News Highlight
Russia launched Vostok-2022 military drills in the country’s east, which will continue till September.
Key Takeaway
- The military exercises also include India and China.
- The Vostok 2022 will be conducted in two phases.
Vostok-2022
- It will be held across 13 training facilities in the Eastern Military District under the direction of Valery Gerasimov.
- Participating contingents include observers from the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), and other partner states, including Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Laos, Mongolia, Nicaragua, Syria, and Tajikistan.
India-Russia Defence and Strategic Relations
- Defence equipment:
- India and Russia have a long-standing and broad partnership in defence, with Russia providing over 60% of India’s defence equipment.
- For example, India procured the Kiev class aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya from Russia.
- Joint programme:
- Russia has transferred technology to India to produce weapons like the BrahMos Missile System, SU-30 aircraft, and T-90 tanks.
- Joint Exercise:
- INDIRA – Army Exercise
- Avi INDIRA – Air Exercise
- The International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC):
- It is a 7,200-km-long multi-mode ship, rail, and road network for moving freight between India, Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia, and Europe.
- 2+2 dialogue:
- India and Russia held their first-ever 2+2 dialogue in 2021.
- Both countries decided to strengthen bilateral economic cooperation and boost the Vladivostok–Chennai energy corridor, a gateway for Russia into the Indo-Pacific and an alternate source of energy for India, rather than relying on the volatile Middle East.
- Nuclear Relations:
- Russia is an important partner in the area of peaceful use of nuclear energy.
- The Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) is being built in India jointly by India and the USSR (Russia).
- Both India and Russia are implementing the Rooppur Nuclear Power Project in Bangladesh.
- Space Exploration:
- Both sides cooperate in the peaceful uses of outer space, including satellite launches, the GLONASS navigation system, remote sensing, and other societal applications of outer space.
- An MoU between ISRO and ROSCOSMOS on Joint Activities in the Field of Human Spaceflight Programme was signed during the 19th Bilateral Summit.
Content Source: The Hindu