India & Russia’s ‘Action Plan’ to strengthen the relationship and accelerate cooperation

Moscow : President Narendra Modi underlined the importance of the relationship between India and Russia by stating that the only thing to remain constant in the period of the last 7 decades, amidst the disruptions in International politics, is the strong relationship between India and Russia. He said that Russia has always stood behind India, be it a tough or a smooth situation. Prime Minister Modi also added that by further strengthening this relationship, they have taken an important decision to prepare an ‘Action Plan’ to accelerate the cooperation between Indian and Russia.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a tour of Russia and there have been 5 cooperation deals signed between the two countries in his tour. This includes, the cooperation deals regarding Units 5 and 6 of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant. India would receive half the expenses of this plant, costing around Rs 50,000 crore in the form of a loan from Russia. Additionally, Russia has decided to supply ‘S-400 Triumf’ air defense missile system to India. Also, both the countries have shown unanimity on the joint production of ultramodern defense equipment. Due to this, it can be seen that the military cooperation between India and Russia is coming back on the track.

This Russian tour of the Indian Prime Minister is grabbing attention of the analysts across the world. On Thursday, a bilateral meeting got concluded between Prime Minister Modi and the Russian President Putin and there have been 5 cooperation deals signed between both the countries. This includes cooperation deals regarding Units 5 and 6 of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu. India would receive half the expenses of this plant costing nearly Rs 50,000 crore in the form of a loan from Russia. The 5th unit of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant will be commissioned in 66 months and the 6th unit will also be commissioned six months thereafter, informed the Nuclear Power Corporation of India,Chairman and Managing Director, S .K Sharma.

Additionally, Russia has shown the readiness to supply ‘S-400 Triumf’ the advanced air defense missile system, to India, informed the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, Dmitry Rogozin. This missile system, capable of penetrating nearly 36 targets simultaneously, can destroy any target in the air in the range of around 400 Kilometers. Due to the inclusion of this ultramodern system, India’s defense readiness will be stronger. Moreover, there will be cooperation in the field of railways with Russia. Russia is going to help India for the development of High Speed Railways. In order to speedily complete nearly 19 Projects between India and Russia, a decision was taken in the meeting between Prime Minister Modi and the Russian President Putin to pick up the joint undertakings. This includes the cooperation in the fields of transport, basic amenities, modern technology, drug manufacturing, aircrafts & automobile industry, diamonds & ornaments.

The Russian President Putin said that while there has been a reduction in the trade between India and Russia in the last few years, a 29 % increase has been registered in the trade between both the countries in the first quarter of this year, which is welcomed. While Prime Minister Modi claimed that there is a huge opportunity available for Russian investors in India.