Russia and India Relations are master key of India 's foreign policy and Russia has been provide various types help like weapons, technical instrument, healthcare product and others type materials. Since the signing of "Statement on the Russia-India strategical partnership" in October 2000 (during the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin into India Capital Delhi), Russia-India ties have non-heritable qualitatively brand-new character with enhanced grade of corporation in virtually all areas of the symmetrical relationship including trade, security, political, economy, deference, science and technology and culture. Under the Russia and India strategic partnership Several institutionalized dialogue mechanisms direct at both official and political levels to ensure regular reciprocation and follow up on concurrence activities.
On 19th November 2015, in the meeting of the heads of the Tax Administration Of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa Countries was held on Moscow is the largest city and Capital of Russia, It 's the most expensive City in the world, From 19 - 21 November 2015 Government of India and top officer of Russia leader lead this moment. Heads of BRICS Tax Administration presented their view on types of the issue on Tax Administration Including ways and Coordinating with alliance on various issue. The partcipants of BRICS discussed about practical steps and Action Plan, prevention of cross order tax evasion through implementation of Common Reporting Standard and automated exchange of information; and supporting engagement of developing countries in BEPS and tax administration. All the participating countries reiterated the decision to closely coordinate their efforts towards achieving this goal.
Overview of India And Russia Cooperation:
A. Overview
1. Enhancing trade and economic cooperation between India and Russia is a key priority for the political leadership of both the countries. Bilateral trade amounted to USD 9.51 billion in 2014 wherein Indian exports were USD 3.17 billion and Russian exports were USD 6.34 billion. Indian investments in Russia are estimated to be about USD 7 billion while Russian investments in India total about USD 3 billion. During the annual summit held in December 2014, both sides have set a target to increase the bilateral tarde to US$30 billion by 2025 and the bilateral investment each way to US$15 billion by that time.
2. A number of institutionalised mechanisms at governmental and non-governmental levels contribute to the development of economic cooperation between the two countries. While the India Russia Intergovernmental Commission for Trade, Economic, Scientific & Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC) guides the conduct of economic cooperation at the Governmental level, the Indo-Russian Forum for Trade & Investment and the India-Russia CEO’s Council have evolved into the platforms for facilitating direct B2B interactions between the two countries.
3. India is also contemplating a FTA/ CECA with the Eurasian Economic Union. The Eurasian Economic Union is one of the important emerging economic blocks, and India is keen to engage more closely with Russia and the CIS countries to further intensify our trade and economic cooperation with this region. On 18 June 2015, India and the Eurasian Economic Union signed a joint statement establishing a Joint Feasibility Study Group (JFSG) for feasibility study on the proposed FTA/CECA between India and the Eurasian Economic Union. The first meeting of the JFSG was held in Moscow on 31 July 2015 and the first draft of the report of the JFSG is expected by November 2015.
3. There have been regular bilateral exchanges at the highest levels. The visit of the President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation to India for the 15th Indo-Russian Annual Summit on 11 December 2014 was a significant event in furthering the bilateral relations. During the summit, around 20 agreements, including 11 agreements related to economic and trade matters were signed, reaffirming the desire to intensify the bilateral relationship through the Vision document which provides a roadmap for the future. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Ufa, Russian Federation, from 8-10 July 2015 and participated in the BRICS and SCO Summits. He also held bilateral talks with President Putin on a broad spectrum of issues, including economic and trade cooperation. President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee visited Moscow in May 2015 and participated in the 70th Anniversary of the Victory Day celebrations. He also met with President Putin and discussed various issues related to bilateral cooperation.
4. Ms. Sushma Swaraj, External Affairs Minister visited Moscow and co-chaired the 21st Session of the India-Russia Intergovernmental Commission for Trade, Economic, Scientific and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC) on 20 October 2015. Ms Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State for Commerce & Industry, led a high level business delegation at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum from 17-19 June 2015. In addition, there were many official and expert level visits from India covering a wide spectrum of issues on the economic side, as a part of Russian BRICS presidency.
5. Other important visits in recent months include the visit of Minister of Finance, Minister of State for Environment & Forests, Minister of State for Petroleum & Natural Gas, Minister of State for Agriculture & Food Processing, Comptroller & Auditor General of India, Commerce Secretary and senior officials from Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Department of Science & Technology, Department of Chemicals & Fertilisers, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Ministry of Finance, Reserve Bank of India, MMTC, Export Promotion Council and APEDA, which have maintained the momentum of our bilateral relations in different areas of cooperation.
B. Trade
6. The bilateral trade during the period January–December 2014 amounted to USD 9.51 billion, with Indian exports amounting to USD 3.17 billion and imports from Russia amounting to USD 6.34 billion. Major items of export from India include pharmaceuticals, miscellaneous manufactures, iron & steel, apparels, tea, coffee and tobacco. Major items of import from Russia include defence equipment, nuclear power equipment, fertilizers, electrical machinery, steels and diamonds.
6. Bilateral trade figures for last ten years are given below:
(amountt in US $ billion)
Year
|
India’s Import
from Russia
|
India’s export
to Russia
|
Total trade
|
Percentage
Increase YOY
|
2004
|
1.55
|
0.63
|
2.18
|
(-)34.17
|
2005
|
2.31
|
0.78
|
3.09
|
41.78
|
2006
|
2.98
|
0.96
|
3.95
|
27.66
|
2007
|
4.01
|
1.30
|
5.32
|
34.51
|
2008
|
5.23
|
1.71
|
6.94
|
30.56
|
2009
|
5.93
|
1.52
|
7.46
|
7.4
|
2010
|
6.39
|
2.14
|
8.53
|
14.4
|
2011
|
6.09
|
2.79
|
8.89
|
4.19
|
2012
|
7.91
|
3.04
|
10.95
|
23.8
|
2013
|
7.01
|
3. 10
|
10.11
|
-7.34
|
2014
|
6.34
|
3.17
|
9.51
|
- 5.6
|
C. Investment
7. The cumulative Indian investments in Russia for the period 2000-14 are estimated to be about USD 8 billion, which include Imperial Energy Tomsk; Volzhsky Abrasive Works Volgograd; 20% stakes in Sakhalin-I and the Commercial Indo Bank. Russian investments in India total about USD 4 billion, including Kamaz Vectra in Hosur; Shyam Sistema Telelinks Ltd, Sberbank and VTB.
8. Both the Governments have undertaken initiatives to promote bilateral investments, primarily through facilitating high-level Government to business and Business to Business contacts apart from the on-going investment process in strategic sectors in both the countries. Investment cooperation has been envisaged is some priority sectors such as hydrocarbons, power, coal, nuclear power, fertilizers, IT, pharmaceuticals, mineral and metallurgy amongst others.
