New Delhi, March 02: A host of big ticket agreements, including at least three major defence deals and a contract for a dozen nuclear reactors, are likely to be signed by India and Russia when prime minister Vladimir Putin visits the country in the second week of March, government officials said.
The former Russian president’s visit would propel Indo-Russian ties back to what it was during its best days, officials said.
Before Putin’s visit, the ministry of defence has sealed the contentious price negotiations for the refit of Admiral Gorshkov, the aircraft carrier renamed INS Vikramaditya. For Gorshkov, the Russians had demanded a three-time jump in refit cost. The original refit cost was $974 million, but after months of negotiations, the two sides have settled on $2.34 billion. A formal agreement endorsing the new price could be signed in Putin’s presence.
India and Russia are also set to sign contracts for a $600.7 million joint venture project to build a multi-role transport aircraft (MTA). The 50:50 JV’s share-holder agreement among others would be signed between Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and United Aircraft Corporation of Russia.
The two sides are also hoping to sign a general agreement for the joint development of the fifth generation fighter aircraft, which would have a significant jump in stealth characteristics and a seamless fusion of data among others. The agreement may not be the final clincher like MTA, sources said, however, the two sides are carrying on negotiations. A Russian team is landing in Bangalore on March 3 for talks.
The Russians have projected a $332 million cost just for the preliminary design contract, and the cost of developing the modern fighter has been projected at $6 billion by 2006 price levels. This does not include the cost of production.
Officials said the two sides are also confident of concluding negotiations for the purchase of 29 extra MIG-29K fighters for the Indian navy. India is presently inducting 16 MIG-29K that it had bought for Gorshkov, but without the carrier, the fighters are operating from land in Goa. The proposed deal for the 29 extra MIG-29K would be worth around $1.2 billion, officials said.
A fourth defence contract — for purchase of extra Sukhoi-30 MKI fighters, is also likely to be discussed, but a senior official said he was not very hopeful that the deal for extra 42 Sukhoi-30 MKI fighters would be finalised by the time Putin lands in India in the second week of March. The proposed Sukhoi deal would be worth over $3 billion.
Apart from the defence contracts, the two sides are also likely to sign a possible agreement on setting up a dozen new nuclear reactors in Kudankulam and in Haripur, which is a new nuclear park allotted in West Bengal to the Russians.
The positive vibes in Indo-Russian relations especially since prime minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Russia last December, is set to be translated into further strengthening of ties with Putin’s visit. And defence cooperation could be the most visible face of it. The defence contracts would push Russia to the top of a list of foreign defence suppliers of India.
—–Agencies