General Studies Paper -2

Context: Prime Minister Modi is on a two-day visit to Russia.

Key Highlights

• India and Russia are working on the Eastern Maritime Corridor and the two countries were discovering each other through the Ganga-Volga dialogue.
• The Eastern Maritime Corridor is a proposed sea route between Chennai, India, and Vladivostok, Russia, passing through the Sea of Japan, the South China Sea, and the Malacca Strait.
• India will set up two new consulates in the Russian cities of Kazan and Yekaterinburg.

India- Russia Relations

• Political Relations: A watershed moment in relations between India and the Soviet Union was the signing of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship in 1971.
  • After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, India and Russia entered into a new Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation in 1993.
  • In 2000, during the visit of President Putin to India, the partnership acquired a new qualitative character, that of a Strategic Partnership.
  • In 2010 the relationship was elevated to the status of a Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership.
• Defense and Security Cooperation: BrahMos Missile System as well as the licensed production in India of SU-30 aircraft and T-90 tanks are examples of such flagship cooperation.
  • Both sides concluded agreements on the supply of S-400 air defense systems, construction of frigates under Project 1135.6 and shareholders agreement on the formation of a joint venture to manufacture Ka-226T helicopters in India.
  • The two countries also hold exchanges and training exercises between their armed forces annually termed INDRA.
• Trade and Economic Relations: Both sides revised targets of increasing bilateral investment to US $50 billion and bilateral trade to US $30 billion by 2025. However, bilateral trade reached an all-time high of $65.70 billion in FY 2023-24.
  • Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, India has been buying large amounts of Russian oil at a discount to cushion the inflationary impact of rising crude prices.
• Intergovernmental Commissions: There is regular high-level interaction between the two countries.
  • The IRIGC (India-Russia Intergovernmental Commission): It is the main body that conducts affairs at the governmental level between both countries. Both countries are members of international bodies including the UN, BRICS, G20 and SCO.
  • Two Inter-Governmental Commissions: One on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC), co-chaired by EAM and the Russian DPM, and
  • Another on Military-Technical Cooperation (IRIGC- MTC) co-chaired by Russian and Indian Defence Ministers, meet annually.
• Nuclear Energy: Russia recognizes India as a country with advanced nuclear technology with an impeccable non-proliferation record.
  • Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) is being built in India with Russian cooperation.

Way Ahead

• Over the years, as India has diversified its relationships in a multi-polar world, the India-Russia relationship has stagnated in some areas and atrophied in others.
• To further strengthen the relationship between Both the nations there is need for;
  • Providing a new basis for the existing defense cooperation;
  • The opportunity for Indian business conglomerates to explore the economic viability of the Siberian and Far East Region of Russia;
  • Strengthening geo-economic connectivity projects;
  • Enhancing technological cooperation between India and Russia.