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UPSC Issue at a Glance is a new initiative of UPSC Essentials to focus your prelims and mains exam preparation on an issue that has been in the news. Every Thursday, cover a new topic in Q&A format and don’t miss MCQs, Points to Ponder and key takeaways. Also, don’t forget to check the answers of MCQs towards the end of the article. This week’s topic is India-Russia Relations. Let’s get started!
What is the issue?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently visited Russia for the 22nd India-Russia Annual Summit. The visit became a point of discussion as, by visiting Russia for his first bilateral visit after being sworn in, PM Modi broke the tradition of India’s new Prime Minister travelling first to a neighbouring country. In the context of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and the West’s sanctions on Russia, it becomes important to understand India-Russia relations from a broader perspective.
UPSC Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance
Mains Examination: GS-II: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests.
Other areas of relevance: UPSC Aspirants will find it useful in Essays, and Current affairs for their Personality tests.
What will you learn from this article? |
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Answer: India-Russia bilateral relations date back seven decades. The bilateral diplomatic relations have gone through several periods since their formal establishment in 1947 but have remained strong and even grown. The recent visit of Prime Minister Modi to Russia demonstrates India’s commitment to its partnership with Russia as it has been a longstanding and reliable partner for India.
The India-Russia relations have been a key pillar of India’s foreign policy. The history of the India-Russia bilateral relationship can be understood through the timeline and major events:
April 1947: India and USSR established formal diplomatic relations.
August 1971: The Treaty of Peace, Friendship, and Cooperation was signed by both countries. The USSR also provided assistance to India in the 1971 war with Pakistan.
December 1991: The Soviet Union collapsed, and the Russian Federation emerged as a successor state.
October 2000: India and Russia signed the “Declaration on the India-Russia Strategic Partnership”.
December 2010: The Strategic Partnership was elevated to the level of “Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership”.
October 2017: India and Russia conducted their first tri-service military exercise, Indra, in Vladivostok.
December 2021: Both countries signed the agreement on military-technical cooperation for the decade 2021-2031 during the inaugural India-Russia 2+2 dialogue.
Points to Ponder:
— What was the non-alignment movement and is it relevant in the present global order?
Answer: From defence to space, India and Russia’s cooperation can be seen in various areas.
1. Defence Cooperation: Defence is by far the strongest component of the strategic partnership between India and Russia. They have had extensive defence cooperation for many years. India-Russia military-technical cooperation has progressed from a buyer-seller model to one involving joint R&D, co-development, and manufacturing of modern defence technologies and systems.
Shubhajit Roy Writes– “The USSR was India’s main supplier of defence equipment during the decades of the Cold War, and even now, between 60 and 70 per cent of India’s defence equipment is estimated to be of Russian and Soviet origin.
India and Russia have signed agreements for the supply of S-400 Triumf mobile surface-to-air missile systems, MiG-29 fighter aircraft, and Kamov helicopters, and for the licensed production of T-90 tanks, Su-30MKI fighters, AK-203 assault rifles, and BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles. The INS Vikramaditya, one of the Indian Navy’s two aircraft carriers, is the former Soviet and Russia warship Admiral Gorshkov.”
| Do you know |
| P S Raghavan, chairman of India’s National Security Advisory Board and a former Indian Ambassador to Russia, wrote in 2022, “President Putin has said that Russia does not transfer to any other country the military technologies shared with India. This is an assurance that India must constantly verify in respect of the weaponry and technologies that Moscow supplies to Beijing, as also the nature of their intelligence-sharing arrangements.” (‘Russia and Eurasia in India’s Calculus’, in ‘Strategic Challenges: India in 2030’, ed. Jayadeva Ranade) |
2. Economic Cooperation: Trade and economic cooperation have played a major role in India-Russia bilateral relations. Pharmaceuticals, organic chemicals, electrical machinery and mechanical appliances, iron, and steel are among the major items exported by India, while key imports from Russia include oil and petroleum products, fertilisers, mineral resources, precious stones and metals, vegetable oils, etc.
Since the start of the Ukraine-Russia war, India has purchased huge amounts of Russian oil at a discount to offset the inflationary impact of rising crude prices. Before the war in Ukraine, Iraq and Saudi Arabia were the top two suppliers of crude oil to India. But as the West started weaning itself off Russian energy supplies following Moscow’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russia started offering discounts on its crude, and Indian refiners started snapping up the discounted barrels.
| Do you Know? |
| The India-Russia Intergovernmental Commission for Trade, Economic, Scientific & Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC) is the primary mechanism at the government level for enhancing trade and economic cooperation between India and Russia. |
3. Nuclear Energy and Space Cooperation: Russia is a key partner for India in the peaceful use of nuclear energy. The Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) is the flagship project between India and Russia in this area. Both countries’ cooperation can also be seen in the space industry. The two countries are working closely together on India’s first human spaceflight programme, “Gaganyaan”.
4. Multilateral Engagement: India and Russia cooperate closely on several multilateral platforms, such as the United Nations, G20, BRICS, Eastern Economic Forum and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Russia supports India’s candidature for the permanent membership of a reformed UN Security Council.
5. Cultural Cooperation: India and Russia share historic cultural ties. People-to-people ties and the gradual development of bilateral tourism have boosted cultural cooperation. Indian cinema and Yoga are popular throughout Russia.
| Do you know? |
| Prime Minister Narendra Modi was awarded Russia’s highest civilian honour, the Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle, during his visit to the country. The award for the PM was announced in 2019, for “exceptional services in promoting special & privileged strategic partnership between Russia and India and friendly relations between the Russian and Indian peoples.” |
Points to Ponder:
— Is the India-Russia relationship in “terminal decline”?
Answer: With an evolving geopolitical landscape and India’s expanded interactions in a multipolar world, various challenges have emerged for India-Russia relations.
1.Ukraine-Russia War: The ongoing Ukraine-Russia war has presented a diplomatic challenge to India, which has been trying to balance its relations with Western allies and Russia.
Shubhajit Roy Writes— “The war has, however, put India in a delicate diplomatic position with its Western allies. New Delhi has walked the diplomatic tightrope, not explicitly condemning the Russian invasion but calling for an international probe into the Bucha massacre in the early weeks of the war, and expressing concern over threats of nuclear war issued by Russian leaders.”
| Diplomatic Balance |
| India has sought to maintain a diplomatic balancing act between Russia and Ukraine. While it has not explicitly condemned the Russian invasion, it called for an international probe into the Bucha massacre. |
2.India-Russia Trade Gap: Currently, the India-Russia trade is skewed in favour of Russia due to the rapid rise in petroleum imports. Russia has ascended to become India’s top oil supplier after the start of the Ukraine war, but Indian exports to Russia have struggled, resulting in a $57 billion trade deficit in the bilateral trade worth $66 billion in FY24.
Ravi Dutta Mishra Writes— The biggest challenge in boosting Indian exports to Russia has been the reluctance of private banks to facilitate trade with Russia due to fears of Western sanctions. Most private banks have significant business interests in Western countries and multiple branches that could face sanctions imposed by the European Union (EU) and the US.
3. Growing Moscow-Beijing Ties: Russia has become increasingly economically dependent on China as Western sanctions cut its access to much of the international trading system. Russia-China military ties have also strengthened during the war in Ukraine. They have held a series of joint war games in recent years, including naval drills and patrols by long-range bombers over the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea. In this context, Russia’s growing closeness with China also presents a challenge for India in the region and raises questions about Moscow’s traditional position of neutrality in India-China ties.
Undoubtedly, with the changing global order, new challenges to Indo-Russian bilateral relations have surfaced; nonetheless, PM Modi’s recent visit to Russia is a statement of the significance India places on its relationship with Russia.
“It does not appear that the India-Russia relationship is in “terminal decline” as suggested by some commentators. On the contrary, the Modi-Putin dialogue indicates that efforts are being made to make bilateral ties more resilient, considering the current geopolitical realities and the limitations of both countries.”
Points to Ponder:
— What is India’s stand on the Ukraine-Russia War?
— Why is the widening trade gap Between India and Russia benefiting the yuan?
— What are the measures taken by India to increase India’s exports to Russia?
Answer: The Annual Summit between the Prime Minister of India and the President of the Russian Federation is the highest institutionalized dialogue mechanism in the strategic partnership between India and Russia. The 22nd India – Russia Annual Summit took place on July 8-9, 2024. The key highlights of the summit are:
1. Trade and Economic Partnership: India and Russia agreed to boost bilateral trade to over $100 billion by 2030 by reinvigorating investments.
2. Nine Key Areas of Cooperation: The two sides agreed on nine key areas of cooperation that spanned trade, trade settlement using national currencies, increased cargo turnover through new routes such as the North-South Transport Corridor, raising volume of trade in agri products, food and fertiliser, deepening cooperation in the energy sector, including nuclear energy, strengthening interaction for infrastructure development, promotion of investments and joint projects across digital economy, collaborating on supply of medicines and development of humanitarian cooperation.
3. Reorienting Defence Partnership: A joint statement released by the two countries said their defence partnership was reorienting presently to joint research and development, co-development, and joint production of advanced defence technology and systems to meet India’s quest for self-sufficiency. They confirmed their commitment to maintain the momentum of joint military cooperation activities and expand military delegation exchanges.
Both sides, the statement said, agreed to encourage joint manufacturing in India of “spare parts, components, aggregates and other products” for maintenance of Russian-origin arms and defence equipment under the Make-in-India programme.
4. Developing Humanitarian Cooperation: Both countries were in favour of developing humanitarian cooperation and a consistent expansion of interaction in the fields of education, science and technology, culture, tourism, sports, healthcare, and other areas.
5. Strengthening interaction in Infrastructure and Space: The two sides agreed to strengthen interaction in the fields of infrastructure development, transport engineering, automobile production and shipbuilding, space, and other industrial sectors.
6. Cooperation in the Russian Far East and Arctic: Both countries showed their readiness to intensify trade and investment cooperation in the Far East and the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation.
| Prime Minister Modi’s Visit to Austria and its significance |
| After visiting Russia for the 22nd India-Russia annual summit, Narendra Modi visited Vienna. It was the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Austria since June 1983, when Indira Gandhi travelled to the country. The Prime Minister’s decision to travel to Vienna immediately after he met President Vladimir Putin in Moscow was significant — Austria is a European country that is not a part of NATO, the US-led anti-Russia trans-Atlantic military alliance.
Diplomatic relations between India and Austria were established on November 10, 1949 — this year marks its 75th anniversary. Austria offers tremendous opportunities for bilateral collaboration in infrastructure, renewable energy, e-commerce, fintech, enterprise tech, consumer services, and media and entertainment. |
Points to Ponder:
— What are the Chennai-Vladivostok (Eastern Maritime) Corridor and the International North-South Transport Corridor?
— What is North Atlantic Treaty Organization?
Prelims
(1) Recently, India signed a deal known as ‘Action Plan for Prioritization and Implementation of Cooperation Areas in the Nuclear Field’ with which of the following countries? (UPSC CSE 2019)
(a) Japan
(b) Russia
(c) The United Kingdom
(d) The United States of America
(2) Consider the following pairs:
| Award | Country |
| 1. Order of the Druk Gyalpo Award | Bhutan |
| 2. Order of the Nile Award | Egypt |
| 3. Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour | France |
| 4. Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle | Russia |
Which of the pairs given above are correct?
(a) 1,2 and 4 only
(b) 2, 3 and 4 only
(c) 1, 3 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
(3) India has signed an agreement for the import of S-400 Triumf mobile surface-to-air missile systems from which of the following nations?
(a) USA
(b) Germany
(c) Israel
(d) Russia
Mains
(1) Discuss the significance of India’s bilateral visit to Russia amidst evolving global geopolitical dynamics.
(2) What is the significance of Indo-US defence deals over Indo-Russian defence deals? Discuss concerning stability in the Indo-Pacific region. (UPSC CSE 2020)
| Prelims Answer Key |
| 1. (b) Russia
2. (d) 1,2,3 and 4 3. (d) Russia |
(Source: PM Modi’s first bilateral visit this term: Russia’s importance for India, indianembassy-moscow.gov.in, What is Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle, conferred upon PM Modi?, How India-Russia trade gap may threaten rupee internationalisation efforts, Message from Moscow: India-Russia relationship is not in ‘terminal decline’, China and Russia reaffirm ties as Moscow presses offensive in Ukraine, Russia eye $100 bn trade by 2030, cooperation in energy, agriculture, mea.gov.in/bilateral-documents., How PM Modi’s visit to Austria sends a message both to Moscow and the West)
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