India strengthens its strategic partnership with Russia

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President Putin visited India on December 11th for the 15th annual Indo-Russian Bilateral Summit. Some interesting agreements were signed, and there are very interesting agreements in the works. According to The Hindu, 

The highlight of the meeting — part of an annual summit between the two countries — was the unveiling of a vision statement on atomic energy cooperation, where Russian nuclear agency ROSATOM and the Department of Atomic Energy and NPCIL have agreed to build at least 12 new reactors supplied by Russia over the next 20 years

Both sides agreed to “scout and explore” for hydrocarbons in the “arctic shelf,” which could raise eyebrows from other countries in the region as well as environmentalists ....

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin confirmed that Russia plans to assemble about 400 Kamov Ka-226 T twin-engined Russian helicopters in India. “I am pleased that Russia has offered to fully manufacture in India one of its most advanced helicopters. It includes the possibility of exports from India. It can be used for both military and civilian use,” Mr. Modi said.

As background, I recommend reading this detailed interview with India's ambassador to Russia, P.S. Raghavan.  Excerpt:

QUESTION 13: BRICS partners plan to establish a system of multilateral swaps that will allow to transfer resources to one or another country. Experts believe that if the current trend continues, soon the dollar will be abandoned by most of the economies-members of BRICS. Can you share your opinion regarding this trend?

Answer:That is a very large question. I would like to focus on our bilateral situation. As I mentioned, India and Russia have been discussing trade in national currencies as an initiative to significantly increase the volume of bilateral exchanges of goods. Our Central Banks have recently set up a Joint Working Group to work out modalities. There have also been talks between the Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank) and the Vnesheconombank for a guarantees cooperation arrangement, by which they would facilitate loans in local currencies for Indian and Russian companies seeking to invest in each others’ countries. This arrangement could boost mutual investment. 

Regarding further study, a trustworthy site on Indo-Russian relations is the "Russia and India Report" (RIR) (www.indrus.in). (RIR is part of "Russia Beyond the Headlines," which is published by Rossiyskaya Gazeta.) Currently, most of the corporate media in India leans towards the U.S., sometimes to an unprofessional extent.