Vladimir Putin lands in New Delhi: What's on the Russian President's agenda ahead of BRICS Summit?
The President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, arrived in New Delhi ahead of the 18th BRICS Summit, on a visit that will include bilateral talks with India's Prime Minister.
The bilateral agenda is expected to cover trade resilience, cross-border payment mechanisms, energy security, and defence and industrial cooperation.
Discussions are set against the backdrop of ongoing conflicts in Eastern Europe and West Asia, which have shaped global energy markets and supply chains.
The visit continues the India-Russia Annual Summit mechanism, held under the framework of the two countries' "Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership."
India-Russia "Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership"
India and Russia elevated their relationship from a "Strategic Partnership" (declared in October 2000, during a presidential visit to India) to a "Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership" on 21 December 2010, during a Russian presidential visit to India. This is the highest tier of partnership India accords to any country and is distinct from India's "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership" with the United States or "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership" with ASEAN.
The New Delhi bilateral is conducted under this Annual Summit framework, with the agenda (trade, energy, cross-border payments, defence) mapping directly onto the IGC's core cooperation baskets.
Rupee-Based Trade Settlement and the Special Rupee Vostro Account (SRVA) Mechanism
As Western sanctions curtailed dollar-based settlement for Russia after 2022, India and Russia expanded use of local-currency and alternative payment channels for bilateral trade — the mechanism referenced by "cross-border payment mechanisms" in current discussions. The Reserve Bank of India's Special Rupee Vostro Account (SRVA) framework, introduced via an A.P. (DIR Series) circular dated 11 July 2022, allows foreign banks (including Russian banks) to hold rupee-denominated accounts with Indian banks to settle trade in INR instead of the US dollar.
Key Details
- SRVA is part of India's broader push for "internationalisation of the rupee," alongside Rupee Trade Settlement arrangements with other partner countries.
- The RBI consolidated and updated the SRVA regulatory framework in 2026, reflecting its growing use, particularly for India-Russia oil trade.
- A structural constraint is the rupee's non-convertibility on the capital account, which limits how accumulated rupee balances can be repatriated or invested by the foreign counterparty (partially addressed by later RBI permissions to invest surplus SRVA balances in government securities).
- This mechanism is distinct from BRICS-level de-dollarisation proposals (e.g., a BRICS common currency or a BRICS cross-border payment system), which remain under discussion without formal adoption by the bloc.
The talks on "cross-border payment mechanisms" reflect the practical difficulty of settling India-Russia trade (dominated by discounted Russian crude oil purchases) through dollar channels, making rupee-rouble and SRVA arrangements central to the bilateral economic relationship.
Defence Platform Procurement — The DAP 2020 Framework
India's defence imports, including any prospective Russian platforms discussed during such visits, follow the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020, which replaced the earlier Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) 2016. The framework prioritises indigenous content through a tiered category system.
Key Details
- DAP 2020 categories (in descending order of preference): Buy (Indian-IDDM — Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured), Buy (Indian), Buy and Make (Indian), Buy (Global-Manufacture in India), and Buy (Global).
- The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by the Raksha Mantri (Defence Minister), grants the "Acceptance of Necessity" (AoN) that formally initiates any acquisition; high-value or strategically sensitive cases require further clearance from the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS).
- Russia remains India's largest source of legacy defence platforms (including the Su-30MKI fleet, S-400 air defence systems, and the AK-203 rifle co-production line at Korwa, Uttar Pradesh, under a Buy and Make (Indian) arrangement).
- Any potential fifth-generation fighter cooperation with Russia would be evaluated against India's parallel indigenous Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) programme, being developed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA).
Defence and industrial cooperation on the bilateral agenda would, if it proceeds to formal negotiation, be routed through this DAC-CCS approval chain rather than being concluded directly at the summit.
- Strategic Partnership declared: October 2000; elevated to "Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership": 21 December 2010.
- Most recent Annual Summit prior to this visit: 22nd Summit, Moscow, 8-9 July 2024.
- SRVA mechanism introduced: RBI A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 10, dated 11 July 2022.
- BRICS Summit hosting this visit: 18th BRICS Summit, New Delhi, September 12-13, 2026, held at Bharat Mandapam under India's 2026 chairmanship.
- DAP 2020 (in force) succeeded DPP 2016 as India's principal defence procurement framework.
- AK-203 assault rifle co-production plant: Korwa, Amethi district, Uttar Pradesh — a Buy and Make (Indian) category project with Russia.