The Kremlin is increasingly relying on India to fill a labor shortage and also wants Delhi to support the production of drones that Russia wants to use in warfare. About this said in a recent report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
The head of the Russian state defense conglomerate Rostec, Sergei Chemezov, said on December 5 that Russia is in talks with India about localizing the production of Russian drones, in particular the Lancet, in India.
The day before, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with India Today that Russia not only sells weapons to India, but also transfers technology for shipbuilding, missile and aviation industries. Putin claims that India uses Russian Su-57 fighter jets, and also produces T-90 tanks and jointly developed BrahMos missiles on its territory.
Analysts note that such statements by Putin and the head of Rostec indicate that Moscow may consider expanding cooperation with India to include joint production of drones.
"The Russian Federation is likely planning to use these drones in the war against Ukraine — perhaps in exchange for transferring new Russian technologies and combat experience to India," — the report says.
It is also known that a delegation from the Smolensk FPV Drone Piloting Center arrived in India to carry out tasks within the framework of the Russian-Indian strategic partnership.
On December 5, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov said that Russia could accept an "unlimited number" of migrant workers from India under a new bilateral agreement on "labor mobility" signed that day in New Delhi.
According to Manturov, Russian industry lacks 800 workers, and trade, construction, and the service sector lack 1,5 million people.
The Deputy Prime Minister stated that it will take Russia more than a year to create the conditions necessary for accepting, employing, and processing documents for Indian migrants.
