani vessel approached the Indian warship at high speed in rough seas, according to Indian media reports citing sources. The Pakistani ship was reportedly maneuvering in “an unsafe and unprofessional manner” when the collision occurred.

No major damage was reported and one report said the Pakistani ship “grazed” the Indian ship. Both vessels moved away after the collision.

The Indian Foreign Ministry lodged a strong protest over what it called the “unacceptable and unprofessional conduct” of Pakistani naval units at sea. It said the Pakistani vessel’s conduct violated a 1991 bilateral agreement on advance notice of military exercises, maneuvers, and troop movements.

Pakistan’s charge d’affaires in New Delhi, Saad Ahmad Warraich, was asked to convey to Islamabad that military units should exercise due care and respect existing bilateral agreements to prevent a repeat of such incidents. The Pakistani diplomat was at the ministry’s Janpath office for around 30 minutes, according to local reports.

India will question Google over a network of 513,847 Gmail accounts that were unearthed in a probe into recent bomb threats targeting government offices and countries that participated in the BRICS Summit in New Delhi.

Police in the western Indian state of Gujarat uncovered the database of email credentials from two people arrested over bomb threats to the state’s top lawmaking body, the Legislative Assembly, as well as the offices of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, and countries participating in the summit. Similar emails were also sent to ten schools and three courts in Gujarat.

Gujarat is the home state of both Modi and Shah. The threats were later found to be hoaxes.

Roshan Kumar Bhumihar, arrested from Bhagalpur in the eastern Bihar state, led the police to Gulshan Kumar Singh from Deoghar in neighboring Jharkhand state, who allegedly supplied the Gmail accounts used to send the threats out. Singh was also arrested, and the devices used to transmit the threats were seized.

Police say Singh had been generating email IDs in bulk since 2022 and supplying them as ready-to-use accounts. Investigators are surprised at how the large number of accounts were created and operated without getting caught in Google’s security systems.

“We will write to Google, ask them to make some policy changes so [safeguards] cannot be bypassed,” senior Gujarat Police cybercrime official Vivek Bheda said, according to local reports.

China has said it is ready to expand trade and economic cooperation with India and address each other’s concerns following recent high-level talks in New Delhi.

”China stands ready to work with India to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries,” Chinese Embassy spokesperson Yu Jing wrote in a post on X on Monday.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the recently concluded BRICS summit, where they underlined the need to deliver on issues important to each side, including the structural trade imbalance, supply chain issues, and the facilitation of meaningful and predictable market access. 

On Monday, Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal followed that up with a meeting in New Delhi aimed at understanding each other’s positions on various trade-related problems, Indian Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said. 

The two Asian neighbors are seeking to build on a recent thaw in bilateral ties, which were frozen following a border skirmish in 2020. India recently allowed Chinese investment in strategic sectors and industries and the two countries have re-established air and trade links.

China's Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao met with Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal in Delhi.

India is an important neighbor of China. China stands ready to work with India to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries,… pic.twitter.com/2oLJweWLoD

— Yu Jing (@ChinaSpox_India) September 14, 2026

Beijing wants to expand “mutually beneficial cooperation in the economic and trade fields” and “properly address each other’s economic and trade concerns in a balanced manner,” the Chinese Embassy spokesperson added.

India’s trade deficit with China rose to $112.16 billion in the financial year ended March, as imports reached $131.63 billion. Beijing is now New Delhi’s biggest trading partner, with Chinese goods accounting for nearly 17% of imports. A significant share of these imports are inputs needed for Indian industry, such as machinery, electronics, and critical and rare-earth minerals.

Modi and Xi on Saturday reviewed the broader India-China relationship, and agreed on the need to work on outstanding points of mutual concern. They also called for stronger business links and greater mobility between the two countries.

The two leaders also expressed commitment to a fair, reasonable, and mutually acceptable resolution of the boundary question.

The Rules Committee of the US House advanced a new Russia sanctions bill on Monday, rejecting an amendment from a Democratic lawmaker that sought to name India and China specifically as among the tariff targets, and setting up its final vote on the full floor.

The measure, once it becomes law, would give President Donald Trump the authority to impose tariffs of up to 100% on the top purchasers of Russian oil and gas. The bill, formally titled the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, was approved by the US Senate on August 7 in an 86-11 vote. 

India is the second largest buyer of Russian oil, after China. New Delhi has defended its purchases of Russian crude, arguing that its decisions are guided by national interests and the need to ensure energy security for its 1.4 billion population. In August, Russia supplied around 2.1 million barrels per day of oil, accounting for 45% of India’s crude imports. 

“This conflict, which is today in its fifth year, will not be solved because somebody is buying or not buying oil or alumina or minerals or metals or fertilizer,” Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said in Kiev earlier this month. “This conflict will be solved by dialogue, by diplomacy, by negotiation.”

The House Rules Committee rejected amendments submitted by two Democratic lawmakers before teeing up the bill for a full floor vote, which could come this week. Speaker Mike Johnson has said he could fast-track the bill before the House departs on a seven-week recess Thursday.

The tariff provision has faced opposition from some US lawmakers, including Democratic Congressman Gregory Meeks, who proposed his own amendment on removing Section 113, which grants the president authority to impose broad secondary tariffs on countries trading with Russia. However, the Rules Committee also rejected it.  

The proposed tariffs form part of a broader sanctions package targeting Russia’s leadership and energy sector, as well as vessels Washington says are used to circumvent restrictions on Russian oil deliveries. The measure also provides for sanctions against senior Russian officials, banks, and business figures.

The third unit of India’s largest nuclear power plant, built to a Russian design, is “practically in the final stages of completion” and its physical startup is expected next spring, the CEO of Russia’s Rosatom has said.

Aleksey Likhachev said Russia has “supplied 99% of our equipment” for the unit. The Kudankulam plant in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu is a collaborative project between the state-owned Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) and Atomstroyexport, a unit of Rosatom.

Physical startup is a testing phase, when nuclear fuel is loaded into the reactor and it attains a self-sustained and controlled chain reaction before it can start full power generation.

The plant will have six units when completed. Russia supplies the critical nuclear components, design blueprints, and enriched uranium fuel for the plant, while Indian engineers carry out the construction alongside Russian advisers. The first two units were connected to the grid in 2013 and 2016, respectively.

The commissioning operations for the fourth unit will begin by the end of next year, Likhachev told RT on the sidelines of the just-concluded BRICS Summit in New Delhi. He added that commissioning operations for the fifth and sixth units will begin in 2028-2029.

The Russian CEO emphasized that such deep nuclear cooperation requires “a special relationship of trust between heads of state, between governments, and between peoples… it can only be developed by peoples who have been bound together by close ties for decades.” 

Bilateral nuclear cooperation was one of the key topics in the discussion between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit.

Russia holds a unique place in India’s defense relationship that cannot be replaced by another country, former BrahMos Aerospace CEO Sudhir Mishra has said, adding that New Delhi can further deepen cooperation with Moscow while maintaining partnerships with other countries.

India is already expanding defense technology cooperation with Russia while developing ties with the US and other Western nations, Mishra told RT India. He said New Delhi’s policy of multi-alignment allows it to work with different partners without diminishing its relationship with Moscow.

“We have a very special relationship with Russia and nobody can replace it,” Mishra said. “It’s just not possible for any country to replace [it].” 

Trust built through decades of scientific and technological cooperation has been central to the relationship, he said. BrahMos, jointly developed by India and Russia, is among the world’s fastest cruise missiles and has land, sea, and air variants. The missile was employed by Indian forces against Pakistani targets last year.

Mishra described joint ventures as “the way to go,” adding the BrahMos model gave India confidence to pursue the co-development of the AK-203 rifle.

India and Russia are also working together on technologies that feed into modern weapons development, rather than focusing only on finished systems, Mishra said, citing artificial intelligence, blockchain, precision manufacturing, advanced materials, and composites.

“We are working together with Russia to develop those technologies,” he said.

India’s drive for defense self-reliance has meanwhile expanded beyond DRDO to private companies and design bureaus within the country’s armed forces, Mishra noted.

Russia’s Rosatom is in “confidential talks” with Indian private companies on building nuclear power plants in India, CEO Aleksey Likhachev has said, without revealing the names of the players involved.

India is seeking to raise its nuclear generating capacity to 100 GW by 2047, from the current 8.87 GW, and has opened up the sector to greater private participation to meet the goal.

“Such negotiations with Indian companies are already underway,” Likhachev told RT on the sidelines of the recently concluded BRICS Summit in New Delhi. He added that the discussions remain confidential, but said Indian companies have capabilities in metallurgy, construction, and advanced digital technologies that could be used in large-scale nuclear power generation.

Some of those advanced capabilities were on display at the inaugural edition of the INNOPROM. India industrial fair in New Delhi last week, which brought together more than 120 Indian and Russian companies.

India will need to sharply increase the number of nuclear units it commissions to create the additional 90 GW capacity, the Rosatom CEO said, calling it a “massive challenge for the entire industry” and the Indian state.

Roughly half of the nuclear capacity currently under construction in India uses Russian technology, Likhachev noted, adding Rosatom is increasing localization of its nuclear technology under India’s Make-in-India program.

A Panama-flagged oil tanker came under attack off the coast of Oman on Sunday, leaving one Indian and one Pakistani sailor missing.

The 23 other crew members aboard the ship, 13 Indians and ten Pakistanis, were rescued. Search-and-rescue operations for the missing sailors are continuing.

New Delhi condemned the attack on the MT El Gaia, calling the targeting of commercial shipping and seafarers “unacceptable.” The Indian Embassy in Oman is monitoring the situation and coordinating with Omani authorities, the Indian foreign ministry said.

At least 10 Indian seafarers have died in attacks on commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz amid the war in the Middle East triggered by US-Israeli attacks on Iran earlier this year. 

India condemns the attack on the commercial vessel MT EL Gaia off the coast of Oman.https://t.co/05yzQyon40 pic.twitter.com/PRrnmh1ycx

— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) September 14, 2026

India also called for immediate de-escalation and a return to dialogue and diplomacy, and urged that safe navigation and commercial traffic through international waterways in the region be restored as soon as possible. 

It was not clear which ship the Iranian media was referring to. The US, which is blockading Iranian ports, has not commented on the attack.

The incident came days after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised maritime security in his talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in New Delhi. Modi stressed the need to safeguard freedom of navigation and commerce and ensure the safety of seafarers.

Speaking at the BRICS Business Forum the same day, Modi said global trade could move forward only “if sea lanes are secure, supply routes remain open, and seafarers are safe.”

The range and volume of goods exported from India to Russia is expanding rapidly, with industrial products, pharmaceuticals, and IT solutions emerging as new areas of cooperation, according to Russian Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov.

The minister was part of a large Russian delegation that traveled to New Delhi alongside President Vladimir Putin for bilateral talks ahead of the BRICS summit.

In an exclusive interview with RT India, Reshetnikov outlined a series of measures the two countries are pursuing to diversify bilateral trade – which he acknowledged remains unbalanced – and take economic ties to a new level.

“Over the past five years, our trade volume has increased sevenfold, reaching 79 billion US dollars last year. And there is significant potential for further growth because, of course, a substantial proportion of resources is supplied from Russia to India. But Indian exports to Russia are also expanding in both volume and variety,” the minister said.

He noted that India is emerging as a producer of a wide range of engineering goods that are now entering the Russian market. “Indian industry is making significant progress and, as a result, products with great export potential are emerging.”

The minister also said a free trade agreement between India and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) – comprising Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia – would give a further push to diversification. The pact is currently under negotiation.

To expand trade and business activity more broadly, Reshetnikov said the two countries also need to boost tourism and simplify visa rules. Commenting on the possibility of easing visas for Indian tourists, he noted that while Moscow had proposed one route, New Delhi had moved in a slightly different direction by introducing visa-free entry for certain categories. “Right now, we’re also looking into whether we’ll reduce or waive the fee,” he said.

He also stressed the need to improve connectivity between the two countries from the current 15 flights a week to hundreds, just as Russia has with the UAE and China. “We are very actively encouraging Indian airlines to come and start flying to Russia. There will be no problems with permits,” he added.

The BRICS nations on Saturday called out “unilateral coercive measures,” condemned terrorism, and called for the peaceful resolution of global disputes through dialogue and diplomacy in their summit declaration.

The declaration adopted by the BRICS leaders at their 18th summit in New Delhi reaffirmed the bloc’s “opposition to unilateral coercive measures that are contrary to international law” and the UN charter, and called to eliminate them.

The leaders of emerging and developing countries pointed out that sanctions and secondary sanctions have “far-reaching negative implications” including for human rights and food security, and disproportionately affect the poor and vulnerable. 

The BRICS leaders repeated their earlier calls to reform the UN and other global institutions to reflect the new global realities. The New Delhi declaration stressed that no single country or group of countries should have a monopoly over senior positions in the UN – which was formed in the aftermath of World War 2.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the same point while addressing the leaders, saying a “rapidly changing world can no longer be governed by outdated institutions.”

⚡️ Seeds of Solidarity: BRICS Leaders Plant Saplings in Delhi#BRICS2026 #BRICSIndia2026 #IndiaBRICSChairship https://t.co/jFFeLBM3e6 pic.twitter.com/67iS09utSz

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) September 12, 2026

Importantly, China and Russia, the two BRICS members who are also permanent members of the Security Council, reiterated their support for “Brazil and India to play a greater role in the UN, including its Security Council.”

BRICS, which started as a five-member grouping two decades ago, has now expanded to 11 full members, raising its economic size and global influence. 

The adoption of the 45-page declaration is itself seen as a success for Indian diplomacy, which was able to unite Iran and the United Arab Emirates – on different sides of the Middle East conflict – behind the document. 

The BRICS leaders condemned all acts of terrorism as “criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation” – a point that host India has repeatedly made at various global fora. The declaration specifically condemned the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir in April last year, in which 26 civilians were killed. India clashed with nuclear-armed neighbor Pakistan with drones and missiles following that attack.

The BRICS countries also called out the unilateral blockade of Cuba, and expressed concern over deliberate attacks on civilian infrastructure and peaceful nuclear facilities in violation of resolutions by the International Atomic Energy Agency. 

The BRICS nations opposed the forced displacement of the Palestinian people from “Occupied Palestinian Territory,” and any geographic or demographic changes in the Gaza Strip. They further called on Israel to withdraw its forces from all Lebanese territories.

The next BRICS summit will be held in China.

The Russian sovereign wealth fund and the BRICS bloc’s Indian payments arm have agreed to develop the economic grouping’s payment project, as well as working on cross-border payment services.

The agreement between the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), BRICS Pay India, and JSC BRICS Pay was announced on Friday – during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s engagements in India – ahead of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi.

The partners will explore ways to integrate BRICS Pay with India’s existing payment infrastructure, prepare potential pilot projects, and work toward the launch of cross-border payment services.

BRICS Pay is the decentralized cross-border payment framework of the bloc.

Cross-border payments is a priority area of financial cooperation for BRICS countries amid Western sanctions and financial exclusion, with members seeking greater interoperability between their national payment systems.

“Developing modern payment infrastructure is a crucial prerequisite for the continued growth of trade and investment among BRICS nations,” RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev said. He added that BRICS Pay could complement existing national payment systems and enable them to work together. 

The proposed system will facilitate trade and investment between BRICS countries, including through settlements in national currencies, according to RDIF. 

BRICS Pay India, the Indian arm of the project, will coordinate with Indian banks, payment service providers, merchants, and other market participants, while RDIF will support the initiative through its investment and international partnership network.

RDIF is Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, with $27.3 billion (2.3 trillion rubles) in assets, it says on its website. JSC BRICS Pay is a Moscow-based company that develops payment-processing systems and infrastructure for the project.

“Today we will announce an agreement on BRICS Pay, in fact, a payment system for BRICS countries,” — Putin’s envoy Dmitriev.

“The main task is that BRICS is not just a geopolitically powerful association, but that there are practical investment and financial solutions that unite… pic.twitter.com/dglOUgvPay

— Margarita Simonyan (@M_Simonyan) September 11, 2026

Dmitriev said BRICS should develop practical investment and financial mechanisms that bring its members together. Finance ministers and central bank governors from the group have asked the BRICS Payment Task Force (BPTF) to continue work on cross-border payment solutions that are faster, cheaper and more accessible.

Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal has called on BRICS members and partner countries to connect payment systems and expand trade in national currencies. Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra said members are discussing links between fast-payment systems and central bank digital currencies.

A retail-payment technology demonstrator was tested at the BRICS Business Forum in Moscow in 2024.

The BRICS summit comes to New Delhi this week at a time when conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East continue to cast shadows on the global economy and aggravate geopolitical tensions.

India, which will host the September 12-13 meeting of the bloc, has taken a broadly consistent position across these crises: conflicts should be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy, civilians should be protected, and channels of communication should remain open.

New Delhi has held to its own policy choices despite Western pressure, most visibly over its continued purchases of Russian oil. At the same time, it has maintained engagement with both Moscow and Kiev, and with countries on different sides of the conflicts in the Middle East.

The approach is in line with India’s long-standing emphasis on strategic autonomy – helping New Delhi retain the ability to make foreign policy decisions based on its own interests rather than aligning automatically with any geopolitical camp.

How is India engaging with Russia and Ukraine?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasized this stance at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Bishkek last week, saying conflicts “cannot be resolved on the battlefield” and that dialogue and diplomacy are the way forward.

He delivered essentially the same message to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the summit. Modi discussed conflicts in the Middle East and the Black Sea region and reiterated that dialogue and diplomacy were necessary to resolve them. He also said the world had to move from “endless war to the end of war, which is in humanity’s interest.” 

“This conflict will be solved by dialogue, by diplomacy, by negotiation,” he said, adding that New Delhi respected Ukraine’s perspective on Russian energy and expected India’s position to be respected as well.

New Delhi has stuck to the same approach at the United Nations. India abstained in February on a Ukrainian-backed UN General Assembly resolution calling for an immediate, complete, and unconditional ceasefire.

What is India’s position on the conflict in the Middle East?

India has taken a similar approach to the Middle East conflict triggered by US-Israeli attacks on Iran.

When Modi met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in Bishkek, he expressed concern over escalating tensions and reiterated that issues should be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy.

On Israel and Palestine, New Delhi continues to support a negotiated two-state solution. Modi reiterated that position in July, saying India backed “the pursuit of lasting peace.” Much of the same language has been carried into BRICS discussions: dialogue, civilian protection, sovereignty, international law, and maintaining safe maritime commerce.

What does India’s “diplomacy first” foreign policy give it?

India’s pragmatic, diplomacy-first positions at BRICS, the SCO, and the UN have helped it avoid taking sides. Its emphasis on diplomacy has given it room to make its own foreign-policy choices.

However, New Delhi has not shied away from calling out terrorism. At the SCO summit, Modi called it a grave threat to humanity and urged members to dismantle networks of financing, recruitment, radicalization, and safe havens. He also said there should be “no double standards” in combating terrorism.

As BRICS leaders gather in New Delhi, India’s ability to act as a calming presence amid rising geopolitical tensions will be highly valued.

Ties between India and China have evolved significantly since the 2024 Kazan BRICS Summit, which marked their first structured, formal bilateral meeting since the tensions following the 2020 Galwan Valley clashes which saw the first fatalities between the two sides in almost 45 years.

In a sign of the improvement in ties, direct flights have once again resumed between the two countries and a few of the old trade routes have reopened. In addition, Indian citizens are once again embarking on the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra pilgrimage. Mt. Kailash is a sacred mountain for the Hindus, located in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China.

Though the boundary question has been thorny, there has been progress in other areas. In addition, there have been a string of developments on the global front, which make it imperative for India and China to join hands. Both countries are trying to maximize their influence on the international stage and hence are reaching out to multiple partners.

Mending frayed ties

The 25th round of Special Representative Talks was held recently during the visit of the Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval to China. A day after the talks, both countries released an identical eight-point Joint Statement.

The most important takeaway from this Joint Statement is the “commitment to advance negotiations on a framework for the settlement of the boundary question in accordance with the Agreement on Political Parameters and Guiding Principles for Settlement of the India-China Boundary Question signed in 2005.”

Both countries are energy importers and the recent tensions in the Middle East have dramatically reduced the options available to them. It is worth noting that both countries imported oil from Iran in the past, but not at present. In addition, sanctions imposed by Washington have impacted their exports to the US and it is in their mutual interest to collaborate in the economic realm. India has now increased its crude oil imports from Russia and from countries like the UAE and Venezuela.

Problem areas

One of the main problem areas in the relationship is China’s support for Pakistan. Beijing and Islamabad have been cooperating on different fronts, especially on the defense and infrastructure front. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor is one of the flagship projects between the two and Pakistan is also a part of the Belt and Road Initiative. It is another area of divergence between India and China since India has not joined the Chinese-led initiative. Another major issue is that although economic ties seem to be back on track, Indian businessmen are facing a number of issues obtaining Chinese visas.

However, what is worrying for India is that China overtly and covertly supported Pakistan during Operation Sindoor, which was undertaken by India in the aftermath of the deadly attack on tourists in India in April 2025. Another point of worry is China’s growing influence in India’s backyard. Ever since Shiekh Hasina was deposed as the prime minister of Bangladesh, anti-India elements have taken root in Bangladesh and both the former caretaker leader, Muhammed Yunus, and new Prime Minister Tariq Rahman are being seen as closer to China rather than India.

The Russia factor

Both India and China have close ties with Russia and the Russia factor is one glue which has held the BRICS together. Both India and China depend to a great extent on Russian energy supplies, as both of them are developing countries. In addition, Russia is still one of the major defense suppliers for India. The Indian prime minister and Chinese President Xi Jinping recently met on the sidelines of the SCO Summit in Bishkek.

Beijing has its own set of challenges, one of them being the tariffs imposed by the US. Another major challenge for China is that on the demographic front, the population is falling rapidly and this will lead to many changes, especially in the economy.

Both countries need to manage their differences with the long-term picture in mind. In addition, there are countries like Afghanistan, where the two can pool their efforts since both of them stand to gain from a peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan.

The road ahead

Bilateral trade between India and China stood at $151.1 billion in the financial year ending March 31 in spite of the tensions on the political front. It is also worth noting that Xi is likely to visit India for the BRICS Summit in New Delhi September 12-13, which will be his first visit to India since 2019.

The road ahead will not be an easy one for either India or China, but it is in the interest of the two countries not to let their differences become flashpoints. As in the case of China’s relations with East Asian countries like South Korea and Japan (with whom China has tensions on the political front, but maintains good ties on the economic front), China and India should follow a similar model in the larger interests of its own populations.

Space exploration and satellite navigation are fragile, failure-prone and enormously expensive. Yet they offer something few other fields can match: technological superiority and strategic prestige.

The main players in space remain Russia, the United States, and China, followed by India, the European Union, and Japan. Newer entrants include the United Arab Emirates, Iran, and a range of states in South America and West Asia. Because the sector is so costly and high-risk, cooperation is highly valued – it brings redundancy, speeds up technological progress, and cuts the price of getting there.

Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov earlier this week, in the runup to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to New Delhi, noted that Russia and India are considering the possibility of cross-flights involving mixed crews to their future national orbital stations. He said that this cooperation could eventually extend to joint scientific experiments and research.

In May this year, Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval visited the Roscosmos Joint Industry Information Center, while in August, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar traveled to Moscow to co-chair the 27th session of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC).

Increased collaboration between Moscow and New Delhi within the space sector is occurring within the backdrop of three larger yet interlinked trends: first, the United States’ active dismantling of the remaining international order; second, the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Iran; and third, the advancement in drones and defense technologies.

The current US administration has upended the established decades-long US foreign policy by targeting longstanding allies with tariffs and sanctions in the attainment of its goals. India has become a target more than once of American tariffs and economic pressure. Attempts to reach a deal with the Trump administration have failed to produce long-term tangible gains.

Recent developments in Indo-Russian cooperation have involved mutual deployment of ground stations, co-production of engines, and development of national orbital stations. These will allow Russia to offset vulnerabilities by outsourcing joint-production capabilities of critical components to India out of Ukraine’s reach.

The astronomical advancements in drone and smart defense technologies have underscored the significance of satellite-based constellations in warfare. A variety of Russian munitions and weapon systems employ GPS/GLONASS and the upcoming Rassvet system in precision guidance and control. UMPK-equipped glide-bombs, cruise missiles such as the Kh-101, drones like the Shahed-136, Geran-3 & -4, and Orlan-10, along with ballistic missiles such as the Iskander-K, witness a significant increase in accuracy and precision with minimal falloff over large distances.

Furthermore, despite the destruction of existing Viasat infrastructure in Ukraine during the conflict’s opening days, the rapid deployment of Starlink prevented the complete collapse of Ukrainian command and control structures. These attributes make the systems vital to any future operational requirements against adversaries with both limited and significant electronic warfare capabilities.

India’s own NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation) is in dire straits. The indigenous satellite navigation system has dropped below the critical threshold of satellites required for accurate geolocation. Simultaneously, the quest for a reliable low-orbit satellite navigation system over the Indian subcontinent has led to multiple contenders, including the French-TATA venture Eutelsat, the American Starlink and Viasat systems, Reliance’s own planned constellation, and possibly the Russian Rassvet system in the near future.

Space-based cooperation need not be limited to the bilateral level. In August 2021, BRICS space agencies signed an agreement for cooperation in remote sensing satellite data sharing. In May of the following year, the BRICS Joint Committee on Space Cooperation was officially launched. This year, BRICS+ engaged in advanced discussions of cooperation with calls for a BRICS Space Economy being made. Whether civilian cooperation in satellite data constellation ultimately advances to include sensitive military collaboration remains to be seen. What is already clear, however, is that low-orbit constellations are set to become a major disruptor in both civilian and military technology, and this is one area in which the Russia-India partnership could deepen further.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is in New Delhi to attend the 18th BRICS Summit starting Friday.

Putin held bilateral talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the Bharat Mandapam convention center. He is also expected to hold talks with other leaders of the expanded BRICS group.

The Russian president invited Modi to visit Russia for the 24th India-Russia Annual Summit, which the Indian PM accepted. 

The summit of the leaders of the world’s emerging economies is being watched closely, given intensifying geopolitical tensions and economic turbulence caused by the West’s attempts to isolate Russia and coerce the Global South.

RT reporters are on the ground in New Delhi covering the Russian president’s visit and the BRICS Summit.

This live feed has now ended. Stay tuned for the main events of the BRICS summit on Saturday.

India has advanced key BRICS initiatives backed by Russia, including cross-border payments, a proposed grain exchange, and a new investment platform, Russian Ambassador to India Denis Alipov said ahead of the summit of the bloc’s leaders in New Delhi.

New Delhi holds the rotating BRICS chairmanship this year and is hosting the 18th leaders’ summit starting Saturday. Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in the Indian capital on Friday and is due to hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as well as address the BRICS Business Forum.

“We have moved forward on various tracks and projects that were proposed by previous chairs and by us in 2024 when we presided over BRICS,” Alipov told the ANI news agency ahead of the summit.

Among the Russian-backed proposals are a BRICS grain exchange, mechanisms to facilitate cross-border payments, and a new investment platform. Alipov said this week that work is also continuing on BRICS Clear, a proposed settlement and depository mechanism, and shared reinsurance capacity.

‘The Question Is - How Confident Is India?’: Russian Envoy On Energy Ties

Ambassador Denis Alipov said India has shown it can “stand its ground and defend its national interests,” adding that Moscow is ready to supply as much oil as India needs despite sanctions and tariffs.… https://t.co/IZreI3SQuZ pic.twitter.com/PhggcnSE1v

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) September 4, 2026

India has meanwhile put forward initiatives of its own, including cooperation on smart grids and energy storage, a startup innovation hub, an incubator network, and a logistics and supply-chain framework, Alipov said.

The agenda reflects a broader effort within BRICS to deepen economic and financial cooperation alongside its political and security work. Alipov said the grouping is also discussing trade and investment, a greater role for national currencies in settlements, energy, healthcare, artificial intelligence, science, and innovation.

More than 350 meetings and high-level engagements have been held across over 25 Indian cities under New Delhi’s presidency this year.

The India-Russia priority investment tracking mechanism is actively monitoring 40 projects across advanced manufacturing, energy, mining, railways, and emerging technology as the two countries pursue a $50 billion investment target, Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday.

Speaking at the plenary session of the Russia-India trade and investment fair, INNOPROM. India, being held in New Delhi, Goyal said the two countries are fast-tracking a new bilateral investment treaty to give investors the legal certainty they need for making investment decisions.

He said local currency settlement mechanisms are being strengthened to speed up trade transactions.

Addressing the session, Russian Minister of Industry and Trade Anton Alikhanov said a major effort is being made to sell Russian civilian planes to India and organize their local production, especially the SJ-100 regional jet. This includes creating maintenance facilities and training Indian specialists.

❗️ 🇮🇳 Trade Minister Goyal Delivers Five Specific Asks at #INNOPROM - to Turn India–Russia Ties into $100BN in Trade

1️⃣ Close One Deal Before Leaving Delhi

2️⃣ Add Non-Energy Business Line

3️⃣ Russian Companies: Manufacture in India

4️⃣ Indian Companies: Invest in Russia

5️⃣… https://t.co/BRKRVhtqQm pic.twitter.com/HmtplEGFMM

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) September 10, 2026

Russian plane maker UAC on Thursday reached agreements with three Indian domestic airlines to sell up to 105 Il-114-300 regional jets. Separate plans are being firmed up for their local production.

Alikhanov also said special attention is being paid to developing technical cooperation, with railways a priority. He said an initiative for the joint production of Vande Bharat trains is being implemented, including production modernizing, establishing an engineering center, and training Indian specialists. The models are indigenously developed, semi-high-speed train sets operated by Indian Railways.

Goyal asked Alikhanov to help open the door wider for Indian investment in pharma, IT, AI, services, engineering, and railways to achieve the bilateral $50 billion investment target.

The trade fair will end on Friday, when the BRICS summit gets underway in New Delhi. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who will be in the Indian capital to attend the summit, is expected to visit the fair along with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The BRICS summit comes to New Delhi this weekend, bringing leaders from the expanded group of major emerging economies together for two days of talks.

India will host the September 12-13 meeting at Bharat Mandapam, the convention center that hosted the Group of 20 (G20) summit in 2023. Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to arrive in India this weekend for the summit, along with other heads of state and government of the group of emerging economies.

The agenda is broad but straightforward: trade and development, technology, energy and food security, reform of global institutions, and closer cooperation among BRICS members. The leaders will also exchange views on major global and regional issues.

India has framed its 2026 chairmanship around ‘Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability’, under a broader ‘Humanity First’ approach.

This is India’s fourth time chairing BRICS, after 2012, 2016, and 2021. It also comes as the group marks 20 years since its establishment.

Which countries are in BRICS now? 

The BRICS grouping has grown considerably from its original five members: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. It now also includes Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Indonesia. BRICS has emerged as a major grouping because of its economic weight and population size.

Together, they now account for nearly half of the world’s population, around 40% of global GDP, and 26% of international trade, according to Indian government data.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is attending, the Chinese Foreign Ministry confirmed on Thursday. The ministry said it “sets great store by BRICS cooperation” and supports India in hosting a successful summit. Some reports suggest that Xi will arrive with a 400-member delegation.

Leaders and representatives from other BRICS members, partner countries, and outreach invitees will also take part.

What will BRICS leaders discuss in New Delhi? 

India has divided its presidential agenda into four broad areas.

‘Resilience’ covers issues that directly affect economies and households – health, agriculture, food and energy security, disaster preparedness, and supply chains.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is due to arrive in India for the BRICS summit in New Delhi, where he is meeting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday. 

The meeting is expected to build on the warm spirit and progress made in bilateral relations based around the personal relations between the two leaders.  

India and Russia also have kept up high-level diplomatic and economic contacts, amid geopolitical turbulence. Putin and Modi most recently met last week in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit.

Three Russian IL-76 planes, carrying advance teams and military officials, reportedly landed in the Indian city of Greater Noida on Thursday morning. The teams are reviewing preparations and security arrangements as Delhi gears up to host world leaders for the BRICS summit on September 12-13. 

Energy the bedrock of the relationship

India has become the second biggest importer of Russian oil as New Delhi seeks to secure the energy needs of its 1.4 billion population. Russia sold around 2.1 million barrels per day of oil to India, or 45% of the country’s total imports, in August – even as New Delhi has widened its crude basket. 

But it is not a simple buyer-seller relationship, with both sides invested in each other’s energy ecosystem. India’s state-run ONGC Videsh holds a 20% stake in Russia’s Sakhalin-1 oil field project. A consortium of state-run Indian oil majors have sizable stakes in Russian oil company Rosneft’s subsidiaries, Vankorneft and Taas-Yuryakh Neftegazodobycha. 

Rosneft holds nearly half of India’s Nayara Energy, which owns a refinery in Gujarat and a wide downstream network.

Moscow has repeatedly said it is ready to supply “as much oil as India needs,” despite the threat of Western sanctions on New Delhi. 

Nuclear energy is another key dimension of the relationship, with India setting itself an ambitious nuclear power target to generate 100 gigawatts by 2047. Two of the six units of the Koodankulam nuclear power plant, built in collaboration with Russia’s Rosatom in south India, are generating electricity, and four more are under construction.

Putin and Modi agreed in December to further discuss a second nuclear power plant and finalize the site for it – reportedly in Tirunelveli district in Tamil Nadu.

India also is eyeing Russia’s small modular reactors, or SMRs, to achieve its energy targets.

Expanding economic ties is imperative

Bilateral trade has jumped in volume since Putin’s last visit to India, when a $100 billion target was set to be achieved by 2030. However, India has run up a massive trade deficit against Russia through its oil purchases. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that Russian businesses are looking to buy more Indian goods and establish joint projects to address the trade gap. 

The same geopolitical tensions that have pushed India to buy more Russian oil are also opening up avenues to expand bilateral economic ties to new areas.

The first localized version of the Superjet could be made in India in three years, with the company looking at selling 100-200 planes. Indian airlines have also expressed interest in buying up to 100 Il 114-300 planes from Russia.

The Northern Sea Route, or the Arctic Route that skirts thousands of miles of Russia's coastline is high on the agenda this year. India plans to send its first ship along the route next year to take advantage of the time and cost efficiencies.

In addition, India is looking to Russia for its requirements of rare-earth minerals, which go into key components such as magnets needed for green energy transition. New Delhi is also exploring options to buy coking coal assets and import more nickel from Russia to boost steel production.

Both countries now settle the bulk of their transactions in local currencies, smoothing out frustrations over payment bottlenecks. It is a topic other BRICS leaders will also be interested in.

Defense and space ties bind India to Russia

India remains the top customer of Russian military hardware, inking deals to buy and manufacture many top-end Russian systems.

Joint production of the Russian fifth-generation Su-57 fighter aircraft is expected to feature prominently in the Putin-Modi talks. A Russian offer for full licensed production of the Su-57 in India, along with unrestricted transfer of technology, is already on the table, and talks are reportedly ongoing.

Other weapons such as the S-500 missile system could also be discussed. 

New Delhi and Moscow have partnered in the space sector since the early 1960s. Russia is collaborating on India’s manned spaceflight program, Gaganyaan, by providing crew training and supplying spacesuits. The collaboration will include engine building, rocket fuel, and the development of national orbital stations, Russian space agency Roscosmos has said.

Why India’s farmers need Putin’s helping hand

The Middle East conflict has disrupted fertilizer supplies from the Gulf countries, with implications for food production and food security in the world’s most populous nation – pushing the item to the top of the agenda for Modi and Putin.

Russia increased fertilizer exports to India by 20% in the first half of this year, and is ready to continue deliveries, First Deputy Prime Minister Manturov said in a recent interview.

Why the Modi-Putin personal chemistry matters

Putin’s visit comes as the threat of steep US tariffs looms over India for buying Russian oil. The challenge before the two leaders is to deepen the relationship while keeping their respective national interests front and center amid Western coercion. 

Kremlin spokesman Peskov said on Tuesday that both leaders are in close personal contact and able to discuss sensitive matters in open and constructive ways. 

It’s a moment in history when the rapport Putin and Modi share will matter more than ever. 

Three Indian domestic airlines have signed agreements on 105 Russian Il-114-300 passenger aircraft, as Moscow and New Delhi move to expand cooperation in civil aviation and manufacturing.

The proposed purchases include 50 aircraft for regional airlines Pinnacle Air, up to 20 for Air Kerala, and 35 for Sleek Aviation.

The companies are yet to start scheduled commercial flights. Another startup, Flamingo Aerospace, previously agreed to buy six of these planes, whose delivery is expected in 2028.

The agreements, memoranda of understanding, and letters of intent were announced in New Delhi just ahead of the BRICS summit starting Friday. This comes as India and Russia seek to broaden industrial and economic cooperation beyond their traditional areas of partnership.

The first planes will be made in Russia, but local production will start once the program is finalized, UAC CEO Vadim Badekha said. “The key task which we are concentrating on is finalizing our agreements on the production of the aircraft here in India,” he told the media at the INNOPROM. India trade fair.

Badekha added that validation in India of the Il-114-300’s Russian type certificate will also be an important step before supplies begin.

The Il-114-300 is a 68-seat turboprop designed for regional routes. It can operate from smaller airports and short runways, making it suited to operate from smaller cities.

India is the world’s third-largest aviation market and has been expanding air links to its fast-growing tier-2 and tier-3 cities. Under its regional connectivity program (UDAN), New Delhi is also seeking to bring more smaller airports into the country’s commercial aviation network.

UAC and India’s state-run aerospace manufacturer, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), are working on licensed production of the SJ-100 regional passenger jet in India.

The two companies signed a cooperation agreement in January as a basis for starting licensed production. More than 80% of the agreement has now been finalized, Badekha said.

The SJ-100 is a short-range jet capable of carrying up to 103 passengers. UAC previously said production in India could begin in around three years, with output eventually reaching 20-40 aircraft annually.

UAC has also said it expects to sign a contract with the first Indian operator of the SJ-100 at Aero India 2027. The company is offering not only aircraft supplies, but also production localization, maintenance, and after-sales support.

The first edition of the International Industrial Trade Fair INNOPROM. India opened on September 9 at the Bharat Mandapam exhibition complex in New Delhi, bringing together more than 130 Russian and Indian companies.

The event, taking place in Pavilion No. 1, is being held ahead of the 18th BRICS Summit. It is organized by the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade and India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The operators are Formika Event LLC on the Russian side and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on the Indian side.

Organizers said the Russian and Indian national sections were given equal exhibition space. The Russian side features some of the country’s largest state corporations and industrial firms, including Rostec, Rosatom, Roscosmos, United Aircraft Corporation, United Engine Corporation, Sber, Natsproektstroy, Transmashholding, RUSAL, PhosAgro, the Center for Research and Development in Advanced Technologies, A7, and Arnest.

Regional group stands from Moscow, Tatarstan, Krasnodar Krai, and the Chelyabinsk Region are also part of the exhibition, along with companies taking part in a business mission organized by the Russian Export Center. The Russia National Centre has a separate stand displaying traditional Russian folk arts and crafts.

India’s section includes major companies and institutions from sectors such as metallurgy, mining, digital technology, transport engineering, textiles, energy, and oil and gas. Among the participants are MECON, Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL), NMDC, MOIL, Central Electronics Ltd., RVNL, Titagarh Rail Systems, Tata Power, ITC Group, KABIL, Shatei Engineering, and Bansal Spinning Mills.

Business matchmaking is also a major theme of the fair. The Russian Export Center and the Confederation of Indian Industry have created networking zones at the venue to help companies identify suppliers and customers and to discuss potential joint projects.

“INNOPROM provides an important platform for bringing together representatives of industry, technology providers, investors, and government institutions from India and Russia to explore new opportunities for cooperation,” said Vishnu Sharma, Deputy Director General for Corporate Affairs and Marketing at the National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (NICDC).

He added that India is developing “world-class industrial smart cities” and said platforms such as INNOPROM support direct engagement with Russian and other international firms, while helping them enter the Indian market and expand their presence there.

According to Sharma, such cooperation could help turn the growing economic relationship between the two countries into “tangible investments, manufacturing localization, technology partnerships, and the creation of new industrial ecosystems in India.”

The trade fair’s business program is running on September 9 and 10, with discussions focused on expanding Russian-Indian trade, economic and industrial ties. Participants are expected to address potential cooperation in industry and high-tech fields, as well as new business opportunities.

The central event will be the main plenary session on September 10, titled “Enhancing Russian-Indian Trade and Industrial Partnership: Towards Greater Self-Reliance.” It is set to feature Russian Industry and Trade Minister Anton Alikhanov and Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.

Officials from both delegations are also expected to tour the exhibition on the second and third days of the fair.

Leading Russian aviation, space, and engineering companies are showcasing their technology at the first INNOPROM. India industrial fair in New Delhi, as the two countries seek to expand trade and industrial cooperation.

The three-day fair features Russian products and technologies across sectors including aviation, space, advanced manufacturing, and industrial engineering.

Aviation is a big area of focus as India, the world’s third-largest aviation market, is looking for planes to increase connectivity between its regional hubs and fast-growing tier-2 and tier-3 cities.

India’s state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited has a cooperation agreement with Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) for the SJ-100 program in India. UAC will also supply six Ilyushin Il-114-300 aircraft to Indian regional carrier Flamingo Aerospace.

The UAC booth features models of the SJ-100, Il-114-300, and MC-21-310 aircraft, alongside a model of the PD-8 turbofan engine used on the SJ-100. UAC head Vadim Badekha said in June that Indian carriers have expressed interest in the planes. Multiple agreements are expected to be signed, RT India reported.

Russian Aircraft Take Centre Stage at INNOPROM.India

The IL-114-300, SJ-100 and MC-21-310 - Russia’s flagship next-generation, fully import-substituted commercial aircraft - highlight the growing 🇮🇳-🇷🇺 collaboration in aviation.

Partnerships involving UAC, HAL and Flamingo… pic.twitter.com/f4KfXDFFs9

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) September 9, 2026

Russia’s state space corporation (Roscosmos) is also represented at the fair. India’s space program has longstanding ties to the Soviet and Russian space programs, with cooperation continuing in areas including India’s planned crewed spaceflight program.

Other exhibits include industrial robots, detector technology used in nuclear power plants, and smart devices, reflecting cooperation extending beyond aviation and space into industrial technology and automation.

India and Russia are accelerating efforts to reach the bilateral trade target of $100 billion, which was set during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to New Delhi in December. Putin is set to return to the Indian capital this week for the BRICS summit.

Tooling Up! RT India's @aditi_mishra19 At INNOPROM.India Takes A Look At How 🇷🇺's DOKA Robots Can Lend A Hand - Literally - To 🇮🇳's Pharma & Food Industries pic.twitter.com/xZpM7TlL7U

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) September 9, 2026

INNOPROM.India: How Sound Waves Are Helping Keep Kudankulam NPP Safer

Echoplus’ ultrasonic flaw detector uses sound waves to identify defects deep inside materials without damaging them – the tech is deployed at 🇮🇳’s Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant to support safer, more reliable… pic.twitter.com/iCiO2w69bQ

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) September 9, 2026

The two countries are also seeking to expand industrial cooperation beyond trade. Russia is ready to expand technology-sharing and industrial cooperation with India, Deputy Industry and Trade Minister Roman Chekushov said last week.

The fair has brought together more than 120 Russian and Indian companies. The plenary session on Thursday will be attended by Russian Industry and Trade Minister Anton Alikhanov and Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.

INNOPROM. India is organized by the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade and India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry, with support from Formika Events and the Confederation of Indian Industry. The Russian Trade Representation in India is also supporting the event.

India saw record defense production of around $18.6 billion, with defense exports jumping by 63% to $4.6 billion in fiscal year 2025-26. Exports were driven by expanding from basic protective gear and ammunition to high-tech systems like BrahMos and Akash missiles, aero-structures, radars, and platforms. Agile private companies and start-ups contributed nearly half of all export value through components, sub-systems, and drones.

India’s major exported hardware includes the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, co-developed by India and Russia, Akash air defence systems, Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launchers, Dornier-228 utility aircraft, Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH Dhruv), Swati weapon-locating radars, Advanced Towed Artillery Gun Systems (ATAGS), naval offshore patrol vessels, fast interceptor boats, lightweight torpedoes, radar systems, avionics, and electronic subsystems.

The Philippines was the first importer of Indo-Russian BrahMos. Indonesia has moved forward with procurement interests following progressive regional agreements, and Vietnam remains in advanced discussions as a key buyer. Over a dozen nations including Malaysia, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Chile, and South Africa have evaluated or expressed formal interest in the BrahMos missile system.

It was recently reported that India is marketing its Russian-origin, battle-tested T-90 Bhishma tank upgrade package to international operators. The offering provides a cost-effective alternative to full fleet replacements, featuring advanced thermal sights, digital fire-control systems, and enhanced protection and mobility packages developed through extensive local operational experience.

T-90 manufacturing hub

The T-90 is a third-generation Russian main battle tank developed from and designed to replace the legendary T-72. The T-90 was designed and built by Uralvagonzavod in Nizhny Tagil, Russia and entered service with the Russian Army in 1992. The tank has been relied upon in major conflicts, including in Syria and Nagorno-Karabakh. Russia operates hundreds of active T-90, T-90A, and modern T-90M variants within its ground forces. Algeria has around 570 T-90SA tanks, and Azerbaijan has around 200 T-90S units. Iraq, Turkmenistan, Uganda, and Vietnam maintain small fleets.

India is the largest operator of the T-90 main battle tank. The country has so far procured an estimated 2,100 T-90s, making it likely the world’s largest T-90 fleet despite Russia’s wartime procurement surge. Over 1,300 of India’s T-90s are heavily localized T-90S Bhisma units that serve as the core backbone of the Indian Army’s heavy armored mechanized divisions.

The Indian Army Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers completed the first complete overhaul of the T-90 Bhishma. This significantly extends the series life in service with the army. Last year, the Indian government also initiated the procurement of 1350 HP engines for T-90 tanks to improve the power-to-weight ratio and increase mobility in high-altitude regions. Among the lessons from the Ukraine conflict, upgrading became important.

The upgrade positions India as an affordable, combat-proven tech and modernization provider rather than just a buyer and allows global T-90 users to modernize vintage hardware without buying new tanks, and India’s broader defense export targets.

Aerospace components

India is also quickly emerging as a major global hub for aerospace manufacturing, exporting around $2 billion worth of aircraft components each year. US aerospace giants such as Boeing already source more than $1.25 billion in parts annually from a wide network of Indian suppliers. This shift is being driven not only by production backlogs in the West, but also by India’s growing engineering capabilities. With factories in the US and Europe under strain, major manufacturers are being forced to diversify their supply chains.

Sikorsky S-92 helicopter cabins are manufactured in India through a joint venture between Tata Advanced Systems Limited and Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation. Located in Hyderabad, this facility produces fully indigenous cabins and over 5,000 precision components, which are then shipped to the US for final aircraft assembly. Key domestic players like Tata Group, Dynamatic Technologies, Azad Engineering, Mahindra Aerostructures, and Jeh Aerospace build core structural components and sub-assemblies.

Manufacturing has shifted from small, simple parts to complex, multi-meter aero-structures and sub-systems processed from super-alloys and high-grade aluminum. Overall, India’s aerospace components market is expected to grow from $1.5 billion to $4 billion by fiscal year 2029, at an annual rate of 28%.

The role of the private sector

In fiscal year 2025-26, India’s private sector accounted for 24% of total defense production, which reached a record high of about $5 billion. Total defense exports also hit a record $4.6 billion. Of that, the private sector contributed 45%, with the remainder from well-established state-run defense manufacturers.

This growth has been driven by government policies favoring local manufacturing, larger domestic procurement budgets, and restricted import lists.

Companies such as Data Patterns and Astra Microwave produce avionics, electronic-warfare systems, and radar components, while Zen Technologies focuses on anti-drone systems and combat simulation. Solar Industries manufactures precision ammunition and military explosives, and MKU is a major supplier of ballistic protection and military electro-optical equipment, including night-vision and thermal systems.

Growth has been driven by policies that reserve 75% of the military modernization capital budget for domestic firms and by six Positive Indigenization Lists restricting imports of more than 5,500 defense items and sub-assemblies. Notably, India allows up to 74% foreign direct investment through the automatic route to encourage technology transfer.

From licensed production to Indian intellectual property

For decades, India has manufactured Russian defense equipment under license. Much of what is still produced in India is in the ‘build-to-print’ category, where the design – and often the raw materials – are supplied by the foreign original equipment manufacturer (OEM). In effect, India performs the manufacturing work, but control over the end use remains with the OEM. Licensed production grants only a temporary and limited right to make or sell a product; the core technology, source codes, design data, and patents remain with the foreign licensor. This means India cannot freely modify or export the product without permission.

This means investing far more in research and development. India currently spends just 0.6% of GDP on research and development, compared with 2.7% in China and 3.6% in the US. To build real intellectual property at home, India must move beyond assembly-line production and toward original design, software development, and domestic ownership of patents and know-how. Future contracts, joint ventures, and employment arrangements should ensure that intellectual property generated in India remains with Indian entities, rather than defaulting to foreign partners.

A visit to the Eiffel Tower by a Hindu group has sparked a political row in France after female employees at the monument said they were moved from their posts, and in some cases, replaced by men while the delegation was on site.

The group from the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) visited the Paris landmark on Saturday. Eiffel Tower employees walked out on Monday in protest, closing the monument for a day, before it reopened on Tuesday.

The visit and the allegations

France’s CGT trade union said female employees and contractors were told not to enter or cross certain areas in the tower during the group’s visit. Some were allegedly asked to leave their workstations and move elsewhere, while others were replaced by male colleagues.

Société d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (SETE), the company that manages and operates the monument acknowledged that the visiting group had requested arrangements limiting “interactions with women.” In a kind of mea culpa, it said the conditions “should not have been accepted.”

BAPS, however, has disputed the suggestion that its arrangements with the Eiffel Tower were intended to exclude women. In a statement, the organization said the visit had been coordinated with the tower’s management because of the size of the delegation and was “never, at any point, intended as a request rooted in gender.”

Nous comprenons les préoccupations exprimées et les prenons très au sérieux.

Compte tenu de la taille de notre délégation, la visite a été organisée en coordination avec les équipes de la tour Eiffel, au début des horaires habituels d’ouverture, afin de limiter autant que… pic.twitter.com/gyiwzmh6Jv

— BAPS Mandir Swaminarayan Hindou de Paris (@BAPSParis) September 7, 2026

It also said nobody had to its knowledge been denied access to the Eiffel Tower and that it remained committed to equality and mutual respect.

A new BAPS Swaminarayan temple was inaugurated at the Bussy-Saint-Georges suburb outside the French capital on Sunday. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the inauguration remotely. The organization is headquartered in Modi’s home state Gujarat.

A sect known for its beautiful temples

BAPS is an affluent global Hindu religious organization within the Swaminarayan tradition, founded in India in 1907. 

The sect is especially known for its elaborate stone temples and cultural complexes across the world. Among its best-known sites are the Swaminarayan Akshardham temple in New Delhi, the Akshardham complex in Robbinsville, New Jersey, and temples in London and Abu Dhabi. 

The organization does not publish its finances, but some of the temples have cost millions to build. The New Jersey temple cost an estimated $96 million to build, and the one in Abu Dhabi cost about $84.2 million, publicly available data show.

Its money comes from donations and regular contributions by members.

The organization has over a million followers globally, and says on its website that it is present in over 20 countries. The largest fellowship outside of India is in the United States. The sect is highly influential, especially in western India.  

“I find it truly astonishing that these are the allegations against the community, for they have been known for actively promoting caste, gender and class equality through its humanitarian and social activities,” Yogi Trivedi, a New York-based scholar who has co-authored a book on Swaminarayan Hinduism, told the Indian Express.

The early 19th century saint who founded the Swaminarayan tradition introduced reforms in Hindu society, especially to uplift and empower women. 

The world’s oldest religion, with more than a billion followers, reveres the feminine. Among the many gods in the Hindu pantheon are also prominent goddesses, and women are worshipped on special days in these traditions. However, gender discrimination and female infanticide have persisted in modern Hindu society.

Why is this a big deal in France?

Because the alleged medieval-style exclusion of women happened in Paris – the cradle of the French Revolution and the very symbol of the inspiring Republican ideals of Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity.

France is renowned for decades of campaigning for women’s political, social, and reproductive rights. In 2024, it became the first country to explicitly enshrine the right to abortion in its Constitution.

“In France, gender equality is neither negotiable nor subject to varying standards. It is a principle, and there are no exceptions to it,” French Minister for Gender Equality and the Fight Against Discrimination Aurore Berge posted on X.

French officials invoked those values in responding to the incident, arguing that religious or cultural considerations cannot justify differing treatment of women in a public workplace.

National Assembly president Yaël Braun-Pivet said welcoming visitors must not mean asking women to disappear from public life. Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire said the incident would be investigated.

On Tuesday, Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal described the Eiffel Tower episode as “a matter purely between the entities concerned.”

BRICS is seeking practical ways to make trade between its members cheaper and faster, including through the greater use of national currencies and digital payment systems, ahead of the group's summit in New Delhi this week.

Discussions are ongoing on local-currency settlements and platforms involving central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), aimed at cutting transaction costs in bilateral trade and encouraging investment within the group, TASS reported, citing an Indian government source.

The proposed mechanisms would supplement, rather than replace, existing global payment and settlement systems, the report said, adding that the talks are “not aimed against any specific country or group of countries.”

The approach offers an alternative to creating a single BRICS currency, allowing businesses and banks to settle more transactions directly in national currencies and through interconnected payment networks, reducing reliance on the US dollar and multiple correspondent banks.

Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal has said New Delhi favors trade settlements in national currencies over a unified BRICS monetary system.

India’s central bank has been pushing the discussion forward. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra said last month that BRICS members were considering linking their fast-payment systems as well as their CBDCs.

Malhotra pointed to India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI), a real-time domestic payment network, as an example of how quickly transactions can move. The RBI has also proposed that linking BRICS countries’ digital currencies be considered at this year’s summit.

The BRICS members already operate several robust domestic payment systems that could potentially be connected. India has UPI, RuPay, and its Structured Financial Messaging System; China operates the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) for yuan transactions; Russia uses its System for Transfer of Financial Messages (SPFS) and Mir card network; while Brazil runs the Pix instant-payment system.

For India, the effort also fits into a broader push to internationalize the rupee. The RBI already has arrangements to promote local-currency trade with the UAE, Mauritius, the Maldives, and Indonesia, although Malhotra has said volumes remain relatively small.

The Indian government source cited by TASS said the work ahead of the summit remains focused on practical mechanisms to lower trade costs and deepen investment cooperation within BRICS, rather than replacing the existing international financial architecture.

Russian diplomat Roman Babushkin has praised the launch of RT Hindi, the Indian language channel of RT India, calling it a “necessary” initiative.

In an interview with RT India Head of News Runjhun Sharma, the charge d’affaires at the Russian Embassy in New Delhi said – in flawless Hindi – that Indians will now be able to access unbiased and accurate information about Russia and the wider world in their own language. 

RT Hindi went live on September 7, nine months after RT India launched its English-language television channel. The platform will carry Indian news alongside international coverage and analysis for Hindi-speaking readers, with an emphasis on simple, accessible language and a broader international perspective. Its launch comes just days before New Delhi hosts the BRICS Summit.

Babushkin noted the long history of relations between the two countries, which predate India’s independence, saying India is “not merely a country, but a planet encompassing multiple languages and cultures.”

He also listed artificial intelligence, the Arctic, and space as priority areas for deeper bilateral cooperation, beyond the traditional pillars of defense and energy.

Sharma described the service as another “Bindi” (dot worn on the forehead by most Indian women) in India-Russia relations, saying it would help RT to reach hundreds of millions of Hindi speakers directly.

RT India debuted in December, when Russian President Vladimir Putin, during a state visit to New Delhi, joined RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan to formally launch the channel. Its Delhi-National Capital Region newsroom has since grown to more than 100 journalists and production staff.

On New Delhi’s continued purchases of Russian oil despite pressure from Washington, Babushkin said Moscow and India “understand each other’s national interests very well,” adding that Russia is ready to provide what India needs.

“Friends do not try to pressure each other,” he said.

Indian IT services company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) plans to build a $7.4 billion data center campus, exploiting the opportunities offered by the white-hot global demand for artificial intelligence as it seeks to move away from the traditional outsourcing model.

The 1-gigawatt (GW) facility will cater to AI companies and large cloud providers, known as hyperscalers, offering support for AI training, inference, and other advanced workloads, TCS said on Saturday.

TCS unit HyperVault will build the campus – expected to be among the country’s biggest – in the southern city of Hyderabad. The buildout will happen in phases, based on customer demand and technology requirements, the Mumbai-based company said in a statement. 

TCS CEO K. Krithivasan said the project is part of the company’s “infrastructure-to-intelligence” strategy.

“AI demand is increasingly becoming infrastructure demand,” Sohom Banerjee, a technology analyst at the think tank CUTS International, told RT. He said TCS’s move should be viewed as some IT companies “moving vertically down the AI stack.” 

Banerjee noted that while AI is putting pressure on parts of the IT consultants’ traditional business model, it is also simultaneously creating demand for a new layer of services around data centers, computing capacity, cloud platforms, AI models, and enterprise applications. 

India is reportedly working on a plan to equip the Indian Air Force’s workhorse Sukhoi-30MKI fighter jets with advanced long-range Russian air-to-air missiles.

The Indian Defense Ministry is expected to consider a proposal to modify the Su-30MKI fleet to carry the Russian RVV BD air-to-air missiles, which can fly at hypersonic speeds and take out targets up to 300 kilometers away, ANI news agency reported. 

The RVV BD is the export version of the R-37M missile, one of the world’s longest-range air-to-air missiles. It is designed to shoot down tanker and early warning aircraft past enemy fighter escort from long range. The Defense Acquisition Council meeting on Monday is expected to take up the proposal, the report said, citing sources. 

The RVV BD is compatible with Russia’s advanced fifth-generation Su-57 fighter jet – which has already been offered to India.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to visit New Delhi later this week for the 18th summit of BRICS nations. A discussion on the possible sale of the Su-57 was on the agenda of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation held last month in Moscow.

The upgrades have taken on a new urgency as China has moved its J-20 fifth-generation aircraft next to the Indian border in Tibet, and is reportedly planning to transfer its J-35 fifth-generation fighters to Pakistan.

A defense acquisitions panel on Monday, chaired by Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, cleared a slew of proposals worth $11.64 billion to enhance the “war-fighting capability” of the air force, and various systems for the navy and the army.

“This upgrade is going to be formidable,” retired Air Marshal Anil Chopra told RT India.

He said India has been diversifying its defense purchases, but also maintaining strategic autonomy, despite US sanctions.

The Indian Air Force operates about 258 Su-30MKI – an India-specific variant of the multi-role fighter aircraft – and state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited is producing 12 more at its Nashik facility to replace those lost in accidents over the years.

The jets saw action during last year’s clash with Pakistan – which India code-named Operation Sindoor – covering Indian formations and firing Brahmos missiles at Pakistani airbases.

The defense firm owned by Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has signed an agreement with Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited (IRRPL) to supply locally made ammunition for AK-203 assault rifles.

Under the deal, Adani Defence will supply 7.62 mm ammunition to IRRPL, which is making the Russian-designed rifles for the Indian armed forces at a facility in Korwa in the northern Uttar Pradesh state.

“Adani Defence will supply the small-caliber ammunition required for the AK-203 programme for five years, providing an Indian source of supply,” reports cited the company as saying. The ammunition will be made at Adani Defence’s facility in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, where the company already produces small-caliber rounds. 

The financial terms of the deal, the number of rounds to be supplied and the delivery schedule were not disclosed.

Gautam Adani became Asia’s richest man in June, ahead of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani and SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son. He hails from Gujarat, the home state of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and has businesses in energy, transport, infrastructure, defense, and minerals and mining. A US court recently dismissed a criminal case against Adani brought by the Department of Justice under former President Joe Biden.

India has launched its first imaging satellite that will operate from geosynchronous orbit, giving the country the ability to obtain frequent, near-real-time images of large areas for disaster monitoring, agricultural, and military purposes.

The Earth Observation Satellite-05 (EOS-05) was launched aboard the Indian Space Research Organization’s (ISRO) GSLV-F17 rocket from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 2:55 am on Friday. Around 18 minutes later, it was placed in a transfer orbit.

EOS-05 is intended for “persistent monitoring of [the] Indian region,” ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan told RT India. Unlike India’s existing Earth-imaging satellites in lower orbits, which must pass over the same location again before fresh imagery can be collected, EOS-05 will be able to keep watching the same broad region for much longer periods.

“It is continuously monitoring. You can even take spot photographs,” Narayanan said, adding that its steerable camera can be moved across a designated area to scan selected locations.

Mission Success!

GSLV-F17 has successfully accomplished its mission, placing EOS-05 into the intended orbit.

Sharing a few memorable moments from the lift-off.

For more information:https://t.co/VneB2jgZoY#GSLVF17 #EOS05 #ISRO pic.twitter.com/kv0zB6V5Vi

— ISRO (@isro) September 3, 2026

Lower-orbit satellites can require around a day to return to the same area. By operating from a geosynchronous orbit, EOS-05 reduces that gap and provides more frequent imagery. The capability also has a security dimension.

“You’ve got an eye in the sky, which helps you see exactly what you want to see 24/7, and then gives you that much more reaction time,” retired Indian Army Lieutenant General Arun Sahni told RT India. “I don’t have to wait for a revisit.” 

The satellite could strengthen observation along India’s borders with Pakistan and China, he said. India and Pakistan exchanged missile and drone strikes during a brief conflict last year, while Indian and Chinese troops clashed along their disputed Himalayan border in 2020.

At 2,367 kg, it is the heaviest satellite yet carried by India’s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) into a transfer orbit.

The mission was the GSLV’s 19th flight and ISRO’s first successful orbital launch this year. It follows the failure of the PSLV-C62 mission in January after an anomaly in the rocket’s third stage.

An earlier attempt to deploy a geosynchronous Earth-imaging satellite in 2021 also failed because of a problem with the GSLV’s cryogenic upper stage.

Six Ukrainians and an American described as “mercenaries” and currently being held in prison launched a drone attack on a civilian aircraft in neighboring Myanmar, India’s anti-terrorism agency told a Delhi court.

The seven were arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in March while trying to depart India from different parts of the country.

A first-person view drone (FPV) of the type that is widely used in the Ukrainian conflict struck a Myanmar National Airlines ATR-72-600 while preparing to depart from Myitkyina Airport to Mandalay, on February 20, Burmese media reported at the time. 

The passenger-laden plane suffered damage to its nose, mid-fuselage, and tail sections. It is not clear if the NIA was referring to the same attack.

The agency previously told the court on August 19 that the Indian government “has received credible information indicating the involvement of certain Ukrainian and US nationals in a drone attack on a civilian aircraft in Myanmar.” 

The court granted the agency permission to interrogate two from the group – Ukrainian Viktor Kaminskyi and American Matthew VanDyke – in prison.

The details of the court filings were reported by the Indian Express on Friday.

The NIA said in total 14 Ukrainians entered India on tourist visas on different dates and flew to Guwahati in the northeastern state of Assam, where they traveled to the state of Mizoram without the required permits, and entered Myanmar illegally to conduct a “pre-scheduled training on drone warfare, drone operations, assembly, and jamming technology” for ethnic armed groups fighting the military government.

Several consignments of drones from Europe were delivered by the accused to individuals and groups in Mizoram, according to the NIA. The arrested mercenaries also allegedly confessed to have been in contact with and helped “unknown terrorists carrying AK47 rifles.”

The agency said it wants to confront Kaminskyi and VanDyke with certain witness statements to “unearth the larger conspiracy” in the case, details of the other suspects, and the masterminds of the operation.

It said data extracted from seized devices contained images, videos, voice samples, among other things, which have to be corroborated with direct questioning.

VanDyke, the American, is the founder of Sons of Liberty International, which provides military training in conflict zones. He has reportedly been involved in other conflicts, including fighting with Libyan rebels in 2011.

The court in July allowed him special food items and a cook after he complained that the “spicy and oily” prison meals affected his health, but it rejected his request for treatment at a private hospital, and to communicate with his family in the US.

India has defended its continued purchases of Russian oil, with the foreign minister saying restrictions on the energy trade will not bring a resolution to the Ukraine conflict, which has to come through dialogue and diplomacy.

“This conflict, which is today in its fifth year, will not be solved because somebody is buying or not buying oil or alumina or minerals or metals or fertilizer,” Jaishankar said after talks with his Ukrainian counterpart, Andrii Sybiha, in the capital, Kiev. “This conflict will be solved by dialogue, by diplomacy, by negotiation.”

Asked whether India will reduce its Russian oil purchases if Washington imposes steep sanctions on Russia’s top oil customers under a new bill, Jaishankar pointed to the challenges of providing energy for 1.4 billion people amid a “very, very difficult” global energy situation.

Russia was India’s largest crude oil supplier last month, providing around 2.1 million barrels per day, or 45% of the country’s imports, according to maritime intelligence firm Kpler. Volumes were lower than the record 2.8 million barrels per day imported in July as Indian refiners scaled back some purchases. 

Speaking to the press after meeting with FM Andrii Sybiha in Kyiv #Ukraine

🇮🇳🇺🇦 https://t.co/v7RxoXWzFP

— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) September 3, 2026

Jaishankar said New Delhi respects Ukraine’s perspective on Russian energy, but expects India’s position to be respected as well.

The exchange comes as the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 awaits consideration by the US House of Representatives. The legislation, which cleared the Senate last month, would allow tariffs of up to 100% on the top five buyers of Russian oil and gas. Ukraine has been lobbying US lawmakers for the bill’s passage. 

Russia is willing to share high-end technology and expand industrial cooperation with India to help develop its industries, the deputy minister of industry and trade, Roman Chekushov, has said.

”We are ready to share our technologies with them,” Chekushov said on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok on Thursday. He added that India has been seeking technologies from Russia as the two countries move beyond their robust trade relationship.

Chekushov said some Russian companies, mostly in the transportation and chemical sectors, already have production facilities in India. Calling this the initial stage, he said more Russian companies are exploring production in India and expanding in the Indian market. The initiative will also be in line with the Make-in-India policies promoted by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he seeks to boost economic growth and jobs in the world’s most populous nation.

The INNOPROM. India trade fair will open in New Delhi next week just ahead of the 18th BRICS Summit. The organizers say the event will showcase advanced technologies and explore cooperation across sectors ranging from aviation to AI.

'Russia–India Moving Beyond Trade Relations & Into Industrial Cooperation' - Roman Chekushov

‘Made in India’ partnerships will create added value, and Russia is ‘ready to share its technologies with 🇮🇳,’ the 🇷🇺 Deputy Minister of Industry & Trade said at EEF. pic.twitter.com/dOKUTrx3nZ

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) September 3, 2026

Russian aviation, technology, energy, and industrial heavyweights are attending, along with several big Indian companies.

India is also keen on the Northern Sea Route, which Russia is developing as a shorter, more competitive trade route to northern Europe via the Arctic ocean and its Far East.

The two countries have set a bilateral trade target of $100 billion to be reached by 2030.

Russia remained India’s largest supplier of crude oil in August, selling around 2.1 million barrels per day (bpd), or 45% of the country’s total imports, data from maritime intelligence firm Kpler shows.

Russian shipments were down from a record 2.8 million bpd in July, when they accounted for more than half of India’s crude purchases. However, India’s overall imports also declined to around 4.6 million bpd in August, nearly 8% below the more than 5 million bpd bought the previous month.

Indian refiners ramped up purchases in May, June, and July to guard against potential supply shortages amid the conflict in the Middle East. The August decline reflected some normalization after months of heavy buying, scheduled maintenance at Indian refineries, and lower availability of Russian crude, according to Kpler.

“August was less a story of India voluntarily stepping away from Russian oil than of Russia having fewer barrels to offer,” Abu Dhabi-based commodity analyst Natalia Katona told the Financial Express. Lower Russian seaborne exports and stronger competition from Chinese refiners for available cargoes also weighed on supplies to India, she said. 

The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela were among India’s other leading oil suppliers during the month. Venezuelan shipments rose sharply, reaching their highest level since 2020, according to Kpler data. 

The purchases have continued despite the prospect of new US tariffs targeting major buyers of Russian oil. The Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, which cleared the US Senate last month, would allow tariffs of up to 100% on imports from the five biggest buyers of Russian oil. The bill has US President Donald Trump’s backing but still has to pass the House. 

India maintains that its oil purchases are guided by affordability, availability, and national energy security rather than geopolitical considerations.

Western countries are trying to draw India into a confrontation with China by pushing a more military role for the Quad grouping, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok. 

Lavrov said India feels “very uncomfortable” in the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) grouping, arguing that the US and Japan have sought to add a military component to it.

“They are conducting maritime security exercises and are keen to draw our Indian friends into games against another great friend of ours – the People’s Republic of China,” Lavrov said.

The Quad grouping of India, the US, Japan, and Australia focuses on cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. Its activities cover areas ranging from trade and critical technologies to maritime security, with the four countries also taking part in the annual Malabar naval exercise.

At a meeting hosted by India in May, Quad foreign ministers launched a maritime surveillance initiative aimed at increasing information sharing and maritime domain awareness. India is also due to host the grouping’s next Quad-at-Sea Ship Observer Mission, intended to improve interoperability and knowledge-sharing.

📹 Germany Wants To Be Europe’s Top Military Force ‘Again’... Lavrov Points To Nazi Past, Calls It ‘Extremely Dangerous’

Referring to German Chancellor’s call to make Germany “the best country in the world, the main military force in Europe again,” the Russian FM said, “I was… https://t.co/iTxDLWQ0bO pic.twitter.com/mGHu4cCpxU

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) September 3, 2026

Lavrov linked the grouping to what he described as a broader Western effort to weaken the central role of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) by creating smaller blocs in the region.

He said Western countries are also trying to establish a “second Quad,” comprising the US, Japan, Australia, and the Philippines – instead of India – with the aim of fragmenting ASEAN unity.

India has pushed back against suggestions that participation in the Quad is directed against Beijing, saying it pursues an independent foreign policy based on national interests.

Lavrov also accused NATO of seeking to expand its presence and infrastructure in Asia. The US-led military bloc has stepped up cooperation with Australia, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand in areas including maritime security, cyber defense, and emerging technologies.

The Global South cannot merely remain consumers of artificial intelligence but should also author the norms governing the technology, to avoid it being used against their sovereignty and security, an Indian cyber and AI law expert has said.

China, India, and Russia will become integral to this norm-making process, Pavan Duggal told RT on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok.

The Global South can no longer be a mere spectator, but must be “an actual author of the norms for AI before they get crystallized,” Duggal told the gathering on Wednesday. He added that China, India, and Russia represent the collective thought leadership and vision of the Global South and will play a major role in creating the governance framework for AI.

Duggal said that a country’s sovereignty now extends beyond its traditional territorial boundaries and encompasses cyberspace and emerging technologies such as AI. Countries need to create stricter laws for providers of AI services anywhere in the world, as long as the services are delivered within their respective territories.

Nations of the Global South also have to ensure that their data does not fall into other countries’ hands, so it is not used to “prejudicially impact their sovereignty, security, and integrity.”

“We don’t want to be just consumers of AI services provided by someone else and governed by their respective norms,” he told RT.

Security cooperation is also expected to remain on top of the agenda for the BRICS summit later this month in India.

Current AI regulations across countries focus on the risks of the technology but don’t deal with making it accountable, he added.

Duggal said countries like India are beginning to see a new trend of “cognitive colonialism,” where people are ready to become “cognitive slaves” of big tech companies so long as their day-to-day work is done by AI.

An international industrial trade fair aimed at expanding Russian-Indian business ties is set to open in New Delhi next week, with organizers saying the event will showcase advanced technologies and new areas of cooperation across sectors ranging from aviation to artificial intelligence.

The inaugural INNOPROM. India fair will run from September 9 to 11 at Pavilion No. 1 of the Bharat Mandapam exhibition complex, just ahead of the 18th BRICS Summit. It is organized by the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade and India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry, with operational support from Formika Event and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). The Russian Trade Representation in India is also supporting the event.

According to organizers, the exhibition will cover 10,000 square meters and bring together more than 120 Russian and Indian companies. Exhibitors will present technologies and industrial products in engineering, energy, chemicals, digital technologies, aviation, and other fields.

Among the Russian participants are Rostec, Rosatom, RUSAL, Transmashholding, Sber, United Aircraft Corporation, United Engine Corporation, PhosAgro, the Russian Export Center, the Center for Research in Advanced Technologies, Natsproektstroy, Arnest Unirus, A7, and Alfa-Bank. Regional exporters from Moscow, Krasnodar Territory, Tatarstan, and the Chelyabinsk Region will also be represented.

The Indian side will include companies such as SRB International, National Mineral Development Corporation, Steel Authority of India Limited, ITC, Nicco Cables, Global Gases Group, Monte Carlo, and Central Electronics Limited.

Other displays are set to include a train traffic management system, automated storage systems, industrial robots, a digital twin of Moscow, a platform for developing and managing AI agents, an international recruitment platform for foreign specialists, and an optical computing unit designed to lower energy use in AI data processing. Organizers say the event will also present integrated design concepts that combine infrastructure, digitalization, AI-powered energy management, and ESG standards into a single smart urban model.

The centerpiece of the business program will be the main plenary session on September 10, titled Enhancing Russian-Indian Trade and Industrial Partnership: Towards Greater Self-Reliance. It is expected to feature Russian Industry and Trade Minister Anton Alikhanov and Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. Discussions will focus on deepening strategic partnership, expanding bilateral trade and investment, increasing market access, and developing joint industrial projects.

Other sessions will examine business cooperation, regional aviation, digital technologies, trade infrastructure, critical minerals and raw materials, and additive manufacturing.

Organizers said advance registration is required for visitors on September 9 and 10, and is available through the official INNOPROM. India website.

Russian lender Sberbank has bought two business towers in New Delhi and plans to use the properties for a Russia-India trade and cooperation hub, it said at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok.

The Summit Towers, which are under construction, are expected to be completed by 2028. The acquisition was part of the bank’s expansion in India, which includes real estate, Sberbank First Deputy Chairman Aleksandr Vedyakhin said in a statement, TASS reported.

The bank did not disclose a purchase price. Indian media reported in April that Sberbank bought two office towers from state-owned construction company NBCC (India) Ltd. at the planned Bharat Business Park in Sarojini Nagar, South Delhi, for around $210 million (20 billion rupees).

Five of the development’s eight towers, covering around 1.4 million square feet, were sold in an auction in April, NBCC said.

The two towers together cover around 500,000 square feet, the Economic Times reported. Bharat Business Park fronts Ring Road, one of New Delhi’s main arterial roads, and is close to the World Trade Center, the Bhikaji Cama Place commercial district, and the Hyatt hotel, according to NBCC’s auction documents.

The absence of Western sanctions and the shorter distance make the Northern Sea Route along Russia’s Arctic coast attractive to India, the CEO of a logistics company has said.

”The key factor is the absence of problems related to sanctions restrictions, which allows us to insure cargo against transport risks at very favorable rates,” Y&H Cargo CEO Rakesh Mishra said at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok on Tuesday.

The four-day annual event is being attended by officials, businessmen, experts, and researchers from 80 countries.

Mishra said the Arctic route is shorter for Indian shippers and will also provide a boost to trade with Southeast Asia, the world’s largest manufacturing hub. “Overall, this trade route is more efficient than the western route,” TASS cited him as saying.

The 5,600 km Northern Sea Route (NSR) from Vladivostok to Murmansk runs off Russia’s Arctic coastline and is the shortest shipping route between East Asia and Europe. For India, the route can save up to 40% in distance and around two weeks in travel time to most European ports.

India plans to send its first commercial ship along the NSR next year, an official said at the Arctic-Regions Forum in Arkhangelsk last month.

State-owned conglomerate Rosatom is the designated operator and coordinator of the NSR and also manages Russia’s nuclear-powered icebreaker fleet, which is keeps the shipping lane navigable.

Strong and trusted connectivity initiatives are vital for the progress and prosperity of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) members, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told a meeting of the group’s leaders on Tuesday.

“We must transform our shared geography into shared opportunities,” Modi told the assembled leaders – including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping – at the 26th summit of the grouping in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek.

The SCO is the world’s largest grouping by geographic area and population, and its members together account for about a fourth of the world’s GDP. India and China are also among the fastest growing major economies in the world, with India posting 7.8% GDP growth in the April-June quarter amid macroeconomic headwinds.

Interconnecting markets would help the grouping further leverage its economic heft and exploit the resources and talent of the member countries.

Modi emphasized that India supports connectivity efforts that link markets, enhance trade, and open new opportunities for development, but cautioned that such efforts should respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations.

Addressed the SCO Summit in Bishkek.

This Summit is special because we are marking 25 years since the start of SCO.

Here are the points I’ve raised in the Summit👇🏼 pic.twitter.com/oYZLLFvztf

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 1, 2026

The Indian prime minister noted that technology, entrepreneurship, innovation, start-ups, and people-to-people initiatives open immense opportunities for people in the SCO countries. He appreciated the focus on youth engagement under Kyrgyzstan’s presidency of the grouping.

The real measure of success should be in the new opportunities created for young people, the new markets opened for entrepreneurs, the farmers who have benefited from technology, and the improved quality of life of citizens, Modi posted on X.

On Monday, Modi met with Putin on the sidelines of the summit and discussed bilateral ties, including expanding trade links. The Indian prime minister advocated for a peaceful settlement to the Ukraine conflict, and said national interest will remain the guiding principle of India-Russia relations.

India’s federal anti-terror agency will interrogate a Ukrainian and an American who were arrested in March for allegedly entering the country’s restricted areas without permits, and crossing over into neighboring Myanmar to provide training to armed groups.

A Delhi court on Monday allowed the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to interrogate Ukrainian Viktor Kaminskyi and American Matthew VanDyke on September 2 and 3.

Both men are currently in Delhi’s Tihar jail. The two, along with five other Ukrainians – Petro Hurba, Taras Slyviak, Ivan Sukmanovskyi, Marian Stefankiv, and Maksim Honcharuk – were arrested from three different cities while trying to fly out of the country.

It is not immediately clear why the NIA is interrogating only two from the group. The agency earlier recorded voice samples of all the arrested individuals.

Soon after their arrest, Ukraine rejected “any insinuations regarding the possible involvement of the Ukrainian State in supporting terrorist activities” and demanded that India release its nationals.

The NIA earlier reportedly found evidence that multiple consignments of drones from Europe were delivered by the accused to individuals and groups in the northeastern Indian state of Mizoram, where they crossed into Myanmar.

India Prime Minister Narendra Modi advocated for a peaceful end to the Ukraine conflict as he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Kyrgyzstan, where the two leaders also dicussed growing ties between the two nations.

Noting that Putin has always kept him updated with details on the Ukraine conflict, Modi said on Monday that India supports all efforts at peace. 

”Any day spent in war pushes humanity backward; one step towards peace brings hope,” he said. “We have to move from endless war to the end of war, which is in humanity’s interest.” 

The conflict is now in its fifth year. At the SCO summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, in 2022, Modi had similarly urged a peaceful settlement of the conflict, stating: “Today’s era is not an era of war.” 

Amid rising Western pressure on India and the Global South to isolate Russia, Modi said national interest has always been the main priority for the two countries in their relationship, and “this will remain our guiding principle in the future as well.”

Always a delight to meet President Putin. Sharing my remarks during our meeting in Bishkek.
https://t.co/cEHwfBsGub

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 31, 2026

The Russian president, in turn, cited the growing economic and trade cooperation between the countries. Trade turnover rose 2.6% in the first half of this year, Putin noted. The two nations have set a bilateral trade target of $100 billion to be achieved by 2030. 

India is the second biggest buyer of Russian oil as the Middle East conflict has disrupted oil supplies from the Persian Gulf countries.

”Russian-Indian relations continue to strengthen on the basis of the principles of a special and privileged partnership,” Putin said, praising Modi for his “special attention to Russian-Indian relations and the business and friendly relations that have been established between us.”

The focus areas for the India-Russia friendship remain energy, innovation, space, fertilizers, and people-to-people ties, Modi posted on X after the meeting.

India wants to “expand and diversify” its trade relations with Iran, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Prime told Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Monday, while also calling for freedom of navigation and the protection of seafarers amid the Middle East conflict.

”Reiterated our commitment to strengthening India’s long-standing friendship with Iran across diverse sectors,” Modi posted on X after meeting Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Kyrgyzstan’s capital, Bishkek, on Monday. “We want to expand and diversify our trade basket in the times to come.”

It was the first in-person meeting between the two leaders since the Middle East conflict, triggered by US-Israeli attacks on Iran, began in February. The Indian prime minister’s statement comes amid a campaign launched by the US Treasury Department to isolate Iran economically, building on Washington’s Operation Economic Outcast, a broad effort to sever Iran’s financial links around the world. The Treasury has said it will give countries timelines to shut down Iran-related activity, and entities that fail to comply face potential secondary-sanctions.

India is among Iran’s five largest trading partners, but bilateral trade has declined more than 90% from about $17 billion in 2018-19 to about $1.6 billion in the financial year ending March 2026. Indian exports to Iran are now limited mostly to goods exempted on humanitarian grounds.

Met President Masoud Pezeshkian in Bishkek. Reiterated our commitment to strengthening India’s long standing friendship with Iran across diverse sectors. We want to expand and diversify our trade basket in the times to come.

We had a discussion on the prevailing situation in… pic.twitter.com/qagQy5o108

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 31, 2026

Iran and the US traded attacks overnight Monday, the first time in over a month. Modi said he and the Iranian president discussed the prevailing situation in the Middle East, and that “India will continue to support all efforts aimed at ensuring lasting peace.”

Modi also called for safeguarding the freedom of navigation and commerce and emphasized that civilians and civilian infrastructure, including commercial shipping and seafarers, must not be harmed under any circumstances. Ten Indian seafarers have died in attacks on commercial shipping around the Strait of Hormuz since the start of hostilities in February.

Modi also said he looked forward to welcoming Pezeshkian to India for the BRICS Summit in New Delhi in September. Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi was also present during the meeting.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Bishkek starting Sunday as the bloc enters its 25th year in 2026. It marks a significant milestone for an institution that has evolved from a narrowly defined regional security grouping into one of the important multilateral platforms across Eurasia.

Established in 2001 by China, Russia and four Central Asian states (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan), the SCO was initially driven by concerns regarding ‘Three Evils’ – terrorism, separatism and extremism.

However, its agenda later expanded to encompass trade, connectivity, energy, development, digital cooperation and people-to-people exchanges. Its geographical and political weight has also increased substantially, particularly following the admission of India and Pakistan as full members in 2017 and the subsequent inclusion of Iran and Belarus.

The 25-year milestone, therefore, provides an opportunity to assess the SCO not merely in terms of its institutional longevity, but from the perspective of India’s evolving Eurasian strategy.

From observer to member

When the SCO was just established, India was an outsider to the organization and New Delhi initially viewed the emerging Eurasian grouping from the margins. However, in early 2000s, India was increasingly concerned about terrorism, the Afghanistan crisis, energy security, Eurasian connectivity and engagement with the newly independent Central Asian republics.

Later, India formally applied for full SCO membership in 2014 and was admitted in 2017.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while speaking at the 2017 SCO Summit, highlighted that the fight against terrorism, climate change, connectivity, peace, and stability in Afghanistan were India’s priorities within the SCO.

The fact that both of India’s two major milestones in the SCO, observer status in 2005 and full membership in 2017 were formalized at Astana summits does provide an interesting indicator of the special place Kazakhstan occupies in India’s SCO journey, which has been symbolically significant and diplomatically supportive. Astana marked both the beginning and the culmination of India’s institutional journey in the SCO.

India’s SCO engagement became considerably more regular following full membership in 2017. PM Modi has personally participated in nine SCO Heads of State summits, including three virtual participations in 2020, 2021 and 2023.

During India’s presidency, New Delhi attempted to broaden the SCO’s agenda by promoting cooperation in areas such as start-ups and innovation, digital transformation, traditional medicine, science and technology, youth empowerment and shared Buddhist heritage. This reflects India’s desire to prevent the SCO from becoming a mere security organization and transform it into a platform for developmental and technological cooperation among Eurasian countries.

Why India is at the SCO

India remains committed to the SCO institutionally, while calibrating the level of political engagement according to its broader strategic interests. It uses the organization as one platform within a larger network of partnerships.

For New Delhi, the SCO is primarily a pragmatic platform for engaging continental Eurasia, managing security challenges, preserving strategic autonomy and ensuring India’s presence in Central Asia. The biggest attraction of the SCO for India is geographical. It brings India into a forum with Russia, China and the Central Asian republics, alongside Iran, Pakistan and Belarus. Some of these countries play an important role in defining New Delhi’s economic and strategic engagement with Eurasia.

India does not want Eurasia to become the exclusive sphere of influence of any single power, and thus, a multipolar Eurasia suits New Delhi. Participation in the SCO allows India to remain politically present in a region where its physical connectivity remains relatively limited.

The SCO is the only multilateral platform which can facilitate India’s engagement with its two foremost security challenges – Pakistan and China. However, the degree of success in both cases has been different for New Delhi.

The SCO forced India and Pakistan into the same room, but institutional proximity has not produced meaningful bilateral rapprochement. The 2025 SCO defense ministers’ meeting illustrated this sharply. India objected to the failure of the joint statement to adequately address terrorism and the Pahalgam terror attack, and the meeting ended without consensus on the statement. The SCO has enabled contact but not reconciliation between India and Pakistan.

Engaging with neighbors

One of the expectations from India’s SCO membership was to dilute China’s power through a multilateral mechanism. The SCO, on different occasions, proved to be a platform for India-China crisis management and political signaling, even when the relationship remains largely competitive.

A similar diplomatic pattern occurred years prior. In September 2022, just one week before the SCO Summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, both militaries eased tensions in eastern Ladakh. The SCO has repeatedly provided a diplomatic setting in which India-China tensions have been managed or temporarily de-escalated.

However, India has not succeeded in using the SCO to overcome the China-Pakistan strategic partnership. China remains Pakistan’s main strategic partner and continues to support it on the issue of terrorism, the main bone of contention between India and Pakistan. The SCO, however, helps India to prevent Pakistan from monopolizing the regional diplomatic narrative and to ensure that China and Pakistan are not in an uncontested position to define the SCO agenda entirely on their own terms.

India has also used the SCO to deepen its engagement with the Central Asian countries, in line with its Connect Central Asia policy announced in 2012. The SCO provides India with regular interaction with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan at the leaders’, ministerial and bureaucratic levels. This is important because India’s bilateral engagement with Central Asia is otherwise constrained by the absence of a direct land corridor.

India-Russia Partnership 

India–Russia relations are important for understanding how the SCO works, because Russia has traditionally acted as a balancing and moderating force between India and China, while India has used the SCO to pursue its Eurasian interests without accepting a China-dominated regional order.

India’s close relationship with Russia, therefore, contributes to a multipolar rather than a bipolar China–Russia structure within the SCO. This is particularly important for New Delhi because India would want to maintain the SCO as a forum in which states with differing interests can coexist without the dominance of any country.

Doubts over India’s SCO Membership

Critics have often raised doubts over India’s membership in the SCO, arguing that it offers India limited gains. India’s increasing focus on the Indo-Pacific, maritime security, supply chains and the Indian Ocean are also sometimes seen as working against its Eurasian strategy.

India’s exit from the SCO would surrender diplomatic space to China and further strengthen the China-Pakistan partnership against India in Eurasia, especially with regards to the issue of terrorism. Such a move could allow both Pakistan and China to dominate the narrative on regional security to India’s disadvantage. India’s current SCO engagement continues to emphasize counterterrorism and fighting extremism as its main interests in the organization.

The Central Asian countries have welcomed India’s presence in the region, as part of their multi-vector foreign policy. India’s SCO exit would harm their foreign policy balance and impact India’s engagement with them.

The SCO is also one of the institutional spaces where India can interact with Russia despite the growing complexity of the international system. Exiting the SCO could, therefore, unintentionally reduce one of the platforms through which India manages its simultaneously important but increasingly complicated relationships with Russia and China.

New Delhi’s foreign policy is increasingly characterized by multi-alignment and strategic autonomy. Leaving the SCO could be interpreted as India moving closer to the West. That would unnecessarily constrain its diplomatic flexibility.

What has India missed at the SCO so far?

India joined the SCO partly because it wanted greater access to Central Asia. But after 25 years, India’s physical connectivity with the region remains weak. Meanwhile, China’s Belt and Road Initiative has created extensive infrastructure connecting China with Central Asia and Pakistan. India has achieved institutional connectivity with Central Asia, but not physical connectivity.

Afghanistan is arguably the area where the SCO could have enormous relevance. However, it has struggled to develop a coherent common policy after the Taliban’s return to power due to differences among member states.

India has an interest in using the SCO to address the Afghanistan–Central Asia–South Asia narcotics corridor, but India–Pakistan tensions and the absence of Afghanistan from effective SCO mechanisms have prevented the organization from becoming a truly effective regional counter-narcotics platform. The SCO has Afghanistan at the center of its security agenda, but Afghanistan remains at the periphery of its institutional architecture.

The defense agreement signed on August 7, 2026 by Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan has implications for the SCO, even though the pact is not an SCO initiative. The so-called Mecca Pact, which treats an armed attack on one party as an attack on all three, creates a security triangle involving one SCO member (Pakistan) and two SCO partners. This could increasingly influence discussions on terrorism, West Asian security, energy and connectivity within the broader SCO ecosystem.

The Mecca Pact does not directly threaten the SCO, but it could make the SCO’s internal geopolitics more complicated by bringing a Pakistan-led security alignment into an organization where India and Iran are already major stakeholders, negatively impacting the SCO’s consensus-based politics.

Bottom line

As the SCO completes 25 years, India’s experience demonstrates that the organization remains more useful as a platform for strategic engagement than as an instrument for achieving transformative outcomes. India has gained institutional access to continental Eurasia, maintained regular interaction with member states and used the SCO to advance counterterrorism, connectivity and development-oriented cooperation.

Yet, its limitations are equally evident: India has been unable to overcome the China-Pakistan strategic partnership, translate institutional connectivity into physical connectivity with Central Asia, or build a coherent collective response on Afghanistan and terrorism.

Nevertheless, these shortcomings do not make withdrawal attractive. For India, leaving would create diplomatic space for China and Pakistan while reducing one of the few forums where New Delhi can simultaneously engage Beijing, Moscow and Central Asia. The SCO, hence, remains relevant to India, not simply as a geopolitical bloc, but strategically – as an instrument to work towards a multipolar Eurasian order.

Afghanistan has “suffered greatly” from war and it does not want conflict with any country, the Taliban has said.

“War benefits no one, and neither does destabilizing the region,” Taliban chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Runjhun Sharma’s ‘India, Russia, and the World’ podcast.

Responding to Sharma’s hypothetical question whether Taliban would put boots on the ground for India against Pakistan, Mujahid asserted, “We do not want war or instability in the region, and we do not want any country to take action against another.”

The Taliban government has quietly improved ties with India, which Islamabad has partly blamed for its own strained relations with Afghanistan.

Mujahid, however, said Afghanistan did not start the recent border fighting and was just defending itself after Pakistan violated its territory. “Defending ourselves is our right, but we are neither the initiators nor do we want it to continue.”

The Taliban spokesman pointed out that the conflict benefits no one as people on both sides of the border share a common culture, trade links, and geography.

Recently, a spokesman for the Taliban’s Ministry of Economy, Abdul Rahman Habib, told Sharma in a separate interview that his government will ensure the safety of a prospective rail route linking Russia to India, which would give Moscow access to the Indian Ocean, and give jobs to Afghans.

“We place great importance on maintaining a strong relationship with India,” Mujahid added. “Those ties are moving in a positive direction.”

“Afghanistan, as you know, is going through a period of reconstruction, and Russia has extensive resources that could be useful to us. We want to benefit from Russia’s experience in rebuilding the country while also expanding trade and economic cooperation.”

“More broadly, it could possibly be of great benefit to regional security as well if cooperation exists among the two countries.”

A new fund launched in India plans to invest $1 billion in the country’s neurotechnology sector over the next five years.

ADI Neuroscience is backed by SPEC Finance India, with Aleksandr Panov, a serial investor and CEO of Russian neurotechnology firm Neiry, serving as the fund’s lead adviser.

The sector includes technologies and devices that enable communication with the human brain. Billionaire investor Elon Musk’s Neuralink is the most famous BCI company.

India ranks third in the BCI sector, with 12 startups – behind China’s 23, and 101 in the US – according to market intelligence company Tracxn. However, Indian BCI startups have pulled in only about $8.5 million in the last ten years, compared to $3.03 billion by US startups and $117 million by Chinese firms.

The global BCI market is expected to grow to $15.14 billion by 2035, from $2.87 billion in 2024, according to a report by Spherical Insights & Consulting.

Launched last week, ADI sees India as a platform where research teams, engineering expertise, and capital can come together to make the country a hub for the development of neurotechnologies.

”India has the rare opportunity to participate in shaping the standards and regulatory frameworks for the sector rather than adapting to frameworks developed elsewhere,” ADI Neuroscience said in a statement.

”The fund’s resources will be directed toward advancing neurotechnology R&D in India, creating competitive products, and developing the industry domestically,” SPEC Finance Group CEO Karan Dinesh Singh Rawat added.

The fund has deep links to Russian technology leadership. Panov, an ambassador for deep-tech entrepreneurship, is its scientific adviser, while Mikhail Lebedev, a professor at the Moscow State University who specializes in brain-to-brain interfaces, is a member of its scientific board.

Nepal has ramped up rescue efforts as it searches for thousands of people missing along its northern border with China, where a catastrophic flash flood wiped out towns and villages on Wednesday morning, killing more than 350 people.

Nepalese Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal said Thursday that thousands of families have lost their homes and remain untraced.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority in Nepal said 826 people are missing, with the Nuwakot and Rasuwa districts being the worst affected. The authority said 44 Nepalese Army personnel, 28 police personnel, and 13 Armed Police Force personnel are among those missing.

The Nepalese Army and private helicopters are conducting rescue missions, with about a 100 people rescued from the affected areas, spokesperson Brigadier General Raja Ram Basnet said. Army teams also rescued people trapped in the Trishuli hydropower project’s facilities.

At least eight foreign nationals were airlifted to Kathmandu by the army, he said.

Videos posted online by the army show its personnel rescuing people trapped in the thick, concrete-like mud covering many of the villages and towns that stood in the flood’s path.

The aftermath destruction of Nepal-Tibet flood seen from the helicopter view.
Why they built the houses near the river bank. pic.twitter.com/lYTgdyHo5s

— Sohail (@onlysohail_) August 27, 2026

“Rehabilitation is the major concern” for the Nepalese government as people have lost their homes, the spokesman for the Nepalese Prime Minister’s Office, Hemraj Aryal, told RT India. “The main thing is revitalizing and re-engaging the people in the society.”

He said rescue teams are already on most sites where people need help, but added that reconnecting the roads will take time as the devastation is huge.

China, where 558 people are missing in Tibet, dispatched 111 emergency rescuers to Gyirong Port in Xizang carrying detection, life-saving, demolition, communication, and support equipment. With roads washed away or damaged, the team was flown from Chengdu early Thursday morning, landing at Dingri Airport in Shigatse.

PM @narendramodi talk to nepal pm @ShahBalen and assured him of all possible assistance.

The Nepali Army is conducting a rescue operation. See the photos of the helicopter rescue operation.

Pls pray for #Nepal#NepalFloods #Nepal #Rasuwa #FlashFlood #Floods #Dhading pic.twitter.com/iRCC60rHtF

— Ravi Pandey🇮🇳 (@ravipandey2643) August 26, 2026

The People’s Liberation Army also sent a group to take over command over military rescue forces, including aviation, medical, transportation, and engineering troops.

The People’s Daily said a barrier lake has formed about 2.5 km from Gyirong Port, posing “significant challenges to ongoing rescue efforts.”

बाढी प्रभावितहरूको उद्धारमा #नेपालीसेना....
जहाँ संकट, त्यहाँ #नेपालीसेना !!!#NepaliArmy#BhoteKoshiFlood pic.twitter.com/roAhhUGMNt

— Nepali Army (@NepaliArmyHQ) August 27, 2026

Nepal’s Khanal said about 500 foreign nationals are out of contact, many of them on pilgrimage to Mansarovar, a sacred site for Hindus, in Tibet. He said the Nepalese government has been in contact with foreign embassies on the missing foreign nationals.

“We are as committed to the safety and well-being of foreign nationals as we are to the Nepali citizens,” he said in Kathmandu.

All-out Rescue, Relief Efforts after Mudslide Hits Border Port in Xizang

The Chinese PLA Western Theater Command dispatched a directing group to the Xizang Autonomous Region in southwest China on the morning of August 27 to coordinate the military forces’ joint rescue operations… pic.twitter.com/FUbAwPNGEu

— China Military Bugle (@ChinaMilBugle) August 27, 2026

Nepalese Prime Minister Balendra Shah and Infrastructure Development Minister Sunil Lamsal have travelled to Bidur, in Nuwakot. They will meet local officials and discuss relief and rehabilitation as well as how to restore the damaged infrastructure.

India flew in 10 tons of relief supplies to Nepal, including temporary shelters, blankets, hygiene kits, solar lamps, and medicines, on Wednesday evening. A second flight carrying medicines and food packets took off Thursday morning.

India, China, and the World Bank are coordinating financial and other assistance for rescue and reconstruction, the Kathmandu post reported, adding the World Bank has offered to mobilize up to NPR 25 billion (about $165 billion) in emergency assistance.

A massive flash flood has killed at least 360 people across Nepal and China's Tibet after a torrent of water, mud and debris tore through the Himalayan border region on Wednesday, sweeping away villages, roads, bridges, and power facilities.

Nepal Police said Thursday afternoon that 359 bodies have been recovered, while Chinese authorities have confirmed another three deaths at Gyirong Port in Tibet. Thousands remain missing on both sides of the border.

‘Thousands of families missing’

“Town after town has been wiped out within hours,” Nepali Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal told India’s NDTV on Thursday morning. “Thousands of families have lost homes and are missing as of now. We are still trying to ascertain the full extent of the disaster.”

Khanal said around 500 foreigners, mostly pilgrims on the Kailash-Mansarovar route, are out of contact. These include about 300 Indians reported missing.

Nepal’s Department of Tourism said that among the missing are 47 Americans, 34 Australians, 33 Britons, 24 Canadians, and 19 Malaysians, as well as citizens of more than 20 other countries. Four Russians are also among those unaccounted for.

Beijing said 558 people were missing in the flash flood, including 260 foreign nationals, in Tibet’s Gyirong County.

❗️ More Horrifying Footage Shows Gigantic Mudslide Engulfing China’s Gyirong Region - WARNING: Distressing 📹

‘Major casualties’ are feared after infrastructure was completely obliterated in the major border crossing between China and Nepal. (Xinhua) https://t.co/lct3g9fOIc pic.twitter.com/M1NzVj0Naq

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) August 26, 2026

Nepalese officials have stressed that being out of contact does not necessarily mean the travelers were caught in the flood, as roads, electricity and communications have been wiped out across parts of the mountainous region. Many were pilgrims traveling toward Mount Kailash in Tibet, while Nepali trekkers were heading toward Gosaikunda Lake ahead of the Janai Purnima festival.

Flood’s fury caught on camera

Videos show the flood’s fury as it swept aside everything that stood in its way, including hydropower projects, bridges, roads and houses. Buildings were swallowed by muddy water and vehicles tossed through the debris as residents fled with little warning.

⚠️ Extremely Distressing Footage Shows Mudslide Sweeping Up Fleeing Citizens, Cars, & Buildings On China-Nepal Border

Viewer discretion.

📹 @mcudirector https://t.co/RV9HxrYyP4 pic.twitter.com/pFtKSs5v42

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) August 26, 2026

Floodwaters surged through the Bhote Koshi River at around 9am local time, causing widespread destruction in the Syapru Besi and Timure areas of Rasuwa district before racing downstream into the Trishuli River.

❗Nepal Floods: At Least 7 Dead, Security Personnel Missing 🇳🇵

The worst-hit areas include Timure and Syabrubesi in Rasuwa, where floodwaters have swept away homes, bridges and parts of a key road towards the China border, according to The Kathmandu Post.

Nine Armed Police… https://t.co/OGz6YNAMPx pic.twitter.com/XRGgZGxHj7

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) August 26, 2026

The speed of the surge was extraordinary. The Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) said the Trishuli rose by as much as nine meters in just 30 minutes at one monitoring station, while another recorded a seven-meter rise over roughly the same period.

Apocalyptic view of the flash flood that struck northern Nepal and Tibet today.

A bridge collapsing under the fury of the water. pic.twitter.com/YdHjZ2SwPQ

— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) August 26, 2026

Authorities have warned people along riverbanks in Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading, Gorkha and Chitwan to remain on higher ground. Several flood-monitoring stations were themselves damaged or swept away.

Infrastructure wiped out

At least 19 motorable bridges and nearly 40km of roads have been swept away, cutting off communities and crippling access to the worst-hit areas.

A sudden massive flood swept through northern Nepal this morning, causing extensive damage in Timure and Syafrubesi areas of Rasuwa district after the Bhote Koshi River surged around 9 am, reportedly from the direction of Tibet.

Nepal Army, Armed Police Force and Nepal Police… pic.twitter.com/P78X3328dX

— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) August 26, 2026

Nepal’s electricity network also took a major hit. Eleven hydropower projects and one solar facility were affected, knocking 431.1MW of generating capacity off the national grid. Transmission lines and substations were damaged, while electricity was completely cut in Rasuwa and disrupted in several neighboring districts.

Trishuli Bazaar After The Floods 🇳🇵

The river has redrawn the landscape.

Drone footage shows entire rows of riverside homes gone, leaving behind a barren expanse of mud, debris and scattered structures.

📹 Social Media https://t.co/RV9HxrYyP4 pic.twitter.com/0rToqQpbPU

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) August 26, 2026

Rescue operations have been complicated by destroyed roads, deep mud, high water and difficult Himalayan terrain. Nepal has mobilized the army, police and helicopters, while at least 28 police officers are themselves among those still missing.

What triggered the disaster?

Initial reports pointed to an earthquake, but the US Geological Survey later said the seismic event was actually a massive glacial collapse and debris flow that caused catastrophic impacts downstream. ICIMOD believes an ice-rock avalanche crashed into the Lhende Khola and may have temporarily blocked the river before unleashing the devastating surge, although the precise sequence remains under investigation.

The flash flooding along the Lhende Khola and Bhotekoshi Rivers near the Nepal,China border was triggered by a cascade of geological events:

​Ice-Rock Avalanche:
A massive ice-rock avalanche detached from a glacier high on the Himalayan slopes.

​Landslide Dam Creation:
The… pic.twitter.com/E7QluW7K5L

— Cio (@LoveLigth7) August 26, 2026

The danger may not be over. ICIMOD has warned that a blockage remains lodged upstream, posing a threat of another sudden flood, with evacuation orders issued around Gyirong Port.

Authorities in Nepal report villages washed away by a massive flash flood in a region bordering Tibet. Roads, bridges, and power projects were damaged across the Himalayan area. pic.twitter.com/LUquf3vWNP

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) August 26, 2026

The Lhende Khola has now flooded twice in just 14 months. The same border region was hit by another devastating flash flood last August, when a glacial lake in Tibet overflowed and nine people were killed.

China races to find missing

Chinese authorities said three people were killed and 558 remained missing in Tibet’s Gyirong County as of Thursday morning, more than doubling the previous tally of 265. Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said 260 of those unaccounted for are foreign nationals.

Two people have been rescued alive, according to Chinese state media, as hundreds of emergency workers, troops and rescue specialists continue searching the devastated border area.

The torrent devastated the border crossing, burying buildings in debris and washing out sections of road. Xinhua reported that rescuers initially struggled to reach the core disaster zone as raging water, rain and completely destroyed roadbeds blocked access.

China has dispatched 111 emergency rescuers to the mudslide-stricken Gyirong Port in China's Xizang, carrying detection, life-saving, demolition, communication, and support equipment.

The plane has now landed at Dingri Airport in Shigatse. pic.twitter.com/NxfkffAwxO

— Li Zexin 李泽欣 (@XH_Lee23) August 27, 2026

President Xi Jinping ordered rescuers to make every possible effort to find the missing, evacuate those at risk and prevent secondary disasters. Tibet activated its highest Level-I natural-disaster response, while Beijing launched a national Level-II emergency response and sent hundreds of firefighters, troops, engineers and other rescue personnel to the region.

Beijing reinforced the operation early Thursday by dispatching an additional 111-member China Rescue Team with detection, communications and lifesaving equipment. A PLA Y-20 military transport aircraft was also sent to Tibet carrying a Western Theater Command team to coordinate joint rescue operations.

China has also allocated 120 million yuan ($16.8 million) in central disaster-relief funds and another 100 million yuan for emergency infrastructure restoration.

New Delhi launches emergency response

Nepal has asked both India and China for help with rescue operations. The Bhote Koshi feeds into the Trishuli River, which eventually flows into India as the Gandak, prompting authorities downstream to closely monitor rising water levels.

India has put vulnerable areas in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh on alert and begun sending emergency assistance to Nepal. An Indian Air Force C-130J carrying around 10 tonnes of shelters, blankets, hygiene kits, solar lamps and medicines departed for Kathmandu on Wednesday night.

The shipment followed a phone call between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart Balendra Shah, during which Modi offered “all possible humanitarian assistance.” India said additional transport aircraft and helicopters were being prepared for relief and evacuation operations.

India and China agreed to continue to seek a political settlement of their border dispute in talks between top officials held in Beijing on Tuesday.

Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the designated special representatives for the border talks mechanism, “had a candid and in-depth exchange of views on the India-China boundary question, and agreed to continue their work in seeking a political settlement of the boundary question in the context of their overall and long-term interests,” the Indian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

It said the two sides expressed satisfaction at the steady resumption of people-to-people and cross-border exchanges, including the ongoing Kailash Manasarovar pilgrimage and resumption of border trade through the Himalayan passes.

The special representatives noted the progress made in implementing the consensus reached between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Kazan, Russia on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in October 2024, and again in Tianjin, China in August 2025 on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit.

ICYMI: Doval, Wang Yi Hold 25th Round Of India-China Boundary Talks

New Delhi and Beijing agreed to continue working towards a “fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable” settlement of their boundary question, while stressing the importance of maintaining peace along the border.… pic.twitter.com/L0jbSFQcjd

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) August 26, 2026

Kazan was the first formal bilateral meeting between Modi and Xi in four years, since a skirmish in the Ladakh region of the Himalayas in 2020 left 20 Indian soldiers and at least four Chinese soldiers dead.

At Kazan, Modi and Xi agreed to use the special representatives mechanism and foreign minister dialogues to seek solutions to the border question and maintain peace in border areas.

Doval and Wang also discussed bilateral, regional, and international issues of mutual interest, as the two neighbors prepare for this year’s SCO summit next week in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and the BRICS summit next month in New Delhi.

Xi is expected to attend the BRICS meeting with a large delegation, according to reports.

Doval also called on Chinese Vice President Han Zheng before the special representative talks.

Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval held talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday on the border issue between the two countries and improving relations.

”We are meeting in keeping with the guidance of our leaders, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping, who have given clear and positive direction to our relationship, both at the highest and working levels,” Doval said in his remarks, reports said. “I am happy that, over the past year, our relationship has been steadily returning to normalcy.”

Doval noted that the talks are “particularly important against the backdrop of the BRICS Summit.” The summit will be held in New Delhi next month and Chinese President Xi Jinping will reportedly attend.

The two officials are the designated special representatives for the border talks mechanism, which was established in 2003. It is the main channel for negotiations between the two countries on the border issue and communication on issues of mutual interest.

Doval, who is on a two-day visit to China, met with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng on Monday and discussed ways to strengthen peace in the border areas and improve economic, political, and multilateral relations, the Indian Embassy said in an X post.

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval held the 25th round of Special Representatives’ talks on the India-China boundary question with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing.

During his visit, NSA Doval also met Chinese Vice President Han Zheng, with discussions focusing on… pic.twitter.com/QyEcnOaYN3

— DD News (@DDNewslive) August 25, 2026

Ahead of the talks, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar reiterated that “peace and tranquility” along the border areas are a prerequisite for good relations with China.

Relations between the two nuclear-armed neighbors froze after a skirmish between their troops in the Ladakh region of their common Himalayan border in 2020, which left 20 Indian soldiers and at least four Chinese soldiers dead.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to attend the BRICS summit in New Delhi next month with a 400-strong delegation, Reuters reported, citing three unnamed sources.

Xi’s participation in the summit, which Russian President Vladimir Putin will also attend, has not been officially confirmed yet. India, which holds the rotating chair of the BRICS group, has engaged in intense diplomacy ahead of the summit.

Germany’s Porsche has signed a $1.5 billion deal with India’s largest IT services company as the luxury carmaker looks to leverage AI to make itself more competitive in a fast-changing industry. 

It gives Bengaluru-based Tata Consultancy Services, which employs close to 595,000 people, a foothold in the European automotive industry as it changes focus from the traditional headcount-based outsourcing model to one defined by measurable results and productivity targets.

The 5-year strategic partnership with Porsche will go into effect once TCS completes the acquisition of Porsche’s IT consulting business, MHP, for €320 million ($373 million). 

It is a win-win for two companies from two industries that are swiftly being upended by artificial intelligence. 

The automotive industry is among the most disrupted by digital technology as cars increasingly become software on wheels, and with AI accelerating the evolution of technologies like self-driving through systems that learn from real-world data.

TCS will establish a dedicated AI Mobility Centre of Excellence for Porsche, to apply AI across engineering, manufacturing, operations, and customer experience as the car maker doubles down on its core business by shedding MHP – part of its ‘Sportwagenschmiede 35’ strategy, which aims to improve profitability and cash flow. 

Porsche recorded about $40 billion in revenue in FY2025.

TCS will “industrialize AI at scale for Porsche,” said the IT firm’s CEO K. Krithivasan.

AI has also become a major source of worry for Indian IT consultancy companies, which have built a multi-billion global success story, with margins coming under pressure as clients demand increased productivity from AI deployments.

The Nifty IT index, a benchmark for Indian IT stocks, is down nearly 20% from the beginning of the year, compared to just 7% for the broader Nifty 50 – an indication of how investors view Indian IT’s prospects.

TCS recorded $30 billion revenue in the financial year ended March, and analysts expect MHP to add 3% to its top line.

In short, TCS gets Porsche’s technology transformation business, MHP’s automotive expertise, and a platform to grab more business from global auto manufacturers.

The US sanctioned four Indian companies on Monday for allegedly trading in Iranian petroleum and petrochemical products.

The additions came as the Treasury Department launched “an unprecedented, whole-of-government, economic campaign against the Islamic Republic of Iran and its enablers” called Operation Economic Outcast.

The sanctioned companies include Sadashiva Overseas, PP Softtech, and Prakrutees Infra Impex, which are accused of importing shipments of Iranian oil and oil products; and Portease Partners, a customs broker accused of facilitating the shipments.

Two partners of Portease – Indrismiya Asharafmiya Shekh and Harish Ramchandra Rangi – were also added to the list.

Bilateral trade between India and Iran is currently at around $1.6 billion, with $1.25 billion coming from Indian exports of goods exempted on humanitarian grounds, such as agricultural staples and medicine.

The Treasury said the designations will intensify pressure on networks that sustain the regime’s malign activities and fund its attacks across the Middle East.

Iran has largely blocked commercial shipping via the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s energy previously passed, following the US-Israeli attack against Iran earlier this year.

Nearly two dozen former cricket captains from around the world have appealed to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to provide proper medical treatment for the country’s former prime minister and one of cricket’s all-time greats, Imran Khan, as directed by Pakistan’s top court.

Twenty-two cricketers, including Indian legends Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar, made the appeal in a letter on Sunday after Khan was rushed back to jail early Friday morning following a brief checkup in a government-run hospital in Islamabad.

Pakistan’s Supreme Court had ordered that Khan be moved to the private Shifa hospital in the capital and be kept there until September 16, and that a medical board that includes his physician sister Uzma Khan be formed to examine his health issues.

Khan was, however, rushed to the state-run Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) from a Rawalpindi jail under heavy security just after midnight on Thursday, past the deadline given by the court, and whisked back early Friday morning after a few hours.

The cricketers, who also include India’s Dilip Vengsarkar, Sri Lanka's Arjuna Ranatunga, Clive Lloyd, Greg Chappell, Allan Border, and Alastair Cook, appealed that Khan be allowed visits from family members, as directed by the court, and any treatment recommended by the court be provided without delay. 

No Pakistani cricketer joined the appeal.

In February, 14 former cricketers – also including Kapil, Gavaskar, and Chappel – had written to Sharif, seeking more “humane” treatment for Khan.

Prime Minister Sharif on Saturday formed an inquiry committee, headed by a bureaucrat, to probe why Khan was not administered a heart diagnostic test previously recommended by doctors at the government-run hospital.

Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has also repeated its demand to move him to the Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad without any delay.

Russian President Vladimir Putin praised Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, attributing the recent growth in bilateral trade turnover amid a hostile geopolitical environment directly to Modi’s “close personal attention” to relations between the two nations.

“I am pleased to note that our trade turnover has grown this year,” Putin told Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar at a Kremlin meeting. “While it decreased slightly last year, it is rising this year, and this is due in part – and perhaps above all – to the efforts of the prime minister, Narendra Modi, who gives the development of Russian-Indian relations close personal attention.”

Jaishankar had earlier co-chaired the 27th session of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation, with Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov in Moscow. Manturov noted in his opening remarks that bilateral trade turnover between India and Russia grew 8% in the first half of the year.

The increase comes as the two traditional friends deepen their ties amid Western attempts to isolate Russia and squeeze it economically, and as India resists finalizing a trade deal with an unpredictable US administration that has used tariffs and sanctions to enforce its geopolitical agenda.

❗📹 Putin Credits PM Modi For Growing Russia-India Trade 🇷🇺🇮🇳

“Perhaps primarily, the merit of the Prime Minister,” the Russian President said of the rise in bilateral trade, while welcoming EAM Jaishankar to Moscow.

“Your visit today underscores the level of relations that… pic.twitter.com/bXWr4YoTkP

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) August 24, 2026

”I would like to ask you to convey my best wishes to Mr. Modi,” Putin said, adding “I hope to see him soon, as we planned, within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.”

Modi and Putin are slated to attend the SCO Heads of State Council summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, next week.

Jaishankar delivered a personal message to the Russian president from Modi, who said he looks forward to their meeting at Bishkek. Modi also extended an invitation for Putin to attend the upcoming BRICS summit, scheduled for September 12-13 in New Delhi, to anchor their regular annual bilateral exchanges.

”We are doing everything to resolve this issue for Indian farmers and agriculture; we are increasing these supplies and are ready to continue doing so,” he said. “All other issues related to nuclear energy, cooperation in high-tech fields, and other areas are on the agenda, and they are all progressing quite confidently.”

Bilateral trade turnover between India and Russia grew 8% in the first half of the year, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov said in Moscow on Monday, adding that both exports and imports showed expansion.

“Our goal is not only to increase the volume of trade turnover, but also to diversify its structure,” Manturov said at the 27th Session of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation, which he is co-hosting with visiting Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar.

India and Russia are pursuing a bilateral trade target of $100 billion to be reached by 2030, which was set by President Vladimir Putin in December when he visited New Delhi.

Jaishankar said bilateral trade has increased more than fourfold in the last four years, from around $13 billion in 2021-22 to over $60 billion in 2025-26. He also noted, however, that the rapid expansion has increased the trade imbalance. The Indian foreign minister said progress on market access, removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers, and strengthening payment mechanisms will be critical in addressing the imbalance.

Manturov said the free trade agreement (FTA) that the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union has been negotiating with India since August last year will be a new driver for sustainable trade growth. “Its preparation is in an active stage and it is important to maintain a high pace of negotiations,” he added.

❗️🇮🇳-EAEU FTA Preparations in 'Active Stage' - 🇷🇺 Deputy PM Manturov

Interaction between business circles must be intensified, with INNOPROM India expected to be integral to the process, he adds. pic.twitter.com/10grT9CfW0

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) August 24, 2026

He underscored the competitive advantages of the Northern Sea Route, noting that state-backed Rosatom is discussing mutually beneficial formats for cooperation on the Arctic route. “The use of this Arctic route will reduce transport costs for economic operators,” Manturov said. India, which has shown keen interest in the route amid global shipping disruptions, plans to send its first cargo ship along the passage next year.

❗️ ‘Regular High-Level Dialogue Lays Foundation for Special & Privileged Strategic Partnership Between 🇷🇺-🇮🇳’ – Russian Deputy PM Manturov

Regular dialogue also provides additional impetus to work on developing practical cooperation on ‘trade, economic and humanitarian ties,’… https://t.co/i9kK5bvimm pic.twitter.com/2wsUcukE8b

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) August 24, 2026

Manturov also stressed the need to improve mutual access of goods alongside “an expansion of direct contacts between the business circles of our countries.” He emphasized the need to stimulate business participation in exhibitions and fairs, and highlighted the international industrial exhibition ‘INNOPROM. India’, which will be held for the first time in New Delhi on the eve of the BRICS summit next month.

In his speech, Manturov highlighted a raft of areas where cooperation with India is deepening – from industrial cooperation, for its role in “ensuring the technological sovereignty of our countries” to space, in particular, “in manned spaceflight, rocket engines, and satellite navigation.”

Manturov noted the cooperation in energy security – with India now the second largest importer of Russian crude – and underscored joint investment projects for the extraction and processing of hydrocarbons.

He added that the successful experience of cooperation on the Kudankulam nuclear power plant project could be a basis for building new power plants across India, including small-scale reactors.

Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar is in Russia for high-level talks as the two countries prepare for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India next month and step up bilateral cooperation amid rising geopolitical tensions.

Jaishankar is discussing trade and defense cooperation in Moscow, where he and Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov are co-chairing the 27th Session of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC) on Monday.

“The India-Russia partnership has consistently demonstrated resilience and adaptability,” Jaishankar said in his opening remarks at the event. “Even amidst a complex international landscape our engagement has continued to deepen, reflecting the mutual interest and confidence that define our bilateral partnership.”

The Indian foreign minister will also discuss regional and global issues with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, the Indian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The IRIGC‑TEC is one of the pillars of the India‑Russia Intergovernmental Commission (IRIGC), a mechanism to monitor bilateral progress across trade and economic cooperation, which was established in 1992. The relationship between the two traditional friends, which endured through the Cold War, has deepened as Western countries have tried to use economic and trade levers to isolate Russia and punish countries friendly to Moscow.

❗️🇮🇳 EAM Jaishankar Shares Friendly Greetings With 🇷🇺 President Putin In Moscow pic.twitter.com/1WRdZKv7bY

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) August 24, 2026

India-Russia partnership shows resilience even in 'complex international landscape': Jaishankar

The ties still rock-solid pic.twitter.com/xV7hK9VbcD

— Sputnik India (@Sputnik_India) August 24, 2026

Putin is set to visit India for the BRICS summit to be held under India’s rotating presidency on September 12-13 in New Delhi. The two countries set a bilateral trade target of $100 billion to be reached by 2030 during the Russian leader’s last visit to India in December.

India-Russia bilateral trade has boomed since then, with India now the second largest importer of Russian oil. However, the threat of steep US tariffs on countries buying Russian oil, under a new sanctions bill that has cleared the US Senate, looms over New Delhi. India has consistently maintained that its purchases of Russian oil are driven by energy security concerns and ensuring affordable energy for its 1.4 billion population.

New Delhi and Moscow are also expected to discuss a possible sale of Russia’s advanced fifth-generation stealth fighter, the Su-57. In June, Putin noted in a Q&A session with global news agencies that Russia offered the plane to India as a joint project. “We are ready to supply India with this aircraft, to keep developing it,” he said. “We don’t have any issues or limitations. The same goes for air defense systems.”

The flurry of activity in bilateral relations could be capped by another visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Russia this year. Modi last visited Russia in 2024.

Meanwhile, Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval is in Beijing for the 25th round of talks between the special representatives on the boundary issue between the two countries, where he will hold talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Doval’s visit also comes ahead of a possible visit to India next month by Chinese President Xi Jinping for the BRICS summit. The summit is shaping up to be a major forum where the heads of the emerging economies are expected to discuss common issues that impact developing countries amid trade tariffs and sanctions.

People-to-people ties between India and Russia have been one of the core strengths of the relationship, Indian Ambassador to Moscow Vinay Kumar said at the four-day annual ‘India Day 2026’ festival in central Moscow.

The event, which started Thursday, is a major crowd puller that brings together hundreds of artists and artisans. Last year, over 2 million people attended.

“With technology and the creative economy, all of this is gaining more ground,” Kumar said.

He cited the countries’ cooperation in culture, academies, dance, drama, and music, and noted the “great enthusiasm” of the crowd. “On a working day, thousands of people enjoy Indian music… and see the vibrancy it generates.”

Addressing the burgeoning cooperation between the two nations, the envoy highlighted some of the key drivers they are focusing on to achieve their $100 billion bilateral trade target, which was set when Russian President Vladimir Putin visited New Delhi in December.

📹 Just How Popular is Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy in Russia? See For Yourself...

RT India's karaoke booth at 'India Day 2026' saw many 🇮🇳 and 🇷🇺 participants singing to Mithun Chakraborty's famous track from the 80s. https://t.co/K55UuPkEEY pic.twitter.com/TjN2tRwvEu

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) August 21, 2026

Kumar noted energy and minerals, metals, education and tourism have been key areas of cooperation amid Western attempts to isolate Russia economically.

India is the second-largest importer of crude from Russia, and Indian companies, especially state-owned ones, have recently reached out to Russian entities to source Indian rare earths, coal, and minerals from the country, as New Delhi seeks to secure its supply chains amid the geopolitical tensions.

Kumar said India and Russia have stepped up engagements in the run-up to the BRICS summit, which will be held in New Delhi next month. “The summit will be successful, and the Indian Presidency’s agenda will help to take cooperation to the next level.”

Putin is expected to attend the event as the bloc of emerging economies seek to assert their voice and economic heft amid Western coercion on geopolitical issues.

Russia has opened its first national pavilion in the western Indian city of Navi Mumbai, as Moscow tries to prise open the huge market for its consumer goods amid Western attempts to squeeze its economy.

The ‘Made in Russia’ pavilion, launched by the Russian Export Center (REC), opened Friday in the Belapur Central Business District of Navi Mumbai, the twin city to India’s financial capital Mumbai.

The pavilion will feature products from Russian producers like Makfa, United Confectioners, Tatspirtprom, Miratorg, Afanasy Private Brewery, Fame Label, Wild Siberia, Stashevskoye Bio, and others.

Russian Consul General in Mumbai Ivan Fetisov called it “a landmark event for Russian-Indian relations.”

He said it will enable Russian manufacturers to directly access the vast Indian market, adding “we are moving toward the ambitious goal of increasing trade turnover between our countries to $100 billion.”

India-Russia bilateral trade is now at about $60 billion, but is skewed by the high volume of oil India imports; non-commodity goods make up only about 10% of Russian exports to India.

REC Managing Director Konstantin Evstyukhin called it “the first stage in deploying comprehensive infrastructure in India for promoting Russian goods.”

“We have begun creating a full-fledged ecosystem for domestic manufacturers to enter one of the world’s most promising markets,” he said, adding “national stores at the largest marketplaces” and “network of branded retail outlets” under the ‘Made in Russia’ brand will follow.

Similar pavilions are already operating in China, Vietnam, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, and Jordan.

Two commercial ships were hijacked in two separate incidents this week, reviving the specter of piracy off the coast of the Horn of Africa and nearby. The region has seen several attacks on commercial shipping amid the current Middle East conflict.

The Eritrea-flagged MT Sibu 1, an oil products tanker, was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Yemen on Thursday. The ship had a crew of 20, including 16 Indians.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said Thursday that the ship was boarded by six armed men, who diverted it toward Somalia. The tanker had been sanctioned by the US last year for allegedly transporting Iranian petroleum products.

UKMTO WARNING 118-26 UPDATE 001

Click here to view the full product⤵️ https://t.co/TA6cqIqsyJ#MaritimeSecurity #MarSec pic.twitter.com/fBRghwkqpJ

— UKMTO Operations Centre (@UK_MTO) August 20, 2026

The Cameroon-flagged MV Lutuf, which was carrying weapons for a Turkish military training facility in Mogadishu, was taken off the coast of Somalia’s Puntland region on Monday. Its 10-member crew includes six Indians.

The pirates took the vessel, owned by Polar Movement Shipping, toward the region’s Nugaal coast, a Somali official was quoted by news reports as saying. The status of the ship and its cargo is not immediately clear. Indian and Turkish authorities have not issued any statement.

India is the world’s second-largest supplier of seafarers, with 311,936 Indian maritime professionals working in the global shipping industry. 

This disproportionately exposes Indian nationals to attacks on commercial shipping. Ten Indian seafarers have died in attacks on ships since the start of the Middle East conflict, which was triggered by US-Israeli attacks on Iran.

India’s federal ministers are being ranked on their social media activity as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government goes all out to connect with the country’s youth, after student protests last month gave a nasty surprise to a government and party that once dominated online narratives.

The rankings, based on the performance data for the ministers’ social media accounts, were shared at a meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Modi on Wednesday, reports said. The data, and the review’s results, were not shared publicly. 

Local media reports said the exercise was not a mere counting of followers. Rather, the activity of the ministers across social media platforms Instagram, X, and Facebook between May 1 and August 15 was reviewed, with the aim to assess the quality and reach of communications. Some reports said LinkedIn posts were also included in the review.

Metrics such as frequency of posts, engagement, likes, and the interactions generated across the platforms were used for the grading, with the ministers being presented with a scorecard. Modi reportedly came up top in the review.

Modi, 75, has about 107 million followers on X, where he has posted regularly on policy initiatives by his government, development schemes, and even congratulatory messages to the citizens and foreign leaders. 

Young people aged 15-29, or Gen Z, make up about 28% of India’s 1.4 billion population. They are particularly active on Meta’s Instagram, where reels, short videos, and visual storytelling, rather than text, are key to getting eyeballs. TikTok, a rival platform which is immensely popular among the youth, is banned in India.

As the protests intensified last month, Modi himself posted a selfie message to the students on Instagram, and directed his ministers to post more on the platform to reach the young audience.

The shakeup in India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday has brought changes to its organizational hierarchy, raising some eyebrows. 

The shuffle, effected by BJP National President Nitin Nabin, is being explained away as the result of a new party leader bringing in his own team. However, a closer look shows the imprint of recent events as the organization struggles to connect with the youth in the world’s largest democracy.

What changed

Nabin replaced four of the party’s general secretaries and brought in two more new faces to fill existing vacancies. These are formidable positions in the BJP, ranking directly below its president and responsible for key decisions.

He also replaced the head of the party’s powerful IT and Social Media Cell, Amit Malviya, as well as the president of the youth wing, Tejasvi Surya.

Also shown the door were the heads of the party’s farmers’ wing, the scheduled tribes and scheduled castes wings, and the minority wing.

Malviya and Surya fell to youth anger

At least a couple of the big exits can be attributed to the student protests last month over leaks of questions for a national medical entrance test – the biggest challenge Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has faced so far.  

The government responded to the protests with brutal police violence, stoking public anger – before it caved and sacked Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

The BJP’s IT cell was overwhelmed as netizens attacked the party, the government, and even Modi. Amit Malavia, the party’s social media czar since 2015, found his tool-kit had come up short.

Attempts to deflect from the main issue – for instance, by focusing on the traffic congestion caused by the protests – fell flat. He faced fierce counterattacks online, even from those usually sympathetic to the BJP.

Tejasvi Surya, a young lawmaker from the southern IT hub city of Bengaluru, had won praise for organizing the government’s health response in his constituency during the Covid-19 pandemic. But he, too, failed to rally the youth behind the party as the protests intensified.

As the public’s mood soured, Modi went on Instagram with a selfie message to the protesting students – rather than his favorite platform X. He advised his ministers to also go on the Meta social media network to promote the work of their ministries among the country’s youth. 

This clear realization of a lack of a connection with Gen Z and Gen Alpha Indians, who weren’t reached via the methods, channels, and faces the party had come to rely on, seems to have sealed the fates of Malviya and Surya.

Trusted hands brought in

Replacing Malviya is Deepak Mhaske, another BJP veteran who has spent 15 years in the party’s IT and social media cell.

He has led social media campaigns in states like Bihar, West Bengal, and his home state of Chhattisgarh, where the BJP has recorded strong victories. 

A lawmaker from Modi’s home state of Gujarat, Hemang Joshi, has replaced Surya. 

The party also reached out to the old guard to stabilize the situation as public discontent persists over several issues. 

Among those issues is the rollout of petrol cut with 20% ethanol, called E20, which has led to complaints about damage to engine components and loss of mileage in older vehicles trending on social media. 

The salaried middle class is angry about the faster escalation into higher income tax slabs. 

Widespread corruption and poor quality road construction (as was evident from showpiece highways crumbling under heavy rains) have added to public discontent.

One of the people brought in as a general secretary by Nabin is Smriti Irani, who was a trusted member of Modi’s inner circle when she was made one of the youngest cabinet ministers in 2014.

Irani is well known to Indians as the star actor in one of the most popular daily soap operas on television, ‘Kyuki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi,’ which translates as “because every mother-in-law was once a daughter-in-law.”

Another notable inclusion in the party hierarchy is Piyush Goyal, the federal trade minister, who has articulated India’s positions to the public as New Delhi drives a hard bargain with Washington over a trade deal. Goyal, the son of a long-time BJP treasurer, has been brought in as – no surprises – the party’s treasurer.

Meeting the youth where they are

The BJP seems to have been guided by the thinking that fresh but trusted faces can help it regain trust among the country’s youth. It hopes to do so by meeting them in the social media spaces they prefer, and speaking using their lingo – as lawmakers like Surya have done in parliament. 

How that works out will be seen when a number of big states, including Modi’s Gujarat, go to the polls next year.  

Pakistan on Wednesday summoned the top US diplomat in Islamabad to lodge a “strong demarche” over remarks made by Washington’s ambassador in New Delhi that Jammu and Kashmir is an “important part of India.” 

Sergio Gor, who is also the US special envoy to South and Central Asia, made the comments in Srinagar, the part of Kashmir administered by India, on Wednesday. Gor, a close confidant and former business partner of US President Donald Trump, is on a two-day trip to India’s Jammu and Kashmir state and the federally administered Ladakh region.

“Kashmir is an important part of India,” Gor told reporters after meeting Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. “It is an incredibly beautiful place.” 

India and Pakistan, which gained independence when Britain partitioned its colonial territories in South Asia in 1947, have competing claims on Kashmir.

Hours after the comments, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry summoned Charge d’Affaires Natalie Baker – the top US envoy in Islamabad – and lodged a protest over Gor’s “factually incorrect remarks” and “irresponsible statement.”

“It was underscored that Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally recognized disputed territory, awaiting final disposition in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan clashed briefly with missiles and drones last year after 26 people were killed in a terror attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam, which New Delhi blamed on Pakistan-backed terror groups. 

Trump has, in return, called Munir “my favorite field marshal.” Islamabad has also been acting as a mediator to end the Mideast war, which was triggered by US-Israeli attacks on Iran.

Indian authorities on Thursday used a bulldozer to remove temporary structures, traffic bollards, and barricades outside the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, in an apparent retaliatory action after Pakistan carried out a similar drive outside the Indian mission in Islamabad on Monday.

India has finalized the paperwork to start constructing a hospital in the West Bank, Palestine’s ambassador to New Delhi has said. But he added that it is Gaza that badly needs the artificial limb facility that his government has discussed with New Delhi about building.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Abdullah M. Abu Shawesh said that there are more than 5,000 amputees in Gaza who are desperately in need of artificial limbs.

India said last month that it will build three major projects in Palestine, which include a specialty hospital, an artificial limb fitment center, and a vocational training institute.

Gaza is currently under Israeli occupation following the Hamas terror attack on October 7, 2023. 

”I’m sure India will be with us in Gaza the day after the war,” Shawesh  said. He added that some 20,000 Palestinians are in need of medical evacuation in Gaza, but that Israel is allowing only small groups of 5-10 to be moved.

Shawesh said that Palestine backs India’s bid for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for 2028-2029, a day after Indian diplomat Sripriya Ranganathan visited Ramallah in the West Bank and met with Palestinian Foreign Minister Varsen Aghabekian Shahin.

”There is no ceasefire in Gaza, even with the declaration that had been (made) many months ago, Israel did not stop killing the Palestinian people,” Shawesh pointed out in an exclusive interview with RT India. 

The envoy painted a dire picture of Gaza. “My home, my father’s home, where I was born, has been destroyed. Gaza is destroyed,” he said, adding that 95% of the people there have been displaced and are living in shelters and tents.  

US President Donald Trump’s envoy and son-in-law Jared Kushner met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, after holding talks with Hamas leaders, in an effort to revive a Gaza peace plan.

However, Israeli Defense Forces said on Tuesday that it had hit a meeting of Hamas commanders in Gaza City; the Hamas-run civil defense agency said six people were killed and 14 wounded in the attack.

He alleged that children were specifically targeted by Israeli forces. The UN panel reported that Israel had killed 20,000 Palestinian children.

BRICS countries have opposed the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), calling it “unilateral, punitive, discriminatory, and protectionist.”

The meeting of the bloc’s environmental and climate ministers in New Delhi, chaired by Indian Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav, expressed concern on Monday that the measures specifically undermine efforts by developing countries “aimed at addressing the adverse impacts of climate change.”

The BRICS group of emerging and developing economies includes the original members Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, as well as Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Indonesia.

The EU mechanism, which came into effect on January 1, aims to reduce “carbon leakages” through a certificate-based pricing system. In effect, it puts a carbon price on emissions-intensive goods entering the 27-nation EU bloc.

Importers have to buy certificates matching the weekly carbon price of the EU Emissions Trading System, with deductions allowed for any carbon prices already paid in the goods’ country of origin.

Addressed the 12th BRICS Environment Ministers’ Meeting, welcoming Ministers and Delegates and reaffirming the importance of aligning policy, technology and public participation towards building a sustainable planet following a “humanity first“ approach.@BricsIndia2026 pic.twitter.com/YC8CKLpz5t

— Bhupender Yadav (@byadavbjp) August 18, 2026

The CBAM’s professed aim – to ensure foreign goods face a carbon cost equal to products made inside the EU – puts producers in developing countries at a disadvantage. It imposes extra carbon costs on the key exports of developing countries and reduces their price competitiveness in European markets.

Producers in the Global South are forced to undertake costly tracking of factory emissions to sell to the EU, while it reduces overall market opportunities for carbon-intensive emerging economies – which in effect are forced to pay for the historical high emissions of Western developed nations.

The higher carbon costs make Indian exports of steel, aluminum, and cement to the EU less competitive. New Delhi has raced to create a domestic carbon trading framework and mechanism to keep the value of the carbon savings within the country instead of ending up as EU taxes.

The BRICS statement noted that the EU carbon border tax was “not in line with international law.”

India had in 2024 labelled the proposed CBAM as unfair and detrimental to domestic market costs.

Registration has opened for the first International Trade Fair INNOPROM. India, which will take place in New Delhi from September 9 to 11, 2026, organizers said. The event will be held at the Bharat Mandapam Exhibition Center ahead of the 18th BRICS Summit, and participants can register through the fair’s official website.

INNOPROM. India is being positioned as an international platform to strengthen trade and industrial ties between Russian and Indian companies. The exhibition will cover 10,000 square meters and bring together representatives of industry from both countries to present technological solutions and products. It is organized by the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade and India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

The event comes at a time of rapidly growing economic ties between the two countries. Over the past five years, Russia-India trade has increased nearly sevenfold, reaching more than $60 billion by the end of 2025. The first edition of INNOPROM in India is intended to expand business contacts and open new directions for industrial cooperation.

Among the Indian exhibitors are the SRB industrial and engineering group, National Mineral Development Corporation, and Steel Authority of India Limited, representing mining and metallurgy. ITC will present food products and everyday consumer goods, while Nicco Cables and Global Gases Group will showcase solutions for the energy sector. Monte Carlo will represent the textile industry, and Central Electronics Limited will focus on renewable energy and digital infrastructure. The exhibition is curated by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

Russian participants will include Rostec, Rusal, Rosatom, TMH, the Russian Export Center, the Center for the Development of Advanced Technologies, UMG, Natzproektstroy, PhosAgro, Arnest Unirus, Sber, and Alfa-Bank, among others. Regional collective exhibitions are also planned, with companies from Moscow, the Krasnodar Territory, Tatarstan, and the Chelyabinsk Region. The National Centre RUSSIA will present a cultural zone and a collective stand.

The fair will focus on engineering, chemicals, digital technologies, mining and extraction technologies, human-centric technologies, and trade development.

Russian exhibitors are expected to present a broad range of products, including a mock-up of a nuclear power plant with a VVER-1200 reactor, composite gas storage and transport products, master alloys and powders made from rare and rare-earth metals, models of modern Russian aircraft and helicopters, large-scale construction machinery such as a tracked excavator and a backhoe loader, automated storage systems, industrial and collaborative robots, an intelligent transportation management system, and Russia’s national product marking system. Medical and optical equipment will also be displayed, along with other innovative technologies.

Organizers say the launch of INNOPROM in India marks another stage in the trade fair’s international expansion and a new step in strengthening industrial cooperation between Moscow and New Delhi.

A 15-year-old student became India’s sole representative on a recent scientific exploration of the North Pole, beating thousands of others to earn a place in one of the world’s most exclusive expeditions for school students held in Russia.

Lucky Rawat, from the town of Chakrata in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, completed the ten-day voyage to the top of the world on August 15.

Students from 22 countries, including China and Bangladesh, undertook the Arctic voyage on board the Russian nuclear icebreaker ‘50 Let Pobedy,’ which means ‘50 years of victory.’

They covered Murmansk, the geographic North Pole, and Franz Josef Land to become the 200th surface-vessel expedition to the North Pole.

Unlike the South Pole, the North Pole sits atop shifting sea ice on the Arctic Ocean. Rawat, who is familiar with the Himalayan snow, called the Arctic snow “just different.”

“It was hard like a rock plate and grained like sand at the same time,” he told RT India upon his return. “Its seamless white color gave it an endless ice sheet look.”

He described the expedition as a “learning experience.”

“From the first flight to boarding the ship… it taught me that boundaries are just some lines on a map.

“Me learning a Russian song and representing my whole team of international students in the closing ceremony was unexpected.”

Rosatom’s ‘Icebreaker of Knowledge’ Expedition Launches World’s First Stratospheric Platform in the Arctic

Tests on the reusable platform were a success, confirming the feasibility of establishing stable radio comms using readily available radio equipment in polar regions, the… https://t.co/AdG8c0G2t5 pic.twitter.com/c9mycOlhmv

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) August 13, 2026

The program, called the ‘Icebreaker of Knowledge’ was organized by Russian state-owned giant Rosatom.

Russia has eight nuclear-powered icebreakers, which are owned and operated by Rosatom, making it the only country in the world with such a fleet.

Only one student was selected from a country for the expedition. Rawat, who is trained in judo, cleared the online exam from his home, and created a video to earn his place on the team.

Students in the exploration team worked with scientists on experiments, including the launch of a radiosonde – a weather instrument package attached to a balloon – from the North Pole, and the world’s first recoverable stratospheric monitoring platform for the Arctic.

The data from the platform will help improve communications along the Northern Sea Route and advance the creation of an independent Arctic monitoring system that is not tied to data from foreign satellites, the Murmansk Arctic University was quoted as saying in a statement by Tass.

Rawat was effusive in his praise for the Russian people, calling them “very hospitable.”

“They did know a few things about Indian culture and Indian cinema, and of course, the spicy Indian food,” he recalled. “They knew some Hindi words, such as ‘namaste’ and ‘dhanyawad,’ and would say them to me in a very cute accent.”

“The Icebreaker of Knowledge project is living proof that true science knows no borders,” said Alexey Zhirukhin, a member of the international jury and Arctic Ambassador. “We are opening the Arctic to children from across the globe, showing them Russia’s unique technologies and the breathtaking beauty of the North Pole.”

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday outlined the country’s achievements and priorities for future growth as the world’s largest democracy marked its 80th Independence Day.

Addressing the nation after hoisting the Indian national flag at Delhi’s iconic Red Fort, Modi cited India’s rapid economic growth from being one of the ‘Fragile Five’ economies in 2013 to a $4.15 trillion, fast-growing major economy, and said the country is emerging in the eyes of the world as a widely accepted and respected nation.

The ‘Fragile Five’, was a term for Türkiye, Brazil, India, South Africa, and Indonesia, which were overly dependent on unpredictable foreign investments and large current account deficits to fuel their economic growth.

“Our country is not going to move forward with small dreams,” Modi said, noting the country rises through the “strength of its dreams, its resolutions, and its capabilities.”

📹🇮🇳 ‘We Can No Longer Move Forward With Small Dreams’: Modi’s Big Message From Red Fort

The prime minister urged Indians to “dream big,” saying a nation rises through the strength of its dreams, resolve and capabilities. https://t.co/F71jMC9sPT pic.twitter.com/GgzxMjxJmL

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) August 15, 2026

Fuel for growth

Listing India’s achievements in the last 12 years since his Bharatiya Janata Party came to power, Modi said the country’s defense production has increased fourfold, electronic manufacturing has increased sevenfold, and digital transactions have increased 100 times.

This, however, raises the demands for energy security, Modi acknowledged, stating that the South Asian nation will need electricity “on a very large scale.”

The Indian leader reiterated the country’s target of achieving a capacity of 100 GW of nuclear power by 2047 and highlighted the need for accelerating offshore exploration to find oil and gas that could replace imported energy that makes the national economy vulnerable to external shocks.

⚛️ AI Needs Power, PM Modi Wants Nuclear To Bring It

Pointing to GPUs, AI and data centres, Modi said, “Energy security is the need of our times,” adding that India will need electricity “on a very large scale” and is targeting 100 GW of nuclear power by 2047.

The SHANTI Act,… https://t.co/dIK8Pogw5h pic.twitter.com/Ihr51lv9xx

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) August 15, 2026

New Delhi in December 2025 passed the SHANTI Act (the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India Act), which modernizes India’s nuclear framework and opens the door to greater private sector participation in India’s nuclear energy industry, which has been lacking so far.

The country currently operates 24 nuclear power reactors across seven different sites with a total installed capacity of 8.78 GW. This includes Russia-built Kudankulam designed to house six VVER-1000 reactors with a total planned capacity of 6,000 MW. Units 1 and 2 were connected to the national grid in 2013 and 2016, respectively, while units 3, 4, 5, and 6 are at different stages of implementation and construction.

Overall, India currently has ten reactor units with a combined capacity of 8,000 MW are under construction, while pre-project activities for ten additional reactors are also underway.

Focus on self-relaence

“It is our conviction that India must not be dependent on other countries. We must become self-reliant,” Modi stated, calling for strengthening the country’s capabilities and protecting national interests.

“India possesses a stable political mandate, a stable government, a vibrant democracy, a robust judiciary, and guiding all of us is the Constitution of India,” Modi said. He also noted that the youth are the “biggest beneficiaries” of India’s development, and said his government will run free online coaching networks for competitive exams for students. The move comes weeks after student-led unrest rocked the country’s capital and led to the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

Celebrating friendship

India achieved independence from British rule on August 15, 1947, through largely non-violent means and beginning the end of Western colonial rule over the world. Independence Day celebrations were held across the country, in state capitals and various offices.

In Moscow, Indian Ambassador Vinay Kumar raised the tricolor at the Indian Embassy as the Indian national anthem was sung. In a symbolic move, a group of Russian and Indian motorcyclists rode across the city to celebrate the decades of close ties, marked by cooperation and trust.

🇮🇳 Tricolour Goes Up In Moscow As Indian Embassy Marks Independence Day

India’s Ambassador to Russia Vinay Kumar hoisted the National Flag at the embassy as Independence Day celebrations brought together the Indian community in Moscow.

He also read a passage from the President… https://t.co/WE13aT72aW pic.twitter.com/edLPHQfUe7

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) August 15, 2026

Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated India on the occasion, saying ties with New Delhi continue to develop under the two countries’ “special and privileged strategic partnership.”

Moscow’s ambassador to India, Denis Alipov, assured New Delhi in his Independence Day message that Russia’s support “remains the same today and will continue tomorrow as well” amid the West’s attempts to coerce India into isolating its traditional friend. “Jai Hind. Long live the friendship of Russia-India,” Alipov added.

🧵 🇷🇺-🇮🇳 The Unbreakable Bond: Momentous Milestones in the Russia-India Partnership

📜 The Age of Discovery:

Decades before Vasco da Gama arrived, the Russian merchant Afanasy Nikitin was already exploring Indian lands.

In 1469, he reached the west coast of India, in… https://t.co/zEUGPJilEN pic.twitter.com/3pc9t3tRG2

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) August 15, 2026

India and Russia maintain what both describe as a special and privileged strategic partnership, grounded in decades of defense cooperation, energy trade, and diplomatic alignment. Trade turnover between the two countries has grown rapidly since 2023, driven largely by India’s imports of Russian crude and other energy resources despite Western pressure on New Delhi to reduce engagement with Moscow. The strategic cooperation program adopted by the leaders of the two countries in December last year set a course for achieving $100 billion in trade turnover by 2030.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi made an overture to win over India’s youth on Saturday, as he led 80th Independence Day celebrations of the world’s largest democracy. 

Addressing the nation after hoisting the national flag at the historic Red Fort in Delhi, he noted that the “biggest beneficiaries” of India’s development will be the youth. 

Modi announced that his government would set up free online coaching networks for various competitive examinations, leveraging India’s robust digital public infrastructure and freeing families from the heavy financial burden they incur from sending their children to private coaching institutes.

The government will also train 11 million young people in artificial intelligence skills to prepare them for the new jobs that are opening up.

India, the world’s most populous nation with 1.4 billion people, also has the world’s largest youth population, with the average age around 29. 

#WATCH | Delhi: From the ramparts of the Red Fort, Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, "The race for coaching classes has become a massive burden for our middle-class families. Every parent feels that if they don't send their child to a coaching class, they aren't considered a… pic.twitter.com/Qq74edZTl2

— ANI (@ANI) August 15, 2026

The country recently saw widespread youth protests over the leaks of the questions for a national medical entrance test, ultimately forcing the then federal education minister to resign. The fiasco, and the police violence against the protesting students in the national capital and other cities, stoked anger in the country, especially among the middle class. 

The prime minister’s online coaching initiative would be a blow to the country’s thriving private coaching networks, some of which have been blamed for the exam scams in recent years. The industry is valued at up to $15 billion.

India achieved independence from British rule on August 15, 1947 through largely non-violent means. Most of Britain’s other colonial possessions and those of other European powers would follow suit in the coming decades.

India has expanded a pilot scheme that uses Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) to transfer welfare payments to two federally administered territories, as it races ahead with testing the digital rupee among a wider audience.

The digital rupee for direct-benefit-transfers initiative was launched in the Union Territories of Chandigarh, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli on Friday. It aims to cut out middlemen from government-run beneficiary schemes, leveraging the digital rupee’s traceability and transparency.

Those receiving the digital money in their wallets can purchase foodgrains from recognized merchants through a secure, traceable, and real-time digital payment mechanism – eliminating the leakages and corruption that have long bedeviled welfare schemes in the country.

The proof-of-concept pilot was earlier rolled out in federally administered Puducherry, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat.

The RBI governor said on Tuesday that all BRICS nations are discussing linking their payment systems and CBDCs as they explore ways to reduce the costs and increase the speed of cross-border payments.

BRICS members China, India, Russia, and Brazil have already implemented pilot rollouts of CBDCs.

Russia’s Arctic region of Arkhangelsk is in talks with India on leveraging the economic potential of the Northern Sea Route (NSR), a top local official has said.

“For India, the NSR is truly beginning to take on a new dimension,” the governor of Arkhangelsk Region, Aleksandr Tsybulsky, told RT India on the sidelines of the ‘Arctic – Regions’ Forum, where India is a key partner.

India plans to send its first cargo ship along the NSR, also called the Arctic route, next year, a top official attending the forum said on Thursday, adding that New Delhi sees “huge possibilities” in the route.

The options being discussed between India and Arkhangelsk include those “from building ships for India at shipyards in the Arkhangelsk region, to using our port facilities to deliver cargo from India and to export cargo to India, and technological options such as placing and locating production around the ports of the Arkhangelsk Region,” Tsybulsky said.

Located on Russia’s Arctic coast, the city of the same name sits on the Northern Dvina River and is a major cargo hub linked to the NSR.

‘For India, the NSR is Truly Beginning to Take On a New Dimension’ - Alexander Tsybulsky, Governor of the Arkhangelsk Region

Tsybulsky revealed that the parties are discussing a range of opportunities at the ‘Arctic-Regions’ forum in Arkhangelsk.

‘From building ships for India… https://t.co/rZnUnYfZQc pic.twitter.com/nv3Hz7vFQe

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) August 13, 2026

The NSR is a 5,600-km sea passage that runs through Russia’s Arctic waters. It is covered by thick ice for most part of the year, but climate change and receding sea ice are widening the annual window for navigation. Still, specialized ice-strengthened ships are required to navigate the NSR. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin said separately that Moscow was seeing “growing interest” from countries including China and India, wishing to engage in exploiting the economic opportunities offered by the NSR.

Russia is investing heavily in the infrastructure of the Arctic route, and Moscow is happy with the attention the effort is getting from its global partners, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said at the forum, Interfax reported.

“We can see that our Chinese and Indian colleagues are the most enthusiastic,” he said.

“We very much hope that we will be able to use our Arctic resources both in our own interests and in the interests of… our partners, which will make us and them stronger in the increasingly competitive global economic and political environment,” said Grushko, adding “the Arctic as a region should remain a zone of low tensions, and we are doing everything to keep it this way.”

A new US report that includes India among the countries allegedly helping China to evade steep American tariffs has added another wrinkle to India-US relations.

The White House report, titled ‘The Great Transshipment Scam’, flagged over 40 US trading partners, including India, for aiding Chinese tariff evasion by operating a “shadow trans-shipment network.”

The concern raised in the report is about the practice of a country facing steep US tariffs sending its goods through a third country that faces lower tariffs – which Washington calls “illegal transshipment.”

The report by Peter Navarro, the top trade adviser to US President Donald Trump and a known India-baiter, said “India’s Pune-Gujarat-Chennai production belt absorbs pumps and compressors… affecting industrial supply chains in Cincinnati, Dayton, and Columbus.”

“A Chinese pump that leaves Pune as Indian is a pump not machined in Cincinnati, Dayton or Columbus,” Navarro told reporters on Thursday.

India is included in the first group, along with Canada, the EU, Israel, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, and Taiwan.

New Delhi has not yet responded to the report.

The US has used sweeping sanctions and tariffs as it tries to bend the world to comply with its geopolitical, technological, and economic goals. China exports face an average of 23.2% US tariffs, while India faces 10% tariffs on about 70% of its exports to the US.

Navarro’s report adds another pressure point to the tense dynamic between Washington and New Delhi. “Countries that relabel or reroute tariffed goods to evade U.S. law should face immediate interdiction, penalty tariffs, sanctions, and potential loss of market access,” it warned.

The report gave a wide range for the annual value of the transshipped goods, from $40 billion to $303 billion, based on the methodology and definition used. The Customs and Border Protection agency, it said, is using an AI architecture that fuses “anomaly detection, link analysis, capacity validation, and mirrored-flow verification” to detect such practices.

India is planning to send its first cargo ship on the Arctic route running along Russia’s northern coast next year, as it seeks to deepen trade with Moscow outside of Western sanctions and without disruptions via the Suez Canal.

The 5,600 km Arctic route, or Northern Sea Route (NSR), runs off Russia’s Arctic coastline and is the shortest shipping route between East Asia and Europe. Climate change and receding sea ice open up the route seasonally – but conditions are harsh, requiring specialized ice-breakers to keep channels open.

“In 2027, we are planning to have the first pilot vessel running through the Northern Sea Route,” the joint secretary in the Indian Shipping Ministry, S. Venkatesapathy, told the Arctic-Regions Forum in Arkhangelsk on Thursday. 

On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said New Delhi was showing active interest in the NSR. He said Moscow is seeing “growing interest from countries” about the Arctic route, naming India and China among those talking to Moscow.

Venkatesapathy, who is leading the Indian delegation to the two-day forum, said the Chennai-Vladivostok corridor – also known as the Eastern Maritime Corridor (EMC) – has seen a 70% jump in cargo movement, and there is a “humongous possibility” to extend this success to the NSR.

“We are seeing huge possibilities, not only for the EMC but also for the NSR,” the official said, adding two MOUs were signed last year for the development of the routes. He said India found the routes appealing because of their shorter distances, safety, and commercial viability.

India and Russia have set a bilateral trade target of $100 billion by 2030, and Russian oil now makes up more than half of New Delhi’s imports – making the Arctic route a key trade link for the two countries.

For India, the Arctic route can save up to 40% in distance and about two weeks in travel time to most European ports, compared to the traditional route through the Suez Canal. The Suez route has become dangerous for commercial shipping due to the Mideast conflict.

Russia has invested heavily in developing the NSR’s infrastructure, and in 2023, Moscow struck a deal with Dubai-based DP Word to develop container shipping along the Arctic route. Container traffic has risen as Chinese companies have seized the opportunity offered by the NSR. While 23 voyages were completed last year, some 30 are already planned for this year.

Cargo volumes along the route have exceeded 37 million tons over the past two years, and it is expected to reach 20 million tons by 2030.

Cargo movement between Russia and China through the NSR has already exceeded five million tons this year, the director of the Department for the Development of the Northern Sea Route and the Arctic at Rosatom, Azamat Khochuev, told RT on the sidelines of the Arctic-Regions forum.

The state-owned conglomerate, with its fleet of nuclear-powered icebreakers, is Russia’s designated operator and coordinator of the NSR.

India is among the countries showing active interest in the Northern Sea Route (NSR), Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday, as fast-growing economies in Asia and beyond seek to develop trade with Russia amid Western sanctions.

“We see growing interest from countries wishing to engage with us on this front,” Putin said regarding the Arctic shipping route. “These partners include, above all, our friends China, India, and other nations who are actively discussing these matters with us.”

Putin, who is visiting Russia’s Far East and Sakhalin Region to oversee naval drills, was speaking to Pacific Fleet personnel aboard the missile cruiser Varyag. He said the interest from partner countries has grown following Western sanctions imposed over the Ukraine conflict, and that cooperation on the NSR would follow international maritime law.

India is a key partner in the Arctic – Regions Forum, being held on August 13-14 in the city of Arkhangelsk in northern Russia.

India one of the key countries showing growing interest in cooperation on Northern Sea Route: Putin

Putin warns of rising artificial tensions in the Arctic as interest in the Northern Sea Route grows, while stressing that cooperation remains within international maritime law. pic.twitter.com/Yrx0LllhZb

— Sputnik India (@Sputnik_India) August 12, 2026

With the 10,380-km Chennai-Vladivostok corridor, also called the Eastern Maritime Corridor, operational since 2024, India and Russia have speeded up cooperation on the NSR as they seek to reach their $100 billion bilateral trade target.

Last month, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said Rosatom – the designated operator and coordinator of the NSR – has been instructed to sign a memorandum with India on maritime cargo transportation along the Arctic route.

The state-owned conglomerate manages Russia’s unique fleet of nuclear-powered icebreakers, essential for keeping the Arctic shipping lane navigable.

Russia is investing heavily in the 5,600-km 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 turn it into a major shipping lane.

India and Russia formalized the Reciprocal Exchange of Logistics Support (RELOS) pact during Putin’s visit to New Delhi in December. The pact offers India access to ports along the NSR, from Vladivostok to Murmansk.

In June, the Russian minister for the development of the Far East and the Arctic, Aleksey Chekunkov, said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian business community are interested in developing trade ties with the Russian Far East.

Indian shipyards are in talks to build non-nuclear icebreaker ships to navigate the harsh icy waters.

BRICS countries are working on setting up a grain exchange, backed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, that could challenge the hegemony of Western commodity exchanges over global agricultural trading and prices.

Russia presented the framework of the BRICS Grain Exchange at a meeting last week of the bloc’s economy and trade ministers in Jaipur, India, touting it as a “unified digital trading platform where producers and buyers of agricultural crops could deal with one another directly.”

Russia’s Union of Grain Exporters and Producers, which first proposed the establishment of the exchange in 2023, has estimated that trading of agricultural and related products could eventually exceed $1 trillion. Putin backed the initiative in 2024 and said it could eventually evolve into a full-fledged commodity exchange.

“The BRICS Grain Exchange is an opportunity for our countries to determine the fair value of their products themselves,” Russian Deputy Economic Development Minister Vladimir Ilyichev said in a statement.

Russia Unveils BRICS Grain Exchange Blueprint in Jaipur

RT India dives a little deeper into the agri-trade model and why it matters 📹 pic.twitter.com/C866legEYh

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) August 11, 2026

BRICS countries contribute about 42% of the global agricultural and food output, and are home to more than two-thirds of the world’s small and marginal farmers.

However, global trading and price discovery in agricultural commodities is dominated by Western futures exchanges such as the Chicago Board of Trade and Euronext.

The BRICS ministers discussed their respective positions on the exchange and readiness to implement the initiative. India, which holds the BRICS presidency this year, is hosting the group’s annual summit on September 12-13.

Afghanistan’s Taliban government has said it will ensure the safety of a prospective rail route linking Russia to India, which would give Moscow access to the Indian Ocean.

“Yes. Afghanistan is in a vital geographical location. This project will create employment in Afghanistan,” a spokesman for the Taliban’s Ministry of Economy, Abdul Rahman Habib, told RT India’s head of news, Runjhun Sharma, in a rare interview. “We support such projects.”

The full interview will be aired soon.

The Russia-India rail route was mooted by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin, who said last week that Moscow wants a rail link to the Indian Ocean to reduce risks from maritime disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. 

Khusnullin had said any options providing access to India would be acceptable, and suggested that routes could be explored through Turkmenistan, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. 

The Taliban has largely brought peace to Afghanistan since taking power in Kabul following the withdrawal of US forces in 2021 after 20 years of war. 

Moscow and the Taliban government signed a military cooperation pact in May, aimed at strengthening Russia’s influence in Central Asia.

India is the second-largest buyer of Russian crude oil, which has to transit the Bab-el-Mandeb chokepoint on the Red Sea and pass through the conflict zone around the Strait of Hormuz and Oman.

US trade adviser Peter Navarro, whose uncouth and culturally insensitive remarks have often irked India, has claimed that he was “firebombed” online amid the backlash over his comments last year.

Navarro, who has acted as US President Donald Trump’s attack dog, invited the blowback after he repeatedly hurled insults at India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he tried to pressure New Delhi.

“I actually got firebombed by the Indian continent on the internet with all sorts of nasty little attacks,” Navarro told reporters at the White House on Tuesday. “And all I would say is, don’t do that.”

The Trump aide repeatedly labelled India an “oil money laundromat” of the Kremlin and the “maharajah of tariffs” as Washington’s frustration mounted over its inability to isolate Russia and coerce India into finalizing a trade deal. He even called the Ukraine conflict “Modi’s war,” as he tried to shame New Delhi into stopping its Russian energy purchases.

India, the world’s most populous nation, has maintained that its energy purchases are driven by economic considerations and the need to secure reliable supplies for its 1.4 billion people.

New Delhi has also held back on signing a trade deal with Washington despite months of negotiations and the threat of steep tariffs from the Trump administration.

His criticism of Modi for “getting in bed” with leaders such as Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping was also viewed as personal and crude.

On Tuesday, Navarro suggested that he was the aggrieved party. “That’s not how we resolve problems here in America,” he told reporters.

He also struck a different tone about India-US relations, responding to a question by saying: “The [US] president and your [Indian] prime minister have a very good working relationship… They are going to work that out amongst themselves, and it’s not for me to get between that.”

India has its work cut out in responding effectively to the Mecca pact signed last week between Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and nuclear-armed neighbor Pakistan, an international relations expert has said.

The pact between the three Sunni Muslim countries has created a new “worrisome reality” for India, Robinder Nath Sachdev told RT India on Tuesday.

He noted that while there is not much clarity on whether the treaty envisages a collective defense on the lines of NATO’s Article 5 commitment, it still gives nuclear-armed Pakistan an edge if hostilities break out with India. The two South Asian nations briefly clashed last year with missiles and drones, following a terrorist attack in Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Islamabad.

Riyadh could provide money and military assets to its new treaty partner in this situation, even if it doesn’t take part in the conflict directly, Sachdev, the president of the independent think tank Imagindia Institute, said.

The key, he said, is for India to look inside and “estimate what all we need to do, shift in order to counter this new reality, which is a worrisome reality.”

The country has to “go deeper and wider” with existing partners and new partners, he said, adding that the question should be “how much… further can we progress down a mutual, stronger partnership?

The bottom line, he said, is “much more work has to be done in India within the country” as it addresses the Mecca pact.

Sachdev said India will have to de-hyphenate its economic partnership with Saudi Arabia from the security relations that Riyadh has developed with Islamabad. “That would be one relationship which India… needs to address and nurture.”

BRICS nations are discussing linking their payment systems and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) as they explore ways to reduce the costs and increase the speed of cross-border payments, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra said on Tuesday.

Last week, Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal said New Delhi prefers trade settlements in national currencies to a unified monetary system, or a BRICS currency, which has been touted as an alternative to the US dollar.

The Indian central bank chief said on Monday that “cross-border payments is an area of interest for all of us, including the BRICS, because we ⁠feel there is a lot of scope for reducing cost.” He added that various options are being discussed, including CBDCs (central bank digital currencies) and linkages of fast payment systems.

The RBI proposed that a plan to link the CBDCs of BRICS countries to make cross-border trade and tourism payments easier be included on the agenda of the group’s 2026 summit, Reuters reported in January, citing sources. India, which hosts the BRICS presidency this year, is hosting the summit September 12-13.

China, India, Russia, and Brazil have already implemented pilot rollouts of CBDCs.
The BRICS countries generate around 40% of the world’s GDP, surpassing that of the G7 group of developed nations.

An alternative payment system that connects these countries would challenge the SWIFT messaging system, which has been weaponized by the West to keep targeted nations out of global payment networks through sanctions and banking bans.

India is reviving the production of Russian Su-30MKI multi-role fighter jets, which form the backbone of the Indian Air Force.

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) will produce 12 new fighter jets at its Nashik facility for the Indian Air Force, at a cost of $1.3 billion, the Economic Times reported.

The IAF currently operates about 260 Su-30MKIs, and the new aircraft will replace those lost in accidents over the years.

HAL’s Nashik plant has traditionally produced Russian fighter aircraft under license, and also makes India’s own Light Combat Aircraft. It stopped producing MKIs in 2020-21, when all the planes contracted from Russia had been delivered.

The new planes will feature more than 50% indigenous components, and will be incorporated with the IAF’s Super Sukhoi upgrades.

Over the years, India has rolled out upgrades to the Su-30MKI’s avionics and electronic suite, making the jet more capable and lethal. The IAF also has incorporated the BrahMos-A, an air-launched version of the supersonic Russian-Indian cruise missile, into the platform.

A US judge has dismissed criminal charges against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani after President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) said it had decided to abandon the fraud and bribery case.

The charges, filed in 2024 by justice officials under then-President Joe Biden, alleged Adani had agreed to bribe Indian officials to secure a solar contract, and then misled US investors by reassuring them about his company’s anti-corruption practices.

Adani Group has denied wrongdoing and Adani never appeared in US court to respond to the charges.

Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter told the Brooklyn-based district judge, Nicholas Garaufis, in May, that the DOJ would not pursue the case as it was primarily foreign, hard to prove, and not consistent with the agency’s priorities.

Adani had promised to invest $10 billion in the US economy and create 15,000 jobs, just before the charges were unsealed. However, his lawyer Robert Giuffra, who is also a personal attorney of President Donald Trump, told justice officials that the investment could not be made while the case was proceeding, Reuters said in May citing a source.

But he criticized McCotter for deciding to drop the charges without inputs from the prosecutors or agents who investigated the case.

“I welcome the US court’s decision with humility and deep respect for the judicial process,” Adani posted on X after the case was dismissed. “Throughout this challenging period, our faith in truth, fairness and the rule of law remained unwavering.”

Gautam Adani became Asia’s richest man in June, ahead of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, and SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son.

I welcome the US court’s decision with humility and deep respect for the judicial process.

Throughout this challenging period, our faith in truth, fairness and the rule of law remained unwavering.

My deepest gratitude to those who never lost faith in us, in the system and in…

— Gautam Adani (@gautam_adani) August 10, 2026

He hails from Gujarat, the home state of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the two have a close association. Adani’s infrastructure and ports businesses grew during Modi’s tenure as the chief minister of the state.

Earlier this year Adani and his nephew, Sagar Adani, agreed to pay $18 million in fines to settle a civil case brought by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Indian warships escorted two crude oil tankers through the Bab-el-Mandeb strait amid the recent attacks that have struck commercial ships around the shipping chokepoint in the Red Sea.

The INS Trishul, a guided missile frigate, and the INS Aditya, a combat logistics ship, escorted the MT Compass and the MT Thalatta “to safely transit the high-risk area through #BabelMandeb strait” over Sunday and Monday, the Navy’s Western Naval Command posted on X.

The strait is a vital maritime gateway to the Red Sea and the Suez canal. Last week, an India-flagged cargo vessel, the MSV Faize Noore Oliya, sank near the Yemen coast after it was struck by a projectile.

🇮🇳⚓#INSTrishul and #INSAditya escorted crude tankers MT Compass and MT Thalatta to safely transit the high-risk area through #BabelMandeb strait on 9 and 10 Aug 2026.#IndianNavy remains committed to securing the safe transit of vital energy cargo and protecting Indian… pic.twitter.com/U2CCXmvh3W

— Western Naval Command (@IN_WNC) August 10, 2026

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militia last month blockaded all Saudi Arabian ships and those carrying Saudi oil from transiting through the Red Sea. Last week, the Shiite rebels claimed they had attacked eight Saudi-linked ships since the blockade began.

It is not clear if the ships escorted by the Indian Navy are carrying Saudi oil. The escorts could signal a new willingness from New Delhi to secure its energy supply routes through global conflict zones. 

Saudi Arabia shifted most of its oil exports to the Red Sea after Tehran blocked the Strait of Hormuz, another strategic maritime chokepoint through which about a fifth of the world’s energy used to transit, following the US-Israeli attacks on Iran. But some tankers have been forced to reverse course, or switch off their transponders amid the Houthi blockade.

European navy ships operating under Operation Aspides also provide escorts to commercial vessels in the Red Sea, and the US Navy’s Operation Prosperity Guardian does the same for commercial shipping in the region.

India is unlikely to reduce its Russian oil purchases, despite a new sanctions bill that imposes steep tariffs on Russia’s top oil buyers passing in the US Senate, Indian media reports suggest.

The Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, which features sanctions targeting Russia’s top oil customers while protecting US allies, passed the US Senate on Friday in an 86-11 vote. India is Russia’s second-largest oil customer, behind China.

The bill, championed by the late senator and backed by President Donald Trump, will allow the Trump administration to impose up to 100% tariffs on imports from the five top buyers of Russian oil.

However, steep tariffs might not be enough to stop India, which shares a long relationship with Russia, with roots in the Cold War.

“India has long-enduring ties with Russia, and its defense and energy relationship is deeply entrenched,” the Hindu Businessline reported, quoting a source. “It cannot simply be given up under external pressure.”

New Delhi did not cut back on its purchases even as the bill advanced through the US Senate, the source reportedly said.

India’s crude imports from Russia jumped to 2.8 million barrels per day and accounted for 55% of purchases in July, as a waiver on US sanctions lapsed the previous month.

“This gives a fair idea about what the government has in mind and its unwillingness to curtail its ties with Moscow,” the source said.

“India has a lot going with the US, including work on a bilateral trade agreement,” the report quoted a second source as saying.

“Imposing high tariffs on Indian goods is not a good idea for the American consumers as well.”

The continuing disruptions to oil and gas shipments through the Strait of Hormuz could also harden India’s resolve to keep buying more Russian oil as it seeks to secure energy supplies.

The Graham bill’s stated aim is to squeeze the Russian economy by choking off oil revenues and force President Vladimir Putin to end the Ukraine conflict.

In June, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar called out Western double standards over Russia sanctions and the use of them according to the needs of the US and Europe. “Let’s not pretend there’s some great principle involved here. I don’t think making this about sanctimony is really warranted,” he told journalists in Finland.

A proposed amendment to India’s foreign funding rules for charities and religious organizations has raised the temperature in India-US relations, with New Delhi’s ambassador to Washington posting a myth-buster on X to counter criticism from a US lawmaker.

In a series of posts on Monday, Indian Ambassador Vinay Mohan Kwatra posted a point-by-point rebuttal of the allegations made last week by Republican Congressman Riley Moore. The US lawmaker had claimed that the provisions of India’s Foreign Contribution Regulation Amendment Bill, 2026 (FCRA) could allow the government to take over churches and religious charities.

“This is a clear attack against Christians,” Moore said, warning the bill could affect India-US ties.

Kwatra, in his ‘Myth vs. Reality’ posts, directly addressed Moore’s criticism, saying “the Act applies uniformly to all organizations regardless of religion, community or ideology.” 

There are many misunderstandings in the media and in civil society about the proposed Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill(FCRA), 2026.
Here is the Myth vs. Reality check.

— Amb Vinay Mohan Kwatra (@AmbVMKwatra) August 10, 2026

A provision in the proposed amendments to the law seeks to establish a “designated authority” that would take over the management of foreign contributions, and assets created using those contributions, if an organization loses its FCRA registration.

“If the organization restores its registration, all assets and unused funds are returned in full,” Kwatra said, adding “where a cancelled association has created property connected to a place of worship, that property goes to another FCRA-registered association of the same faith to ensure continuity of worship.”

The ambassador noted that only about 14,450 non-profits among the total 3 million operating in India have FCRA registration.

India’s regulation of foreign funds is “a sovereign step” that is driven by “national security concerns,” he said.

“FCRA does not stop anyone from accepting foreign charity, research grants or humanitarian aid. It asks three things – register, receive the money through laid down process, report what you did with it,” he posted.

Moore’s allegations have added another element of tension to the India-US relationship, with the US Senate recently passing a bill that gives the administration the authority to slap 100% tariffs on Russia’s top oil customers. India is Russia’s second-largest oil buyer.

The Indian foreign ministry had hit back at Moore on Friday, with spokesman Randhir Jaiswal saying even the US regulates the flow of foreign funds. “Legislative matters concerning India are our internal affairs on which decisions are taken by the Parliament of the country,” he said. 

The Indian government has maintained that the law’s aim is to stop the misuse of foreign funds while allowing legitimate organizations to continue their work. 

US defense sales to India have surged past $22 billion since the initial deal for six Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules aircraft was signed in early 2008. Since then, the US has become one of India’s key arms suppliers. However, despite the growth in military sales and bold initiatives such as the 10-Year Framework for the US-India Major Defense Partnership, defense-industrial cooperation between the two countries still suffers from a wide gap between ambition and execution.

Washington is keen to sell platforms, many of which have already seen more than 30 years of service in the US armed forces. Most of these deals have been one-way transactions, with little or no transfer of technology. Lockheed Martin’s and Boeing’s Make in India initiatives have largely remained “build-to-print” arrangements, again with minimal or no real technology transfer.

The past two years have seen a growing level of distrust between the world’s largest and oldest democracies. It is becoming clear that the US is not interested in India’s rise as a global power. US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau stated at the last Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi that Washington will not repeat its past approach – read mistake – with China by granting India unfettered market and technology access that could lead to strong commercial competition. Washington wants India to be strong enough only to serve as a bulwark against China, and not to become an independent power center or a technological and economic power.

The high-level goals face hurdles from strict US regulations, differing national priorities, and slow bureaucratic delivery. India wants full technology transfer, local intellectual property ownership, and self-reliance under Atmanirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliant India) policy. It also wants to preserve its strategic autonomy. The US, however, sees cutting-edge military hardware as a sensitive national security asset requiring tight oversight. Its International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and export administration regulations complicate the sharing of sensitive technical data. Agreements, initiatives, and declarations are all well and good, but the relationship is still waiting for real industrial breakthroughs that can turn intent into capability.

Most recently, delays in the supply of GE F404 engines for the LCA Mk1A program have angered Indians and pushed public opinion to a low point. The prolonged negotiations over the co-production of GE F414 jet engines have also raised doubts about the scope of critical technology transfer and the extent of Make in India content in sub-components. In addition, the fact that the US continues to court Pakistan remains another thorn in its relationship with New Delhi.

Agreements vs Reality

End of the Cold War, and Washington’s growing interest in taking on China in the Indo-Pacific brought the US closer to India. Since the turn of the century there has been increased activity in security fields with many military industrial and logistics and communication related agreements. The defense relationship is anchored in successive 10-year framework agreements signed in 2005, 2015, and a renewed pact in October 2025, alongside foundational military communication and logistics pacts.

In 2016, the US also accorded India Major Defense Partner Status, placing bilateral trade on par with its closest allies. In 2018, India was designated a Strategic Trade Authorization-1 (STA-1) country and allowed to buy highly advanced and cutting-edge sensitive technologies from America. The Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA, 2018) and Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA, 2020) were signed to permit secure, encrypted communications and share advanced geospatial and satellite data for navigation and targeting. And there are other documents in place.

In 2023, the two sides unveiled a series of ambitious initiatives aimed at moving Indo-US defense ties beyond the traditional buyer-seller model, reviving hopes that had earlier faltered under the Defense Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI). The Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET), launched the same year to deepen cooperation in defense, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, 6G communications, quantum computing, and aerospace, has yet to deliver visible results. Similarly, INDUS-X (the India-US Defense Acceleration Ecosystem), designed to foster collaboration among defense start-ups, investors, and industry, as well as the US-India Defense Industrial Cooperation Roadmap, intended to promote co-development, co-production, and more resilient defense supply chains, now appear to be languishing amid Trump’s policy unpredictability.

Notwithstanding the above, friction between the two countries persists. While the American defense industry is eager to capture opportunities in the growing Indian market – especially as New Delhi continues to import foreign weaponry even while rapidly expanding its domestic manufacturing base – there has been little of the technology transfer that the Indian government has been seeking. The gap between ambition and execution remains the defining challenge in the US-India defense-industrial partnership. If India aspires to be a superpower, it will need to invest far more in defense R&D and build its own intellectual property base.

Russia Factor: India’s Traditional Defense Partner

While expanding defense trade with the US, India has continued its long-standing defense partnership with Russia, which dates back to the 1950s, when the Soviet Union and India grew close and Moscow helped New Delhi build its military-industrial base. Beginning with the MiG-21 program, India went on to manufacture a wide range of Soviet – and later Russian – platforms under license. For decades, the Indian armed forces have been dominated by Russian equipment, today the figure remains large at nearly 60%.

The two countries currently maintain what they describe as a “Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership.” Its key pillars include defense supplies, energy trade, and nuclear technology, supported by annual summit meetings and a shared goal of reaching $100 billion in bilateral trade by 2030.

India has been pressing foreign suppliers to manufacture in India as it is steadily moving away from the buyer-seller model toward the co-development and local production of advanced military equipment, spare parts, and systems – and the Russian example suggests that this model can work well. This approach is also being expanded to support the maintenance and upgrading of India’s vast inventory of Russian-origin platforms, including T-72 and T-90 tanks, fighter jets such as the Su-30MKI, and naval vessels.

The Russian offer of co-development of its latest fifth-generation fighters Sukhoi Su-57 with a make-in-India option and complete transfer of technology remains the most attractive ever, even though Indian officials this week said there is no plan for the purchase of the Su-57 in the near future, with focus being on upgrading the existing Su-30MKI fleet. 

But the ground position is that China has moved the J-20 fifth-generation aircraft next to the Indian border in Tibet and Xinjiang and is also planning to transfer J-35 fifth-generation fighters to Pakistan. China and Pakistan work in a collusive mode: at some point India may be forced to acquire Russian Sukhoi Su-57 as an interim fifth-generation fighter till its own AMCA matures.  

While Russia continues to be a time-tested friend, the relationship – including in defense trade – has faced hurdles stemming from the ongoing Ukraine conflict and the broad Western sanctions that have complicated payments and logistics between the two countries. In general, there is a significant a balance-of-payments issue, as India has been importing large volumes of crude oil from Russia while its own exports remain relatively limited. Russia’s close economic and strategic proximity to China also complicates things.

France and Israel as Emerging Partners

India has been actively expanding partnerships with other nations, especially with Israel and France.

With Israel, the defense relationship has been shifting from a traditional buyer-seller dynamic into a deeper industrial and technological co-production partnership. Guided by high-level strategic frameworks, both nations focus on joint research, artificial intelligence, unmanned systems, and domestic manufacturing under India’s self-reliance goals.

Private and public sector Indian defense firms have formed joint ventures with major Israeli defense corporations, such as Elbit Systems, Rafael, and IAI, to build local capacity for assault rifles, electronic warfare, and communication systems. Recent high-level bilateral talks emphasize integrating next-generation innovations like artificial intelligence, quantum computing, cybersecurity, and directed-energy laser defense systems. Israeli AESA radars, Helmet Displays, and EW systems are on many Indian aircraft. Through Joint ventures, there is significant absorption of technologies.

India and France share a deeply trusted, time-tested defense partnership anchored by strategic autonomy and a history of reliable technology sharing without political strings. France is also known as the “No-Veto” partner. Paris refused to join Western sanctions after India’s 1998 nuclear tests. Both nations prioritize strategic independence over alignment with other global power blocs. On the other hand, French military hardware carries high unit, lifecycle, and maintenance costs.

Decades of successful deployment of the highly successful Dassault Mirage 2000 to modern Rafale jets, and Scorpene submarines has built trust. Multi-billion-dollar deals, such as past Rafale contracts and massive proposed MRFA rollouts, would certainly strain defense budgets. Proprietary French systems and custom subsystems result in high lifecycle servicing costs. The final proposal for 114 Rafale will actually indicate the local manufacturing and co-development extent. Upfront investments to build domestic production lines (like Safran engine initiatives or Airbus-Tata assembly lines) will be indicative.

No Easy Way Ahead

India and the US have chosen to befriend each other and explore defense deals, joint-ventures, and transfer of technology. The reality, however, is that while Washington is keen to sell platforms, support for defense industrial eco-system building has been less than forthcoming. As India grows towards becoming the world’s third largest economy and military power, the US already sees it as a competitor.

India’s heavy reliance on Russian platforms (like the S-400 and Su-30MKI) also creates operational friction and challenges for secure data integration with US systems.

US has to be conscious of India’s time-tested defense partners in Russia, France, and Israel. Undoubtedly India wants to maintain good relations with a great democracy, and a huge market for Indian goods and services, but it has to be as a respected partner. It cannot be with a “take it or leave it” approach.

The prolonged negotiations with General Electric over the GE F-414 engine for domestic Tejas Mk-2 manufacture and the first two squadrons of AMCA is tiring. It is not whether the engine can be built in India, but how much of design expertise, engineering processes, and manufacturing know-how GE is willing to share of its core technologies. The F-414 program is a clear indicator of the limits that continue to constrain Indo-US defence-industrial cooperation. Washington remains reluctant to share critical technologies with India.

Russia, France, and Israel have comparatively been more forthcoming in technology transfer, Make-in-India, and supporting developing Indian defense industrial base. Having said that, one should keep in mind that India has always refused to enter a formal alliance framework or compromise its independent foreign policy. Looking forward, it will continue pursuing strategic autonomy approach.