Russian President Vladimir Putin
begins a two-day visit to India on Thursday where he and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will jointly oversee the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit.
This marks Putin’s first trip to New Delhi in four years.
Although defence ties between the two countries have historically formed the backbone of their partnership, the upcoming summit also puts the spotlight on on trade, labour mobility, industrial partnerships, pharmaceuticals, and tourism.
India and Russia plan to sign several agreements aimed at widening cooperation well beyond their traditional energy-heavy engagement.
How Russia-India partnership deepened via energy
India-Russia trade has undergone a dramatic transformation in the last five years, driven largely by
India’s purchases of discounted Russian crude oil following the Ukraine conflict.
Bilateral commerce reached approximately USD 69.2 billion in 2024, compared with USD 8.5 billion in 2020 — a staggering rise driven almost entirely by hydrocarbon imports.
India’s oil purchases alone account for an overwhelming proportion of the import bill.
Crude oil worth USD 23.1 billion formed the bulk of the energy basket, complemented by petroleum derivatives valued around USD 2.5 billion, coal approaching USD 1.9 billion, fertilisers at roughly USD 1.3 billion, and sunflower oil at USD 633 million.
Russia’s role as a supplier of diamonds further contributed an additional USD 202 million.
This surge in energy inflows has simultaneously widened India’s trade deficit with Russia to unprecedented levels.
Imports from Russia stood at USD 63.2 billion in FY24 and climbed marginally to USD 63.8 billion in FY25. With Indian exports to Russia reaching only USD 4.8-4.9 billion during the same period, the negative trade balance now hovers around USD 59 billion.
Indian officials acknowledge that the current trajectory is unsustainable, highlighting the need for an export-oriented push. Russia’s total import patterns reveal that India constitutes only 2.3 per cent of its inbound trade, suggesting considerable headroom to expand.
A senior government representative highlighted the core overlap between India’s capabilities and Russian market demand, telling PTI, “The most promising areas that mirror India’s rising global strengths are engineering goods, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and agriculture, all of which correspond to substantial unmet demand in the Russian market.”
The official also stressed the structural reorientation underway, noting, “India-Russia trade is moving from a narrow, energy-heavy engagement toward a more layered and resilient economic relationship. The next chapter depends on India’s ability to deepen export penetration, especially in sectors where it has proven global competitiveness.”
How India can match its exports with Russia’s import gaps
The shift toward non-energy commerce is being driven by sharp mismatches
between what Russia needs and what India currently supplies.
Engineering goods: The largest untapped window
Russia’s total import appetite for engineering products stands at roughly USD 2.7-2.8 billion, yet India sells barely USD 90 million worth of such goods.
As Western restrictions and supply chain realignments push Moscow to diversify its sourcing, Indian companies see an opportunity to expand their footprint in machinery, industrial equipment, and light engineering.
Pharmaceuticals
India’s pharmaceutical exports to Russia reached USD 577 million in FY25, but this figure remains small when compared with Russia’s overall pharmaceutical import bill of USD 9.7-9.76 billion.
India already provides USD 546 million worth of generic medicines and APIs.
Amid global tariff uncertainty, especially due to the United States’ imposition of duties up to 50 per cent on certain Indian sectors, domestic pharmaceutical firms are looking to broaden their presence in markets such as Russia, Brazil and the Netherlands.
The US accounted for a third of India’s pharmaceutical exports — around USD 10.5 billion in FY25 — so diversification has become a strategic priority for drug manufacturers.
Chemicals and plastics
Russia’s annual import demand for chemicals and plastics exceeds USD 4 billion. India’s contribution, roughly USD 135 million, indicates substantial room for scale-up.
Demand for organic chemicals in Russia, including inputs for industrial and manufacturing applications, has risen since sanctions limited Moscow’s access to traditional suppliers.
Agriculture and food products
India’s agricultural exports to Russia stand at USD 452 million, while Moscow imports around USD 4 billion worth of global agricultural goods.
India is pushing for better access for food items, processed products, and value-added agri-exports — especially in categories where it has a competitive edge.
Diamonds and gold
India’s diamond processing sector — one of the world’s largest — relies significantly on Russian supplies of rough stones.
Russia is the biggest global producer of rough diamonds, and India’s cutting and polishing industries have long depended on Alrosa, Russia’s major mining company.
Russian diamond shipments to India totalled USD 31.3 million in August 2025, more than double the USD 13.4 million recorded a year earlier.
However, despite this monthly spike, overall imports during the first eight months of 2025 dropped nearly 40 per cent, falling to USD 342.1 million.
This contraction stems from sweeping Western sanctions. The EU and G7 countries have banned direct imports of Russian non-industrial diamonds beginning in January 2024.
The restrictions were later tightened to include diamonds cut or polished in third countries if they originated in Russia.
Indian traders are also contending with a 50 per cent tariff imposed by the United States on polished diamonds, which includes a punitive 25 per cent component linked to India’s continued purchases of Russian oil.
India has simultaneously increased gold imports from Russia this year, reflecting an attempt by Indian businesses to diversify sourcing amid fluctuating global markets.
Consumer goods remain marginal
Exports to Russia also include machinery (USD 367.8 million), pharmaceuticals (USD 246 million), and organic chemicals (USD 165.8 million) during the first half of FY26. However, high-visibility consumer categories represent small slices of the export pie:
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Smartphones: USD 75.9 million
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Vannamei shrimp: USD 75.7 million
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Meat: USD 63 million
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Garments: approximately USD 20.94 million
Electronics and textiles each hold less than 1 per cent market share in Russia, despite growing demand. Officials argue that better distribution networks could help India capture a larger share.
India’s exports to Russia, meanwhile, have steadily grown from USD 2.56 billion in 2020 to USD 4.92 billion in 2024, marking one of New Delhi’s fastest-expanding commercial routes.
How tourism has emerged as a powerful connector
While trade occupies much of the diplomatic focus, tourism has rapidly become another pillar of bilateral engagement. Russia’s cultural diplomacy and simplified travel policies have dramatically increased Indian tourist arrivals.
In the first half of 2025, India ranked as the second-largest non-CIS source of visitors to Moscow. Approximately 40,800 Indian tourists travelled to the Russian capital between January and June, representing a 40 per cent rise compared with the previous year.
This boost has been linked to several factors including
Russia’s streamlined e-visa system, which allows travellers to apply online within four days, and increased availability of direct flights and competitive travel packages.
Rosstat data shows a 14 per cent increase in foreign guests staying in Moscow hotels during the first seven months of 2025.
Travel platform Ostrovok recorded that 94 per cent of summer bookings for mid- and high-end hotels were made by travellers from non-CIS countries — a sharp jump from 85 per cent the prior year — with Indians heavily represented in premium segments.
The International Day of Yoga and Bharat Utsav, the Festival of India in Moscow have provided a platform for several India-focused celebrations as well.
To cement its popularity among Indian travellers, the Moscow City Tourism Committee has also launched several targeted projects.
Indian Vibes in Moscow — a dedicated travel guide listing recommended hotels, restaurants, and cultural sites with India links was launched while participation in major Indian travel expos, including OTM, SATTE, BLTM, and the MILT Congress was encouraged.
A landmark moment came with the OTOAI Convention 2025, hosted in Russia for the first time, which brought more than 250 Indian travel executives and journalists to Moscow for an immersive showcase of the city’s tourism infrastructure.
Looking ahead, Moscow aims to host up to 6 million international visitors annually by 2030, driven by travellers from India, China, West Asia, and the wider Asia-Pacific region.
In 2024 alone, the city recorded 26 million tourists, contributing 235 billion roubles — approximately USD 2.65 billion — in budget revenues.
How labour mobility offers the next major bridge
Labour mobility is set to gain prominence during the summit. India and Russia are
preparing to sign a framework designed to safeguard the rights of Indian workers and streamline their integration into the Russian labour market.
With its population declining and several industries suffering from workforce shortages, Russia is increasingly turning to India to fill critical positions.
Indian workers are already active in Russian sectors such as construction, textiles, manufacturing labour, semi-skilled and skilled roles.
Demand is rising particularly in machinery production and electronics assembly as Russia seeks to replace Western labour and technology dependencies.
Russian labour authorities estimate that more than 70,000 Indian workers will be employed in the country by the end of 2025 under quotas set by the labour ministry. A recent meeting between India’s labour minister and his Russian counterpart in Doha focused heavily on expanding and regulating this workforce corridor.
Experts in Russian affairs note that this growing diaspora may eventually become a central pillar of the partnership, strengthening social and economic ties between the nations.
With inputs from agencies
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