India-Russia: News & Analysis

srikven · Post by **srikven** » 14 Oct 2016 07:57

" now, question to you economics gurus - what happens to indian market in case of indo-pak war. will US impose sanctions and us entities eg citibank, ibm etc stop trading with india (even if temporarily), what's the effect. anyone remember specifics in 1999? "

IBM for example makes close to 3 Billion in revenues from their India operations. In this sunset era, India is one of the shining markets for them. No way they will think about exiting or even discussing about it. There are several examples like this Iam sure

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 14 Oct 2016 10:44

Karan M wrote:
Sid wrote:<OT> It's not about how HQ-9 compares with S-440, but how we handle that threat.

Meaning does IAF has means to defeat that defense system? In the name of military balanced they will acquire it from Cheenis with 100 year payment schedule and there should be no doubt about it. </OT>

Now coming back to us, why suddenly India has the sudden urge to purchase this system after years of resisting it.
Pakistan has already purchased several batteries of http://www.military-today.com/missiles/hq16.htm, doubt all-lie PRC will give free dinero for HQ-9.

I have not yet seen an HQ-16 in PA/PAF colours much less HQ-9 , there were talks of Pakistan negotiation for both but there was also talks of PAF negotiating for J-10/20/21

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 14 Oct 2016 10:45

http://katehon.com/article/russias-deep ... over-india
IS RUSSIA’S “DEEP STATE” DIVIDED OVER INDIA?
(Last week, Long rant by these so called Intellectuals either bought by Paki, Chini or simply burnt up with rise of India vis-a-vis Mama Russia )

. The strategic situation in Europe has reached a stalemate between Russia and the US/NATO, while events in the Arctic haven’t yet dynamically begun to develop and won’t do so until after more of the ice melts sometime in the coming future, so the only Rimland portion of Eurasia still unaccounted for by Russia’s pan-continental balancing act is South Asia, which has only recently come to the fore of Moscow’s attention in this regard.The US began persistently courting India in the 1980s but didn’t start to tangibly succeed in its efforts until the election of Hindutva nationalist Narendra Modi, who was more than eager to throw India’s hat in the US’ ‘China Containment Coalition’ ring. Within the course of not even two and a half years, the same man who had at one time been sanctioned by Washington with a travel ban turned into its strongest proponent in Eurasia, committing his nominally “non-aligned” country to an unprecedented military-strategic partnership with the US. The geostrategic shift that this produced will have a profound and lasting legacy all across Eurasia, and it speaks to the fact that the international situation is markedly different in the New Cold War than it was during the old one. It might have been with an eye on this predictable eventuality that Russia lifted its arms embargo on Pakistan in 2014 and rapidly moved to enter into an historic rapprochement with it, eager to also reap the benefits of Pakistan’s pivotal role as the zipper of pan-Eurasian integration in a 21st century increasingly defined by infrastructure connectivity prospects and New Silk Roads.
Up until the mid-September Uri Attack, Russia’s balancing act in South Asia was progressing without a hitch, and Moscow was masterfully handling both complementary vectors of its regional policy without developing any contradictions between them. The enthusiastic embrace of economic relations with India wasn’t harmed by the interest that Moscow had in selling weapons to Islamabad and conducting joint anti-terrorist operations with New Delhi’s chief rival. Everything was moving along smoothly enough until the Uri Attack took place, which then led to a preplanned chain of events that were conditioned on forcing Russia into falling into the trap of making an unnecessary choice between its two strategic partners in the region. In fact, as the author argued in a related piece, the Uri Attack and subsequently hysterical reaction to it by New Delhi had more to do with India’s relations with its ‘fellow’ BRICS members Russia and China than it did with India’s testy ties with its arch-foe Pakistan. India exploited the occasion to rail against Pakistan during the opening week of the UN General Assembly, which coincidentally happened to occur right around this time. Additionally, India vowed to “isolate” Pakistan and condemned it as an “exporter of terrorism”.
That wasn’t all, though, since India also launched its first-ever information war against Russia in seeking to get Moscow to cancel its forthcoming joint military drills with Islamabad, a clumsy and ill-thought-out attempt which miserably failed to do anything besides damage the historical friendship between the two erstwhile socialistic states. Like the author wrote in the article that was just hyperlinked above, that might have cynically been the whole point to begin with, however, since India needed an unforgettable excuse to ‘justify’ its lightning-fast strategic reorientation towards the US. Nothing could galvanize the public so strongly against Russia and undermine decades of unquestionable trust than New Delhi deliberately manipulating its citizens’ emotions in a Bollywood-like roller coaster of drama, beginning with intelligence agency-circulated lies and ending with Moscow letting down the false and unrealistically high hopes of millions of people by carrying through on its stated word in conducting prescheduled counterterrorism drills with Islamabad. President Putin’s staunch refusal to acquiesce to Modi’s craftily issued demands and irrevocably undermine Russia’s opportunity for an historic rapprochement with Pakistan predictably prompted countless articles in the jingoistic Indian ‘media’ questioning why Russia would ‘disobey’ India and wondering whether there’s even any use to continue the once-vaunted Russian-Indian friendship.The preplanned and government-prodded overreaction of the Indian jingoists succeeded in catching Russia’s attention, just as New Delhi and its Washington ally both hoped that it would. The display of anti-Russian hostility that has been incessantly showcased all across India’s mainstream media outlets is undeniable to anybody capable enough of conducting a simple keyword search on “India” and “Russia”, and there’s no doubt at this point that the Kremlin took note of the sharp turn in rhetoric coming from its South Asian ‘partner’ and was swayed by some of its “deep state” elements into undertaking urgent damage control measures in mitigating the long-term consequences. In and of itself, there’s nothing abnormal about this, and it in practice speaks to Russia’s desire to balance relations between competing sets of partners, such as how it does with Armenia and Azerbaijan, India and China, Vietnam and China, Syria and Turkey most recently, and perhaps one day even Saudi Arabia and Iran and Japan and China. What’s so special about this particular episode of Russian diplomacy is the harsh language that was used in desperately attempting to calm the social psychosis which had come to define the Indian masses’ popular attitude towards Russia in the post-Uri manipulated information landscape, and how this approach appears (operative word) to complicate the existing course of Moscow’s South Asian policy.
Regardless of what may or may not be its factual veracity, Ambassador Kadakin’s strong statement of support for India is understandable when one considers that he is one of the many Soviet-era Indophiles still working in Russia’s “deep state” apparatus. Most of the Ambassador’s career dealt with India in one capacity or another, so it’s natural that he become sympathetic to the country after his decades of service and is the premier authority on all matters related to the Russian-Indian Strategic Partnership, including the limitless benefits that this arrangement could yield for both sides if properly managed into the future. It’s for this reason why Moscow’s official top-ranking representative in the country would use such partisan language as “Pakistan-Occupied Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir” and condescendingly speak as though the Pakistani Army is a natural instrument of terrorism that’s only being restrained and guided on the path to responsible reform due to the joint military exercises with Russia. Observers shouldn’t for one minute believe that this career diplomat is necessarily expressing Moscow’s official view on the matter, but that his melodramatic statement is directed solely to the general Indian audience, which doesn’t understand any moderate language nowadays and is only receptive to extreme rhetoric.
Nevertheless, Ambassador Kadakin wouldn’t have been allowed to issue such a polemical pronouncement unless he was given authority to do so by his boss, Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov. The Russian Foreign Minister understands the importance of his country’s weapons trade and nuclear energy cooperation with India, recognizing them as invaluable strategic gateways that might eventually lead to enhanced commercial engagement between the two countries. The tens of billions of dollars that Russia has reaped throughout the decades from these sorts of transactions, as well as the potential for even more mutually profitable trading and investment arrangements in the future, aren’t anything to be taken lightly, especially if incensed Indian diplomats were discretely threatening to take steps aimed at diminishing their country’s revenue flow to Russia in the coming years in response to Moscow’s joint counterterrorist drills with Islamabad. Faced with the predicament of potentially “losing” India, whether in general or at a quicker pace than Russia had initially forecasted, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov did the most reasonable and responsible thing that he knew how to do, which was to order Ambassador Kadakin to issue a strongly worded statement specifically tailored to appeal to his intended audience’s expectations in order to calm the increasingly out of control hysteria that had begun to take root in India.

The Indophiles aren’t the only South Asia-related faction in the Kremlin corridors, and their once-powerful influence has actually been on the decline over the past couple of years when compared to their newly ascendant rivals, the Islamophiles. This group of foreign policy experts believes that Russia must pivot towards Pakistan in order to gain access to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which could eventually reach all the way up to central Siberia and thus connect Russia’s geographic center with the global nexus of 21st-century trade in the Indian Ocean, and potentially even link this body of water with the equally strategic Arctic Ocean one day. This faction gained prominence over the years as Russia sought to contain the chaos that the US created in Afghanistan and prevent it from spilling over into Central Asia. With Kabulov at the helm, they proposed that Russia and Pakistan must partner with one another in order to most efficiently bring this about, assessing that both countries are absolutely indispensable to this process and that no lasting accord could ever be achieved without their sincere and dedicated efforts being behind it. In order to arrive anywhere near this point, both sides must bravely move past their dark history of relations and reconcile with what happened during the 1980s Soviet anti-terrorist operation in Afghanistan, just like how Russia and Germany came to terms with their pasts in overcoming the much more traumatic legacy of World War II. Tehran is patient enough to know that its influence in the country will probably surge in the future after India’s North-South Corridor passes through the Islamic Republic’s territory en route to the landlocked state, thus making Iran one of Afghanistan’s economic lifelines. As for China, the People’s Republic has taken the lead in forging the new Quadrilateral Cooperation and Coordination Mechanism (QCCM) between itself, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan in containing the most likely cross-border threats between them, and Beijing is also part of the four-country Afghan Peace Talks that also involve the US and Pakistan.Russia’s own security interests in Central Asia, Moscow undertook the historic step of fully normalizing relations with Islamabad and moving the two sides towards a strategic partnership. Kabulov, the Russian diplomat most experienced with these intricate matters, was tasked with taking the lead in making this happen, and it’s therefore not surprising that he was also the voice that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs relied on in defending Russia’s joint antiterrorist drills with Pakistan in response to India’s heavy opposition to them.

The strategy elaborated on above is reasonably sound and should in principle be sufficient for ending the Afghan War, but the problem is that the US-Indian Military-Strategic Partnership is now actively involved in undermining this process for their own ends. The US has more flexibility than India does when it comes to dealing with Afghanistan because it first and foremost is militarily occupying the country together with a scattering of allied NATO forces. Furthermore, the US also trained the Afghan military and police forces (however horribly inept they turned out to be [which could have been by design]), so it has a chance to turn a stabilized Afghanistan into center of regional unipolar influence if it had the willpower to see this vision through. It’s not to say that such a possibility would definitely succeed, but just that it does seem to have been part of Washington’s game plan from the very start. On the other hand, it can just as convincingly be argued that the US intended to turn Afghanistan into a black hole of Salafist chaos right in the center of the trans-regional pivot space of West, Central, and South Asia in order to catalyze what Brzezinski had previously taken to calling the “Eurasian Balkans”, which is essentially a divide-and-rule blueprint for geopolitically re-engineering and subsequently controlling Eurasia.One of the main problems that this Machiavellian scenario has come up against is that all of Afghanistan’s neighbors and Russia are uniting together in stopping this threat, meaning that it might not end up being as successful as the Pentagon’s strategic planners had envisioned when the first launched the war. If one sees the writing on the wall, then it’s evidently clear that the SCO – jointly led in these efforts by Russia, China, and Pakistan – will do everything in their fullest power to prevent this from happening, rightly understanding that the complete collapse of Afghanistan poses an existential threat to each of them individually and the viability of the emerging Multipolar World Order collectively. Therefore, from the American perspective, if the chaos-incubating “Eurasian Balkans” is bound to eventually be defeated in Afghanistan, then it makes the most sense to find a way to bring its new military-strategic ally on board the peace negotiation process so as to guarantee that the prospective post-conflict reconciliation government would remain as unipolar-oriented as possible. In pursuit of this modified grand strategic objective, the US is trying hard to make India an indispensable partner of the pro-American Kabul authorities, exploiting whatever tensions it can between Afghanistan and Pakistan (and Pashtuns on both sides of the border) in order to position New Delhi as the country’s preferred ‘regional’ ‘balancing’ partner, perhaps even up to the Rubicon-crossing point of inviting India to use the Pentagon’s Afghan bases as per the possibility that the recently signed LEMOA deal creates.The fruits of the US’ efforts to heighten India’s involvement in Afghan affairs have been mildly successful as of late, since the US, Afghanistan, and India commenced three-way talks last month on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly aimed at reinforcing the perception that India is now a high-level strategic partner of American-occupied Afghanistan. A touch of stereotypically dramatic Bollywood flair was added during this time when India announced that it was opening up a costly ‘air corridor’ to Afghanistan in order to get around Pakistani transit restrictions that were impeding the two-way trade of goods between New Delhi and Kabul. There’s no way that this initiative could be economically profitable, but its salience lies in the symbolism behind it and the proof that India is willing to pay a pretty penny to show Afghans its commitment to their government’s present anti-Pakistani course. As part and parcel of the Indian-Afghan relationship, Kabul sided with New Delhi when India split up SAARC by boycotting the November meeting in Islamabad. The Afghan government’s apparent submissiveness towards India is partially due to the manufactured tensions that the CIA and India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW, India’s version of the CIA) provoked over the years between Kabul and Islamabad, but it’s also somewhat attributable to the tempting long-term promise that India holds out to Afghanistan in one day becoming part of the North-South Corridor and thus circumventing Pakistan completely.

The US’ attempts to decouple Afghanistan from Pakistan structurally mirror what it has done to devastating effect when it comes to Ukraine and Russia, with India slated to take the role of the EU when it comes to the South Asian scenario. The whole purpose behind this is to turn Afghanistan into as fervent of an enemy of Pakistan as Ukraine is to Russia today. The US knows that it could then rely on its Indian “Lead From Behind” ally to fan the flames of hate as much as possible and thus keep post-conflict Afghanistan in such a weak state of indefinite uncertainty that it’s all the easier for India to influence and turn into an outpost of unipolarity, albeit a fragile one (since a stable Afghanistan would naturally gravitate back to its historic Pakistani partner). In advancing this scenario, the US is feverishly doing everything that it can to position India for a seat at the Afghan conflict resolution table, despite this being absolutely opposed by all of Afghanistan’s neighbors who know that it would further complicate an already ultra-complex situation and lessen the chances that a real peace can ever be reached. Since the Eurasian Powers will probably never let India have any formal role in this process, the US will likely rely on its fallback plan on having India wield enough de-facto influence on Kabul alongside Washington’s own (and fully enabled by it too) that it ends up having to be brought on board to some unofficial extent or another.

. It would be ideal if a balancing solution could be brainstormed, but under the aggressive conditions of India pressuring its Russian ‘friend’ to publicly choose between itself and Pakistan, it’s unlikely that a compromise can be reached which would be acceptable to either of the two camps. India is just too hyped up with encouragement from its new American ally to ever return back to the ‘good old days’ of its former non-aligned self, seeking instead to make a big fuss out of each and every pragmatic agreement that Russia and Pakistan reach in order to discretely blackmail Moscow that it’ll dump it in favor of Washington if it doesn’t walk back whatever decision that it made. Granted, there are certain limits to how far India can go with this new policy of strategic threats, and a clear distinction must be made by seasoned diplomats between New Delhi’s Bollywood bluster and sincere statements of intent, but by and large, the Russian-Indian Strategic Partnership of decades past is nothing more than wishful nostalgia in the present day, and Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs must react accordingly to this new reality.

Herein lies the main shortcoming of the Indophiles. Their deeply held and long-nurtured love of all things related to India seems to have colored their judgement and blinded them from seeing the present-day situation as it objectively exists. Instead of showing shock at the unprecedentedly rapid development of the US-Indian Military-Strategic Partnership and privately condemning the Hybrid War on CPEC that’s being fought by means of Afghan terrorists and Baloch separatists, this faction of experts would rather exchange handshakes and smiles with their Indian counterparts and imagine that the magical memories of the mid-1970s Soviet-Indian Friendship are still geostrategically pertinent today. It’s always to the benefit of the multipolar world whenever Russia and India cooperate, but this mustn’t be done to the detriment of Moscow’s other Eurasian interests such as bringing peace to Afghanistan and reaffirming the globally important Russian-Chinese Strategic Partnership through Moscow’s supportive defense of CPEC. It’s not to say that Russian-Indian relations are devolving into a zero-sum game as it relates to Moscow’s other partnerships with Islamabad and Beijing, but it’s obvious that this is what both Washington and New Delhi would want to happen, no matter (or perhaps because of) how destructive this would be for pan-Eurasian multipolar integration processes. What Russia needs to do in this situation is remain firm and unwavering in the red lines that its strategists have set out for it and not bend in response to Indian pressure.

Because of their adaptability in the face of India’s game-changing geostrategic pivot towards the US and their forward-thinking policy planning, the Islamophiles are distinctly at the head of Russia’s “deep state” South Asian strategy at the moment, despite the loud complaints that this elicits from the Indophiles. The fact remains that for as symbolic as Ambassador Kadakin’s statement was to the Indian press the other day about Russia’s support for Modi’s mythical “surgical strike” against Pakistan and his quips about “the Pakistan Occupied Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir” and the Pakistani Army’s inferred innate propensity for terrorism, all of this was just nothing more than words and not a single visible thing changed in the Russian-Pakistani Strategic Partnership. Russian troops still continued the joint counterterrorist drills with their Pakistani counterparts, even going as far as to train for “sabotage operations” that would ordinarily have no use against non-state actors such as terrorists but would be extremely effective against state-based military threats. The author isn’t in any way suggesting that the Russian troops are training their Pakistani partners in methods that could one day be used against India, but that the nature of terrorist threats is changing and that Moscow wants Islamabad to be properly prepared for fighting against state-like enemies such as Daesh in the future, which substantially underscores just how strong the trust is between Russia and Pakistan at this moment, irrespective of whatever the Russian Ambassador to India might publicly say in order to appease the warmongering Indian masses.In principle, nothing that Russia does should come at the expense of any of its partners’ interests, and so long as every actor that it deals with recognizes Moscow’s intent in reaching mutually beneficial outcomes in pursuit of the shared vision of a Multipolar World Order, then there isn’t any problem and everything proceeds smoothly, but as soon as ‘partners’ such as the EU and now even India begin seeing the world in a zero-sum perspective and making demands that Russia modify its sovereign policies in order to accommodate their ‘concerns’, then the whole balancing arrangement becomes at risk of falling apart.Russia would prefer not to operate under zero-sum conditions with any of its partners, but if pressed to do so with and by India, then the Indophiles’ well-intentioned approach inadvertently becomes one of appeasement to blackmail at the expense of positive relations with Pakistan and potential progress on reaching a solution to the Afghan War. The Islamophiles, on the other hand, are much better attuned for dealing with India in the zero-sum reality that New Delhi’s American ally is forcing upon both of them, and if India is indeed planning to ‘dump’ Russia from its previous position as the country’s ‘privileged partner’, then Russia might as well prepare for this eventuality and not unnecessarily lose any gains vis-à-vis Pakistan and Afghanistan in the process like it would if it adhered to the Indophiles’ inflexible and backwards-looking strategy during these changed times. If forced to choose, it’s better for Russia to pursue its Pakistani policy because of the immediate importance that the stabilization of Afghanistan would have for Russia’s southern-vectored security and the long-term benefits that this would have for connecting Siberia to CPEC.Moreover, there are definite limits to how far and fast India can decouple itself from Russia, no matter how mutually disadvantageous this would be. Russia’s military and nuclear energy interests in India are so deeply entrenched that they can’t feasibly be rooted out in the short-term no matter how vehemently Modi may try even if the relationship suddenly turned real sour and the US ordered him to do so. On top of that, both Russia and India have their own self-interested reasons for cooperating on the North-South Corridor, so it’s unrealistic for this trans-Eurasian megaproject to fall victim to even the worst deterioration of bilateral relations. If the Indians want to make Russia just “another Great Power among many”, then Moscow really doesn’t have all that much to lose, since it’s already not receiving any preferential treatment compared to the US or Japan when it comes to infrastructure development and other projects inside of India. However, by continuing to entertain the Indophile faction, Russia stands to lose all of the promising strategic-security achievements that it’s reached with Pakistan and Afghanistan thus far, though the opposite economic variant isn’t possible with the Islamophiles towards India since the gains can’t be lost so quickly (if ever at all).

India will probably continue to blow off jingoistic steam and discretely blackmail Russia from here on out, but Moscow must not cave in to the Indophiles and reverse the course that the Islamophiles have charted for it. There’s only so much that India can do to ‘punish’ Russia, and most of it is just bluster anyhow since Moscow isn’t even enjoying the same type of commercial benefits as its rivals presently are in India’s domestic economy. While it’s true that Russia could profit through the future promulgation of some sort of preferential economic agreement with India, this wouldn’t be too qualitatively different from the benefits that it will already reap through the North-South Corridor, which in fact might even prompt such a deal out of the mutually self-interested considerations of both sides regardless of whatever the state of their bilateral political relations might be by that time. Relatedly, Russia would then be able to harness the fruits of both the North-South Corridor and CPEC since it wouldn’t be sacrificing the latter for nothing. From the reverse perspective and unlike the potential gains that it could continue to receive from India, Russia would be unable to recoup any strategic-security losses that it incurs relative to Pakistan and Afghanistan if it doesn’t maintain its Islamophile policy in South Asia, which should be a convincing reason enough to stay the course and balance against the US’ new Indian ally.

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 14 Oct 2016 10:48

srikven wrote:" now, question to you economics gurus - what happens to indian market in case of indo-pak war. will US impose sanctions and us entities eg citibank, ibm etc stop trading with india (even if temporarily), what's the effect. anyone remember specifics in 1999? "

IBM for example makes close to 3 Billion in revenues from their India operations. In this sunset era, India is one of the shining markets for them. No way they will think about exiting or even discussing about it. There are several examples like this Iam sure

In 1999 war was localised to a specific sector so generally the Rest of India did not feel the impact.

If there is a full fledge war and if Pakistan decides to attack target around India , then most certainy we would see Online banking service affect and things on stand still till such time there is ceasefire ( hoping things dont go nuclear )

I think even a full fledge war will be quick and short not lasting beyond a month as there will be too much of Internatinal pressure for cease fire.

Economically speaking and personal better keep Cash and Gold handy at home .....coz most certainly your banks wont be giving notes as banking service may get disrupted and inflation will shoot up coz of war.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 14 Oct 2016 10:50

Rosneft, others to buy Essar Oil in $13 bn deal; Ruias to have only token 2% stake

http://www.firstpost.com/business/rosne ... 50798.html

New Delhi: Russian oil giant Rosneft, together with European commodities trader Trafigura and Russian fund UCP are likely to buy Essar Oil for about @13 billion, leaving a token 2 percent stake with existing promoters, the Ruia family. The deal, which includes taking over of $4.5 billion debt on Essar Oil books, is likely to be signed on Saturday in Goa, sources privy to the transaction said.Rosneft PJSC is likely to take 49 percent stake while Trafigura Group Pte and UCP will split another 49 percent equally among them. The Ruia family, which currently owns Essar Oil, will keep a token 2 percent stake after the deal is signed during Russian President Vladimir Putins visit to Goa for the BRICS Summit on October 15-16, sources said. They said originally Ruias wanted to shed only 49 percent in favour of Rosneft but the $3.5 billion they would have got from the Russian company wasn't enough to pay of the $4.5 billion debt on the companys books. A larger 74 percent stake was offered to Rosneft but that idea was dropped as the Russian company faces US sanctions and by a virtue of its majority stake Essar Oil too would have come on that list. At this stage, Trafigura was roped in and offered 24 percent stake.Trafigura, which has close ties to Rosneft, was to finance its acquisition by taking loan from Russias VTB Capital, part of state-controlled bank VTB. Sources said Trafigura is likely to take 24.5 percent stake and UCP a matching interest. The deal includes the Vadinar refinery as well as the Vadinar port and more than 2,500 petrol pumps. A power plant serving the refinery as well as companys coal-bed methane (CBM) blocks are unlikely to be included in the deal.s part of the deal, Rosneft-Trafigura will also takeover the debt of Essar Oil, sources said. Last year US Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) had issued a Crimea Sanctions Advisory, adding Rosneft and its subsidiaries to its Sectoral Sanctions Identifications List in retaliation for the Russian "invasion" of eastern Ukraine. Entities on this list are subject to economic and trade sanctions on grounds that they pose a risk to US national security and are in violation of US foreign policy objectives.
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Gyan · Post by **Gyan** » 14 Oct 2016 11:08

Potential deals that can be on table:-

Nuclear Reactor 5 & 6 Units in Tamil Nadu
New site for fresh 6 nuclear reactors
Import of Mined Uranium to build stock of Uranium fuel
Assistance in mining, reprocessing, enrichment of fissile materials, FBR, AHWR etc

2nd Akula
Assistance in indigenous SSNs, SSBNs
Stealth Frigates

Civilian Aircraft
Ka-226

S-400
Brahmos Mini

Su-30MKI upgrade
Additional Su-30MKI
PAKFA

Additional T-90s
BMP-2 upgrade

arun · Post by **arun** » 14 Oct 2016 11:48

Full Text of the interview of Russian President Vladimir on Indo-Russian Relations ahead of his visit to India to attend the BRIC’s 2016 Summit in Goa from the Official Kremlin / President of Russia Website.

The Russians seem to have done a good job of not permitting important but embarrassing questions. Thus most regrettably the topical question of Russia’s dalliance with the Mohammadden Terrorists fomenting Islamic Republic of Pakistan by way of holding Military Exercise Druzhba 2016 immediately after the attack on the Uri camp does not come up at all as was the case with Russian supply of military equipment such as the Klimov RD-93 Turbofan for the JF-17 and MiL 17 Helicopters to the Islamic Republic.

Interview to Rossiya Segodnya International News Agency and IANS News Agency

Ahead of his visit to India, Vladimir Putin gave an interview to Rossiya Segodnya International News Agency and IANS News Agency.

October 13, 2016 09:40

Question: Russian-Indian relations can be qualified as privileged strategic partnership. As to the economy, a perfect example of this point is cooperation in atomic energy, I particular, the construction of the Kudankulam NPP. What other areas of Russian-Indian cooperation can speak to a similar success?

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: India is Russia's especially privileged strategic partner. Cooperation between our countries is making good headway in all areas on the basis of strong traditions of friendship, trust and mutual respect.

Russia and India are allies in ensuring strategic security and stability, and building an equitable world order. We work closely within the leading multilateral organisations such as BRICS, the G20, and the UN.

This October marks 16 years of the signing of the key instrument for Russian-Indian relations, the Declaration on Strategic Partnership. We have done much to further the entire mechanism of bilateral ties during this period.

The two countries maintain active political dialogue, with summits taking place every year. The Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation is also working efficiently. Our foreign ministers, heads of staff of security councils and line ministries keep in touch on a regular basis. There is a gradual increase in inter-parliamentary, interregional, business and humanitarian exchanges. We have developed a strong legal framework featuring over 250 agreements.

India has been and remains Russia's major foreign trade partner. Even though in 2015 trade between the countries dropped by 7.8 percent, together with our Indian partners, we are resolved to overcome the negative trend, which, in our opinion, is largely associated with volatility on the global markets and in exchange rates. Especially since our commercial exchanges are mutually beneficial and their structure shows the complementarity of the two economies. Chemicals and engineering products account for a considerable share of Russia’s exports and the exports from your country.

The energy sector plays an important role in trade and economic cooperation between Russia and India. Construction of the Kudankulam NPP is the largest long-term project. In August 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and I took part in a ceremony dedicated to the handover of the first unit of the Kudankulam NPP to the Republic of India. The second unit will be put into operation in the near future. Operation of the first and second units at their rated capacity will significantly increase the energy supply in India and strengthen its energy security.

Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India began preparations for the construction of units 3 and 4. Works are being carried out according to the agreed schedule. The project is implemented with funding from the Russian Federation: the government loan stands at $3.4 billion, or 85 percent of the total value of contracts concluded with the Russian organisations. We are now working on the localisation of component manufacturing in India. We began assessing the construction of nuclear power plants at other sites in India. Technological cooperation in the field of uranium enrichment is being established.

We are strengthening bilateral cooperation in the conventional energy sector. During the St Petersburg International Economic Forum held in June 2016, Rosneft and an Indian consortium signed a contract for the sale of 23.9 percent of shares in Vankorneft, which owns the Vankor field in the Krasnoyarsk Region. Besides, Rosneft sold a stake of shares in the Taas-Yuryakh Neftegazodobycha, a company developing a field in East Siberia, to Indian companies.

Improving the structure of goods turnover by increasing the deliveries of high technology products and developing industrial cooperation is a topical issue. Well-known Russian companies, such as Silovye Mashiny, Gazprom, Stroytransgaz, Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK), Uralmashzavod, SIBUR Holding, Mechel, KAMAZ and many others, are operating in the Indian market.

Implementation of large promising projects is underway in engineering, chemical and mining industries, aircraft engineering, pharmaceuticals, medicine, nano- and biotechnology. Cooperation in finance and banking, which involves, among others, the VTB Bank and Sberbank of Russia, is advancing. It is obvious that the Russian companies see real prospects and high attractiveness of the Indian market.

Our countries actively collaborate in the military technical field. Russia remains in the lead in terms of both direct supplies of most advanced weapons and military equipment and conducting joint researches with India, as well as producing goods for military purposes. The construction of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile and the development of a new, fifth generation fighter aircraft are among the successful joint projects.

Let me add that many of the Russian projects in India not only have commercial importance but also play a significant social and economic role for the economies of the two countries. They harmoniously fit in the new Indian industrialisation programme proposed by Mr Modi.

Question: The level of investment cooperation is one of the criteria of reliable bilateral relations and trust between countries. In this regard, what steps are planned to be taken in view of the upcoming Russian-Indian Summit? Will the plans to privatise Russian companies influence the development of the investment partnership between Russia and India?

Vladimir Putin: Naturally, during our visit to India we hope to give fresh momentum to the bilateral trade and economic ties, given that companies of both countries are interested in implementing new mutually beneficial projects. Russia's cumulative investments in India amount to about $4 billion, while Indian businesses have invested in the Russian economy twice as much – about $8 billion.

I am convinced that Russia and India can considerably boost bilateral investments. To stimulate mutual investments, we plan to discuss with our Indian partners the possibility of updating the bilateral Agreement for the Promotion and Mutual Protection of Investments. We encourage the development institutes – the Russian Direct Investment Fund and Vnesheconombank – to be more active in providing financial support for investment activities of the Russian companies.

A Working Group on Priority Investment Projects has been established and is now successfully operating within the framework of the Intergovernmental Commission. Line agencies of the two countries, jointly with the India–Russia Forum on Trade and Investment, are engaged in a rigorous selection of promising business initiatives and work on identifying and removing barriers to the free flow of goods, capital and services.

To date, 20 priority projects have been selected – 10 Russian projects and 10 Indian ones – in such spheres as transport engineering, chemical industry, aircraft industry and pharmaceuticals. They include the construction by the SIBUR Holding of a butyl rubber facility with an operating capacity of 100,000 tonnes per year in the city of Jamnagar, and production by Russia’s Lighting Technologies Company of lighting equipment for general and specific purposes in the city of Jigani, Karnataka state. The Sistema Financial Corporation is developing a ”smart city“ model in India. Dauria Aerospace is working on the deployment of the NextStar telecommunication satellite constellations in the geostationary Earth orbit. The two countries’ governments will assist in the implementation of these projects.

Question: BRICS summits have been already included on the global agenda, and are held regularly. Yet, the final declarations only slightly differ from summit to summit. What do you think is essential in order to make BRICS cooperation more substantial, effective and concrete?

Vladimir Putin: BRICS is one of the key elements of the emerging multipolar world. The five countries have consistently reaffirmed their commitment to the fundamental principles of international law and promote the central role of the United Nations. Our countries reject the policy of coercive pressure and infringement upon the sovereignty of other states. We take similar stances on urgent international issues, including the Syrian crisis and the Middle East settlement.

This is why the summits’ final declarations, and the Goa Summit will be no exception to this rule, reaffirm our shared commitment to the fundamental principles of inter-state communication, particularly, to the observance of international law with the central coordinating role of the UN. With some Western countries attempting to promote their unilateral approaches, this position becomes even more relevant.

Traditionally, the declarations of BRICS leaders outline fundamental consensus-based stances on a wide range of issues and identify short-term development goals for the five nations that would serve as a target for follow-up steps aimed at strengthening strategic partnerships among our countries in various spheres.

As for rendering practical interaction among the five countries more substantive, I would like to stress that today, there exist more than 30 formats for inter-agency cooperation in the political, economic, humanitarian, security and law enforcement areas.

The establishment of the New Development Bank (NDB) and the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement with the total capital of $200 billion is a concrete example of this cooperation. I am convinced that, as the bank gets stronger, its output will only increase, including by means of projects that promote integration among the BRICS countries. The NDB started its work in 2016, having approved the first projects in all five countries. The priority at the current stage is renewable energy. In Russia, this implies the construction of small 50 MW hydropower plants in Karelia worth $100 million.

Our countries actively cooperate within the Group of 20, including under the current Chinese chairmanship. Thus, the BRICS countries have undertaken a commitment to implement the Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting. We seek to systematically converge our stances in the WTO with a view to improving the rules and spurring up multilateral negotiations within the organisation.

This is why I think the cooperation within BRICS has already begun to yield practical results. It is essential to continue work on consolidating these results and on identifying areas of common interest.

The participants in the BRICS Summit in Goa will look at the initial results of implementing the Strategy for BRICS Economic Partnership adopted in Ufa and finalise the draft of BRICS Roadmap for Trade, Economic and Investment Cooperation until 2020. We intend to establish new formats and mechanisms to cooperate with our partners, in which concerted measures aimed at developing our ties in various fields will be elaborated. At the same time we intend to focus on addressing issues related to strengthening international security and stability, enhancing the competitiveness of our economies and the promotion of international development.

We also support the initiatives put forward by the Indian chairmanship in such fields as BRICS collaboration in agriculture, railway transport, sports, tourism and building people-to-people contacts.

Question: What proposals are you going to make at the forthcoming BRICS Summit and what do you expect from this meeting? What do you think the participants in the association could claim as their achievements after this meeting? What other projects beside the New Development Bank, could serve as a proof that this cooperation format is valuable?

Vladimir Putin: First and foremost, I would like to express gratitude to Indian leadership who has, invariably throughout its chairmanship in BRICS, focused on strengthening and consolidating the strategic partnership within our association. I am convinced that the Summit in Goa that will be held under the slogan of continuity and innovation, will be very fruitful.

For our five countries’ leaders this meeting will be a good opportunity to harmonise our positions on key issues on the international agenda. We are determined to cooperate in the fight against terrorism, drug trafficking and corruption. We will also contribute to settling conflicts and ensuring international information security. All of us remain concerned over continued lack of stability in the global economy. Together with our partners we will reflect on what can be done to further unite our efforts in order to address these challenges.

We also expect that the BRICS Summit in Goa will open new opportunities for economic and humanitarian cooperation.

We will certainly discuss the issues of project funding through the New Development Bank and of a full-fledged launch of the BRICS Contingent Currency Reserve Pool. This implies an exchange of views on the ongoing work involving high representatives on security issues, relevant ministerial meetings, expert interaction formats, the BRICS Network University, and the Business Council. For instance, preparations have now been completed for the signing of memoranda of cooperation among the customs services and the diplomatic academies of our states, as well as of creating a platform for BRICS agricultural research.

We are grateful to our Indian partners for ensuring the continuity of the BRICS agenda following the Ufa Summit held in Russia in July 2015. The implementation of the adopted Ufa Declaration and Action Plan has started. The Indian partners have also proposed a number of initiatives that we plan to consider at the Summit.

As for the specific Russian proposals for the Goa Summit, let me remind you that, during our presidency, the Strategy for Economic Partnership was adopted, which covers the promising areas of cooperation among the five countries. An action plan for its implementation is currently being prepared. The Russian side has proposed more than 60 projects, a kind of a road map, which could be implemented in cooperation with its BRICS partners (with a single partner or with all of them). I believe that if we manage to jointly determine partners for the implementation of these projects, it will be an important step towards the modernisation of our countries’ economies.

Russia also supports enhanced cooperation in electronic commerce (including analysis of key barriers between the countries in this sphere, development of the best regulatory practices, etc.), in trade facilitation (with involvement of the Eurasian Economic Commission), supporting small and medium-sized businesses (launching a web portal for BRICS small and medium-sized businesses), and protection of intellectual property.

Question: You often mention the necessity to interlink integration processes, particularly those of the EAEU and the Silk Road Economic Belt. How could the current BRICS format be used to implement such initiatives?

Vladimir Putin: The global economic and financial situation remains difficult, with the consequences of the global financial crisis still persisting. It is therefore regrettable that certain countries seek to solve the problems that have built up by introducing protectionist measures and trying to engage in restricted non-transparent projects, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership or the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. Russia, just like all its BRICS partners, remains committed to shaping open non-discriminatory economic areas based on the WTO principles.

Let me remind you that on July 9, 2015, Ufa hosted an outreach meeting with participation of heads of state of the Eurasian Economic Union, the SCO, as well as the SCO observer states. Among other things, the participants discussed the issue of major regional and transregional infrastructure projects.

In this context, we also proposed that work on establishing the Eurasian Economic Union should be integrated with that on the Silk Road Economic Belt. This process could eventually provide a basis for the Big Eurasian Partnership that would involve a wide range of states of the Eurasian Economic Union, the SCO, and ASEAN. We expect that such partnership will be open for accession by all countries concerned and will build on the principles of transparency and mutual respect. The BRICS cooperation potential may also be used to implement this initiative. We look forward to the support from India, which is earnestly interested in this proposal.

We are sure that this topic will be further discussed at the BRICS and BIMSTEC heads of state meeting in Goa.

Question: When you think of the territory from India to the Russian border you realise that the situation there is rather complicated, with numerous problems and contradictions. What challenges and issues, in your opinion, will be the most important and acute for the countries of the region in the next ten years?

Vladimir Putin: The situation on the territory between India and Russia remains tense. In particular, the developments in Afghanistan still raise concern. Decisive actions are required to help that country in dealing with such challenges and threats as terrorism, extremism, and illicit drug trafficking. Russia and India share the need to support national reconciliation efforts under the international law and are interested in deepening constructive multilateral cooperation for the purposes of assisting Afghanistan in solving the issues of national security, building counter-narcotics capacity, ensuring social and economic development, and enhancing interconnectivity.

In more general terms, our country is willing to develop such formats of interaction in the above-mentioned region that would allow responding swiftly to emerging security challenges, jointly seeking for ways to address potential threats. In our opinion, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is to play the major role in it; it is constantly expanding its geography – for example, India and Pakistan are now joining the Organisation. The SCO is stepping up its efforts aimed at building trust, strengthening genuinely collective efforts in the area of crisis response, and developing multifaceted cooperation.

The fact that Russia, with support of its partners, is actively promoting the above-mentioned projects to create a common economic space in Eurasia also contributes to resolving the differences. Such ‘integration of integrations’ based on the principles of transparency and taking into account the interests of all national economies will allow integrating the region into common development, and will strengthen its stability.

From here:

Interview to Rossiya Segodnya International News Agency and IANS News Agency

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 14 Oct 2016 12:41

A "Triumf" of a summit what?!

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 838402.cms

India, Russia to sign Rs 39,000cr deal on S-400 air defence missile systems
Rajat Pandit | TNN | Updated: Oct 14, 2016, 08:09 IST

HIGHLIGHTS
India to sign a Rs 39,000 crore deal for five Russian S-400 Triumf air defence missile systems
S-400 can destroy incoming hostile aircraft, stealth fighters, missiles and drones at ranges of up to 400-km
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (File TOI photo)Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (File TOI photo)
NEW DELHI: In a game-changing arms acquisition, India is going to ink a Rs 39,000 crore deal for five new-generation Russian S-400 Triumf air defence missile systems, which can destroy incoming hostile aircraft, stealth fighters, missiles and drones at ranges of up to 400-km.
India and Russia+ will also finalise the long-awaited agreement for the joint production of around 200 Kamov 226T light utility helicopters at a cost of about $1 billion under the "Make in India" programme.
With Russian President Vladmir Putin+ headed for India to attend the BRICS Summit+ in Goa, the S-400 deal as well as the joint venture for helicopters to be established between defence PSU Hindustan Aeronautics and Russian Rostec State Corporation will be inked over the weekend.
TOI was the first to report in October 2015 that India had decided to purchase the S-400 systems, which basically have three kinds of missiles, with different capabilities, that can fly at supersonic and hypersonic speeds to intercept all kinds of targets at ranges from 120 to 400-km. Russian experts even proclaim the S-400 surface-to-air missile (SAM) system can "radar lock and shoot down" stealth fifth-generation fighters like the American F-35 jets.
This procurement comes over a year after China sealed a $3 billion deal with Russia for acquisition of six S-400 batteries. China is slated to get the S-400 batteries, which is designated `SA-21 Growler' by NATO and rivals the anti-ballistic missile capabilities of the US Patriot PAC-3 system, from 2017 onwards.
As for the Kamov helicopters, which will replace the aging and obsolete Cheetah and Chetak fleets of the armed forces, the deal will be signed between defence PSU Hindustan Aeronautics and Russian Rostec State Corporation. HAL and Rostec will form a joint venture to set up the production facilities to execute the deal.

As was reported by TOI last month, the decks had been cleared for the helicopter deal after a flurry of high-level meetings between the two countries. After a pronounced tilt towards the US in terms of defence deals and military-to-military ties over the last decade, India has reassured Russia that their traditional strategic partnership and defence projects will continue as before.
Negotiations for other mega defence projects with Russia like the joint development of the futuristic fifth generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) and the $1.5 billion lease of a second nuclear-powered submarine are also on track now.

Since Modi took over, our Defence forces have got a terrific boost in their moral and also in capacity.....Icing on the cake is: It''s without Dalali !
Shyamal

Soon after it had come to office in 2014, the NDA government had scrapped the long-pending acquisition of 197 light-utility helicopters from abroad, the selection process for which has been dogged by corruption allegations and technical deviations.
The armed forces have waited a long time for new helicopters to replace their Cheetah/Chetak helicopters, which are even used even in high-altitude areas like Siachen. In all, the Army and IAF need 384 light-utility helicopters. HAL, which was tasked to manufacture 187 similar helicopters in 2009, too, is yet to deliver.

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Philip · Post by **Philip** » 14 Oct 2016 12:58

More reports from the Ind. Exp. Helos,frigates deals to be inked too.
Time to open the bottles of feni what?!

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/ ... s-3081194/

Russia, India to ink multi-billion dollar deal on S-400 air defence missile systems
The S-400, an upgraded version of the S-300, had previously only been available to the Russian defence forces. It is manufactured by Almaz-Antey and has been in service in Russia since 2007.
By: PTI | Moscow | Updated: October 13, 2016 9:22 pm

Russia and India will sign a multi-billion dollar deal for S-400 ‘Triumf’ long-range air defence missile systems on Saturday following talks between Russian President Vladmir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Goa, state media here reported on Thursday.
“Following the results of the negotiations between our president and (Indian Prime Minister Narendra) Modi, an agreement will be signed on the delivery of S-400 Triumf anti aircraft missile systems to India, as well as some other documents,” Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov was quoted as saying by TASS news agency.
India is interested in getting five systems of the most modern air defence system, capable of firing three types of missiles, creating a layered defence, and simultaneously engaging 36 targets.

It has the capability to destroy incoming hostile aircraft, missiles and even drones at ranges of up to 400 km.
If India signs the deal, it would be the second customer of the prized missile system after China which had struck a USD 3 billion contract last year.
The S-400, an upgraded version of the S-300, had previously only been available to the Russian defence forces. It is manufactured by Almaz-Antey and has been in service in Russia since 2007.
Ushakov said part of the documents will be signed behind closed doors. The Kremlin aide declined to comment on the details of the deal, suggesting that first the document should be signed.
Russia also plans to sign an agreement on building Project 11356 frigates for the Indian Navy and setting up a Russian- Indian joint venture to produce Kamov Ka-226T helicopters, the agency reported.
Following the results of their talks, Putin and Modi will adopt a joint statement to reflect their common approaches towards solving various global and regional issues.
Both sides will also approve a roadmap of measures timed to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Overall, Russia and India are set to sign about 18 documents, he said. The Russian presidential aide said Putin and Modi will hold their talks in Goa ahead of the summit of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) grouping of leading emerging economies.
The Russian and Indian leaders are first expected to talk in a narrow format and then negotiations will be held at the level of delegations. Russia’s delegation will also be represented by Vice- Premier Dmitry Rogozin, the heads of the Industry and Trade, Energy and Economics Ministries, state civil nuclear power corporation Rosatom and others.
After the talks, the Russian and Indian leaders will take part in the ceremony of laying the foundation for the third and fourth power units of India’s Kudankulam nuclear power plant via a video conference, make statements for the media and hold a tete-a-tete lunch.

Bhurishravas · Post by **Bhurishravas** » 14 Oct 2016 13:20

And this will prompt Porkies to purchase HQ-9s from Cheeni all weather brothers.

And so we should not shore up our defences.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 14 Oct 2016 13:24

Another report,wider coverage of deals in the pipeline including the FGFA,etc.

http://www.firstpost.com/business/brics ... 50782.html
Brics Summit in Goa: From defence to food deals, India and Russia push ahead to reshape trade ties

he meeting between Russian president Vladimir Putin and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi is significant as it comes at a time when the bilateral relations between the countries are at an interesting juncture because of Russia's perceived closeness to Pakistan.
Post the talks, to be held ahead of the Brics Summit in Goa, Putin and Modi are also expected to issue a joint statement to reflect their common approaches towards solving various global and regional issues.
Both sides will also approve a roadmap of measures timed to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Russia's delegation will also be represented by Vice- Premier Dmitry Rogozin, the heads of the Industry and Trade, Energy and Economics Ministries, state civil nuclear power corporation Rosatom and others.
The Russian and Indian leaders will take part in the ceremony of laying the foundation for the third and fourth power units of India's Kudankulam nuclear power plant via a video conference, make statements for the media and hold a tete-a-tete lunch.
According to media reports, Russia and India are set to sign about 18 documents and have lined a slew of of deals, especially in the defence sector.
Here's a low down on the business deals that are on the table and those signed:

Defence deals: Despite its move closer to Pakistan, Russia seems to be making attempt to clarify that its defence ties with India are not getting affected. Putin told IANS in an interview that Russia remains one of India's leading suppliers of advanced weapons and defence technology as "India is Russia's especially privileged strategic partner".
"Our countries actively collaborate in the military technical field. Russia remains in the lead in terms of both direct supplies of most advanced weapons and military equipment and conducting joint researches with India, as well as producing goods for military purposes," Putin told IANS/Sputnik in an exclusive interview ahead of his visit to India for the five-nations BRICS Summit in Goa this weekend.
"The construction of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile and the development of a new, fifth generation fighter aircraft are mong the successful joint projects," Putin said.
He said many of the Russian projects in India not only have commercial importance but also play a significant social and economic role for the economies of the two countries.
"Russian companies see real prospects and high attractiveness of the Indian market," Putin said.
The two important deals likely to be signed at a time when India-Pakistan tensions are running high are Kamov and S400 Triumf.
Kamov 226T: India and Russia are expected to sign a "complex agreement" for production of 200 Kamov 226T helicopters domestically under a nearly $1 billion deal.
This agreement is seen as the next big step in cooperation between Russia and India in the area of helicopter production and service.
According to Russian Helicopters, Ka-226T is a powerful, light multirole helicopter with "high safety standards", "incredibly precise hovering ability" and "excellent manoeuvrability". It has "eco-friendly features, efficiency, modern avionics and additional flight safety solutions – making this one of the best models in its class".
These choppers will replace the country's the aging Cheetah and Chetak fleet.
Apart from boosting the trade relations between India and Russia, the agreement is also seen as a boost for Modi's Make in India programme.
S-400 'Triumf': Both the countries will sign a multi-billion dollar deal for S-400 'Triumf' long-range air defence missile systems on Saturday following talks between the nation heads.
"Following the results of the negotiations between our president and (Indian Prime Minister Narendra) Modi, an agreement will be signed on the delivery of S-400 Triumf anti aircraft missile systems to India, as well as some other documents," a PTI report cited Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov as saying in Russian media.
S-400 'Triumf' is the most modern air defence system, capable of firing three types of missiles, creating a layered defence, and simultaneously engaging 36 targets. It has the capability to destroy incoming hostile aircraft, missiles and even drones at ranges of up to 400 km.
The S-400, an upgraded version of the S-300, had previously only been available to the Russian defence forces. It is manufactured by Almaz-Antey and has been in service in Russia since 2007. India is interested in getting five systems these.
If India signs the deal, it would be the second customer of the prized missile system after China which had struck a $3 billion contract last year.
Project 11356: Russia also plans to sign an agreement to build Project 11356 frigates for the Indian Navy, says PTI. Project 11356 is a guided missile frigate and has Russian made sensors and weapon systems.
Earlier this month, Russian media had reported that India is set to acquire three Admiral Grigorovich-class frigates or Project 11356M from Russia, that were originally intended for the Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleeet. These frigates are being built at Yantar Shipyard in Kaliningrad. The reports also said India was considering getting the hulls of these warships to India and complete the construction in India itself.
These Admiral Grigorovich class frigates are based on Talwar Class frgiates, which were also made by Russia for the Indian Navy during 2003-2013.
Food irradiation centres: Indian agriculture association Hindustan Agro Co-op Ltd and United Innovation Corp of Russia signed an agreement to set up a network of integrated irradiation centres for food products in India. United Innovation Corp is a subsidiary of state-run nuclear corporation Rosatom.
For the uninitiated, irradiation is a technology that helps safely preserve food for longer period of time. India incurs a loss of Rs 2.5 lakh crore in food items like fruits, vegetables, meat, cereals, pulses and floriculture due to lack of cold storage facilities or storage constraints, according to a report in IANS. The agreement is an attempt to address this issue.
The centres will be managed by an India-Russia joint venture (JV) where Hindustan Agro will have the majority 51 percent stakeholding. The irradiation centre at Rahuri in Maharashtra, run by Hindustan Agro farmers cooperative with with the help of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, will be be upgraded under this agreement.
According to Denis Cherednichenko, CEO, United Innovation, it is a landmark agreement and signals a move beyond the existing Russo-Indian cooperation on building nuclear power plants like Rosatom's Kudankulam project in Tamil Nadu.
Under the around 25 such integrated infrastructure irradiation centres will be set up in India. Each plant will have grading, processing, packaging, cold storage and export facility. The plan is to set up these plants each with 35,000 tonne to 40,000 tonne capacity per annum in a period of around 5 years.
Railways boost: Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain has held discussions with the Russian Railways authorities for collaborating on a dedicated high-speed freight corridor, an IANS report said quoting railway officials.
A senior railway official told IANS that the minister held discussions with the Russian officials and also discussed issues like modernisation of existing rail corridors, train traffic and transportation, training and knowledge sharing and rolling stock modernisation.
The discussions come at a time when the railways minister is taking steps to introduce high-speed trains such Talgo. The government has also secured soft loans for setting up the first bullet train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad as part of Modi's Diamond Qaudrilateral project.
With inputs from PTI and IANS

"Other documents".Would these be classified deals for N-subs,etc.?

Agnimitra · Post by **Agnimitra** » 14 Oct 2016 23:06

Rudradev wrote:^^ We're going to war.

Keeping an ear to the rumble, if any: Friend exports pharma to Pak (many Indian pharma cos do). Says he has not heard any specific indications from traders, etc relating to possibility of war. Or from any business councils/associations.

Bheeshma · Post by **Bheeshma** » 15 Oct 2016 00:34

S-400 I get as PDV and AShwin haven't been fully tested. But why do we need 4 more talwars when 7 P-17a's are on order and 6 more corvettes about the same size as Talwars.

Cosmo_R · Post by **Cosmo_R** » 15 Oct 2016 00:41

Bheeshma wrote:S-400 I get as PDV and AShwin haven't been fully tested. But why do we need 4 more talwars when 7 P-17a's are on order and 6 more corvettes about the same size as Talwars.

Ah! Maybe because the Russkies insist that we buy those (without engines) to lease another Akula. See how tie-ins work? And these are our all weather friends.

Russophiles among us get inflamed when LM says minimum order of 100 F-16s (including engines) for line transfer to India and building local ecosystem and GOTUS says do either LM or Boeing for us to help you develop a new engines.

The art of the deal

ranjan.rao · Post by **ranjan.rao** » 15 Oct 2016 00:58

Rdev: My hunch is that this Modi is preparing for long haul and big like Indira Gandhi. It will happen towards end of his first tenure hence the urgency. This raid was just a flash in pan and in a sense moving from top to bottom of escalation ladder, Rafale will be able to deliver Nukes(I know the declared timing is slightly later, but remember Parrikar statement and anyways we are not short of delivery platforms), S-400 will be able to blunt their nuclear delivery, then the additional line of fighter jets, shoring up AD and increasing Su-30 availability are all steps for a silent but significant build up.

Bheeshma · Post by **Bheeshma** » 15 Oct 2016 01:04

When was the last test of AAD or PDV? I hope they are not cutting funding to these critical projects.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 15 Oct 2016 01:07

It should be Super 30 MKI, and not just Super sukhoi 30. Vetrivel++ and AESA is must along with BrahMos. Ideally, composite skins for Sukhois, LCA, AMCA and the PAKFA can be done in desh.

Let us begin precision weapon systems and deep strike net-centric missions

Karan M · Post by **Karan M** » 15 Oct 2016 01:39

Austin wrote:
Karan M wrote:
Pakistan has already purchased several batteries of http://www.military-today.com/missiles/hq16.htm, doubt all-lie PRC will give free dinero for HQ-9.
I have not yet seen an HQ-16 in PA/PAF colours much less HQ-9 , there were talks of Pakistan negotiation for both but there was also talks of PAF negotiating for J-10/20/21

Austin check Pak acquisitions (official gov site). Mentions HQ-16 purchase.

Suresh S · Post by **Suresh S** » 15 Oct 2016 01:43

ranjan.rao wrote:Rdev: My hunch is that this Modi is preparing for long haul and big like Indira Gandhi. It will happen towards end of his first tenure hence the urgency. This raid was just a flash in pan and in a sense moving from top to bottom of escalation ladder, Rafale will be able to deliver Nukes(I know the declared timing is slightly later, but remember Parrikar statement and anyways we are not short of delivery platforms), S-400 will be able to blunt their nuclear delivery, then the additional line of fighter jets, shoring up AD and increasing Su-30 availability are all steps for a silent but significant build up.

My assessment of the situation is that the big danda will fall on paki musharraf during modi,s second term. We won,t be ready for it in the next 3 years.

Suresh S · Post by **Suresh S** » 15 Oct 2016 01:54

Even though I am a declared russophile I categorically say that Russia holding exercises with Pakis was a big mistake on their part.They should not have done it. I hope they understand the sense of anger and disgust Patriotic Indians have towards pakistan and hopefully they will not make a mistake like that again because even though this is symbolic but it is likely to leave a scar on the Indian psyche which would be bad for long term relationship between the 2 countries.

ranjan.rao · Post by **ranjan.rao** » 15 Oct 2016 02:09

^^^Logically you are right ..esp if we go by our preparations big yes, but then when does logic play a role in Pakistaniyat..I am sure the desperation will be kick in when they will see the gap increasing coupled with their inner sulemani keeda urging them to do something like mumbai ('93, 26/11)..heck its already close to a decade since they showed us their machoismo by killing innocents(93, 99, 01-02[including the entire stand off] 06,08).....I doubt modi will be able to resist the pressure in that case....My wish about danda is bigger and the earlier.. so amen to your time estimate...

Karthik S · Post by **Karthik S** » 15 Oct 2016 02:16

^ Don't think Modi needs pressure to act, if he can, he will without any hesitation.

ranjan.rao · Post by **ranjan.rao** » 15 Oct 2016 02:48

^^but he would not like to be referred as a sane man who bit a rabid dog without any provocation

vinod · Post by **vinod** » 15 Oct 2016 03:14

Gurus, how credible are these katehon guys?

See India's map from their site...

http://katehon.com/article/indias-problems-between-culture-and-capitalism

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 15 Oct 2016 06:44

https://m.sputniknews.com/business/2016 ... ankor-oil/
India to Acquire Stake in Russia's Vankor Cluster

NEW DELHI (Sputnik) — Following the successful completion of the purchase of stakes in two oil and gas fields in Russia, Indian oil companies are eyeing more fields in Siberia. Sources in India's Oil and Natural Gas Ministry told Sputnik that a preliminary agreement between Indian companies and Russian companies is expected to be signed during President Vladimir Putin's visit to India this week.An Indian consortium led by Oil India is in talks with Rosneft to acquire a 49% stake in Vankor Cluster assets. The Vankor Cluster comprises the Suzunskoye, Tagulskoye and Lodochnoye oilfields. All the fields have gas reserves of approximately 415 million tons. The deal is expected to be worth more than USD 2 billion. Sources say that deal will include some under-developed fields as well.Earlier this month, an Indian consortium comprising Indian Oil, Oil India Limited and Bharat PetroResources Limited completed two transactions related to the purchase of a stake in Russian oil company Rosneft. In the first transaction, the consortium completed its acquisition of a 23.9% stake in JSC Vankorneft, owner of Vankor and North Vankor Field licenses, from Rosneft. The consortium also acquired a 29.9% stake in LLC Taas Yuryakh Neftegazdobycha from Rosneft.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 15 Oct 2016 06:46

https://m.sputniknews.com/business/2016 ... nvestment/
Putin: Russia, India Prepared 20 Priority Investment Projects

To date, 20 priority projects have been selected – 10 Russian projects and 10 Indian ones – in such spheres as transport engineering, chemical industry, aircraft industry and pharmaceuticals," Putin said.The projects include the construction by the SIBUR Holding of a rubber making facility with an operating capacity of 100,000 tonnes per year in the city of Jamnagar, and production by Russia’s Lighting Technologies Company of lighting equipment for general and specific purposes in the city of Jigani, the Karnataka State. The Sistema Financial Corporation is developing a "smart city" model in India. Dauria Aerospace is working on the deployment of the NextStar telecommunication satellite constellations in the geostationary Earth orbit."The two countries’ governments will assist in the implementation of these projects," Putin added.

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 15 Oct 2016 13:20

snahata wrote:Even though I am a declared russophile I categorically say that Russia holding exercises with Pakis was a big mistake on their part.They should not have done it. I hope they understand the sense of anger and disgust Patriotic Indians have towards pakistan and hopefully they will not make a mistake like that again because even though this is symbolic but it is likely to leave a scar on the Indian psyche which would be bad for long term relationship between the 2 countries.

I dont think its a mistake on the contrary such exercise is important for Russia to get in touch with the Army and with the top brass folks that matter , having no contact is bad as history has shown.

During Afghanistan war SU did not have any kind of stake in Pakistan and consequently could not infulence the decision it made which was solely guided by Western Powers.

What Russia should not do is to give them free doles like US does to the tune of billion dollar plus or give them capital arms like China/US does , that would hurt us directly in any conflict.

I just hope Russia gets enough infulence within Pakistan army to infulence its decision in some ways , rather then let just China and US do that.

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 15 Oct 2016 13:59

Many Agreement on Economic Co-operation Signed between India and Russia too big to remember but major Eassar/Rosneft deal is done , plus other deal.

On Defence side Ka-226 Manufacturing at HAL , 4 x 1135.6 Frigate and S-400 deal has been signed as part of IGA

Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant laying foundation 3&4 happened.

arun · Post by **arun** » 15 Oct 2016 16:42

Austin wrote: On Defence side Ka-226 Manufacturing at HAL , 4 x 1135.6 Frigate and S-400 deal has been signed as part of IGA

Full text of India-Russia Joint Statement makes no mention of 1135.6 Frigates and S-400 SAM.

It does mention KA 226T but the wording is a bit nebulous.

Extract on Defence Coopertaion:

Defence Cooperation

Recognizing the contribution of military-technical cooperation in the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between the two countries, the Leaders reaffirmed their strong commitment to continue their cooperation in this field. In this context, they commended the activities of the Indian-Russian Inter-Governmental Commission on Military-Technical Cooperation.

The Sides expressed satisfaction at joint Indian-Russian exercises INDRA involving ground forces in Russia's Far East in 2016. They welcomed the visit of the Indian Minister of State for Defence in April 2016 and delegation of the National Defence College in May-June 2016 to Moscow. They underlined the need to expand training, joint exercises and institutionalized interactions between the Armed Forces of both countries.

The Sides noted with satisfaction achievements in the field of joint design, development and production of high-technology military equipment and in this context, positively evaluated the establishment of the Joint Venture for production of Ka-226T helicopters in India.

Both Sides welcomed plans to hold Indo-Russian military industrial conference later in 2016 and create bilateral Science & Technology Committee. The Indo-Russian Military industrial Conference will address military equipment related issues including spares, repair and maintenance of Russian supplied equipment and co-production. Private players too would be invited to participate under Make in India initiative. The Bilateral Science & Technology Committee would focus on matters relating to R&D collaboration in such high-tech areas as IT, communication, cyber security, medical engineering, outer space cooperation, remote sensing, etc.

From here:

Clicky

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 15 Oct 2016 16:51

I saw the full Indo Russian ceremony and they did mention ka-226 , S-400 and 4x 1135.6 frigate iga deal.

Putin in his speech after Modi also mentioned Talks ongoing on Superjet and regional transport aircraft manufacturing in India.

Modi speech was long comprehensive covered wide area and had its own witty moments and he spoke without looking into any text !

More details on Ka -226 about 200 to be made by hal in 9 years and 200 more could be built for private sector etc , 2 frigate is to be built in russia and 2 more in Indian private yard to be selected both deal part of make in India.

S-400 to be outright purchased, economic agreement/part of the deal covered larger area

Zynda · Post by **Zynda** » 15 Oct 2016 17:58

^^No mention of FGFA anywhere?

arun · Post by **arun** » 15 Oct 2016 17:59

Thanks Austin.

JayS · Post by **JayS** » 15 Oct 2016 18:11

Austin wrote:I saw the full Indo Russian ceremony and they did mention ka-226 , S-400 and 4x 1135.6 frigate iga deal.

Putin in his speech after Modi also mentioned Talks ongoing on Superjet and regional transport aircraft manufacturing in India.

Modi speech was long comprehensive covered wide area and had its own witty moments and he spoke without looking into any text !

More details on Ka -226 about 200 to be made by hal in 9 years and 200 more could be built for private sector etc , 2 frigate is to be built in russia and 2 more in Indian private yard to be selected both deal part of make in India.

S-400 to be outright purchased, economic agreement/part of the deal covered larger area

I see 60+140 break up for Ka226 reported by multiple reporters on twitter. So 140 to be built by HAL in India.

arun · Post by **arun** » 15 Oct 2016 18:13

Just for good order our Prime Ministers speech does include Frigates:

The agreements on manufacturing of Kamov 226T helicopters; constructions of frigates; and acquisition and building of other defence platforms are in synergy with India’s technology and security priorities.

From here:

Press Statement by Prime Minister during the visit of President of Russia to India

ShauryaT · Post by **ShauryaT** » 15 Oct 2016 18:23

Brics summit live: India, Russia sign 18 MoUs; PM Modi to meet Xi Jinping shortly

18 agreements/MoUs exchanged during India-Russia Annual Summit

1) Memorandum of Understanding proposed to be executed between EDB, Joint Stock Company Аlexeev’s Central Hydrofoil Design Bureau, Joint Stock Company Radar Mms, Joint Stock Company Morinsis-AGAT and Elcom Systems Private Limited for developing the following:(i) a single integrated Transport Logistics System, (ii) concept of "Smart city”, and (iii) intellectual monitoring system for the areas of high responsibility, in the State of Andhra Pradesh.

2) MoU between JSC United Shipbuilding Corporation and the Council for Economic Cooperation of Andhra Pradesh on studying perspectives for cooperation in shipbuilding, implementation of infrastructure projects, transfer of technologies and training foreign specialists.

3) MoU between JSC "Rusinformexport” and the Ministry of Urban Development of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, State Company National Buildings Construction Corporation Ltd., Government of Haryana on Cooperation in the implementation of "smart cities” program in India with the use of IT solutions of the Russian companies.

4) MoU between Gazprom and Engineers India Limited on the joint study of a gas pipeline to India and the other possible areas of Cooperation.

5) Essar - Rosneft announcement

6) Cooperation Agreement in the area of Education and Training between Rosneft Oil Company and ONGC Videsh Limited

7) Signing of MoU for setting up of Investment Fund between NIIF and RDIF

Signing of MoU for Cooperation between Indian and Russian railways in increasing the speed of trains between Nagpur- Secundrabad / Hyderabad

9) Signing of the shareholder agreement for establishing a Joint Venture to manufacture Ka-226T helicopter in India.

10) MoU between Isro and ROSCOSMOS on Mutual Allocation of Ground Measurement Gathering Stations for GLONASS AND NAvIC

11) MoU between Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of Republic of India on expansion of Bilateral Trade and Economic Cooperation

12) MoU between Department of Science & Technology (India) and FASO (Russia)

13) Programme of Cooperation in Oil and Gas Sector for the period 2017-18

14) Protocol for consultations between the Ministry of External Affairs & Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia for the period 2017-18.

15) Agreement on cooperation in International Information Security

16) Signing of IGA to purchase/construct four additional 1135.6 frigates though partnership between Russian and Indian shipyard

17) Signing of IGA for the procurement of S-400 Air Defence System.

18) 'Roadmap of Events' to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Russian in 2017

arun · Post by **arun** » 15 Oct 2016 18:56

^^^ Link.

List of agreements/MOUs exchanged during India-Russia Annual Summit (October 15, 2016)

krishna_krishna · Post by **krishna_krishna** » 15 Oct 2016 19:47

Gurus, few rumblings..

President Putin was usual himself business like vs. last time looked visibly upset and cold during Modi's visit to later desh. President Xi on the other was visibly upset and you can read that he did not want to be there from the moment he got up. Their media guys shooting up camera in the faces and showing big tantrums was very undiplomatic. I do not know why chinki pandu's there did not intervene and seemend planned act.

Regarding Moscow desh ties , I think Modi made clear with India you have old friend whom you know and benefits of it ( economic/military sales etc.)vs. two new friends. I think ball is in Ruskie court now.

ShauryaT · Post by **ShauryaT** » 15 Oct 2016 20:45

No word on Akula? No word on Russian involvement for SSN design? Can we use the Barak or other derivatives as part of the S400 system?

JwalaMukhi · Post by **JwalaMukhi** » 15 Oct 2016 20:48

Business is good. Falling head over heels is not. That trait is nurtured over a long time. Condoning Russia's shenanigans in napaki is plain unacceptable. Are there any Russians who worry about how Modi is happy, worried, concerned or plain unhappy during visit to Russia. Russians do not play such sentimental game. Only SDREs minutely think about how happy/unhappy "athithi" is. Hard nosed approach must follow and India needs to convey in no uncertain terms about Russia's stupid games with napakis. period.

ShauryaT · Post by **ShauryaT** » 15 Oct 2016 20:56

Mindless military procurement – S 400 - Bharat Karnad
There are some mistakes here, but does not affect the message.

The BJP government of Narendra Modi seems well set on the course of mindless military procurement. With so many strategic military areas to cover and a host of choices to strengthen national security available, trust Modi, Parrikar and Co. to splurge scarce resources on the wrongest buy imaginable. After committing US$30 billion for 36 — too few to make a difference but too costly to disregard the downstream costs — of the by and large useless Rafale “MMRCA” from France, naturally another equally flawed acquisition for the Russian S-400 supposedly anti-everything in the air from drones, aircraft to missiles, was approved in a move mainly to placate Moscow. Whether to make or firm up friendly relations, Modi apparently thinks armaments are the prime instrument. India will be paying through its nose for the Rafales and the S-400 long after the Modi dispensation is history. True the US$ 5 billion plus will mainly cover the cost of some five batteries of the advanced Russian air defence system, but also involve assistance to design and produce a new class of frigate and some 200 Kamov utility helicopters in the country. So, there’s a variety of armaments which buffers the S-400 purchase (rather than a single combat aircraft — Rafale).

But why S-400, comparable to the US THAAD (Theatre High Altitude Area Defence)? May be because it is versatile able, owing to the Russian design philosophy of having a single tube fire different interceptors, such as the 400 km range 40N6, the 250 km range 48N6, the 120 km range 9M96E2, or the 48 km range 9M96E, to pull different missions. An all-in-one air defence solution. Except, like all AD systems, it is optimized to take out (even) fast, very high-flying, combat aircraft, not incoming missiles. And it is very expensive. Given the conniptions when ever GOI contemplates nuclear missiles, India is buying the S-400 for the BMD (ballistic missile defence) role, with the Indian S-400 likely equipped with the 40N6 interceptor.

So, why is this bad? For one thing — what happens to the Indian BMD programme that VK Saraswat (now member of the Niti Ayog) during his time as DRDO head protected and nursed so carefully? Like every other BMD system, operating on the principle of the twin Prithvi missile interceptors trying to take out an incoming missile in direct hit mode in exo-atmosphere, failing which the second interceptor destroying it in the endo-atmospheric milieu. As Saraswat himself admitted to me — and it is so revealed in my book — ‘Why India is Not a Great Power (Yet)’, the Prithvi BMD may be effective, if at all, in killing single missiles, but simply will not be able to handle missile salvos — which is exactly how Pakistan and China will fire their missiles. So, what good is it, considering no BMD system anywhere in the world has been able to better the Indian system in real-life firing, when no system has fared well? If BMD is such a concern, shouldn’t the Rs 39,000 crore have been better invested in the indigenous development of a genuinely effective system? And in strategically firming up an area in which India has zero capability, namely, manned long range high altitude bomber?

Because of the demand from the Strategic Forces Command, and perhaps my fevered advocacy from my time in NSAB (and since in my books and writings), the Indian Air Force finally and reluctantly agreed to buy/lease the Tu-22M3 ‘Backfire’ bomber from Russia. But, and extraordinarily, it asked for just FOUR of this bomber, consistent with IAF’s conviction that the country’s strategically capable air arm remains marginal to nonexistent. A plainly bemused Moscow advised Delhi that an indent for 20 Tu-22M3s (i.e., a squadron plus reserve) would make better sense as it will ensure that, at given time, atleast ten of the aircraft will be ready top takeoff (and only one Tu-22 would be operational if four of the bombers are inducted into IAF service)! That the Russians had to proffer this practical advice speaks volumes of IAF’s strategic sensibility.

The more one examines the Indian military’s procurement priorities, the more dismayed one gets. When our armed services falter at so basic a level, what hope for national security?