Russia's secret electronics plan with India for dual-use tech

The newspaper Financial Times reports that Russia secretly acquired sensitive goods in India. Moscow also investigated whether it was possible to construct special facilities to secure the components needed to conduct the war.

In October 2022, Russia developed a confidential plan worth $1 billion to allow the Kremlin to secure channels for the transfer of critical electronics. Everything was to take place in secrecy from the West, emphasises "FT", citing Russian state correspondence.

Russia planned to use large reserves of rupees, which Moscow received from New Delhi for oil supplies. These are key dual-use technologies that can be used for civilian and military purposes, such as drones and rockets. Such technologies are under the control of Western officials.

The Russian Consortium for Foreign Economic Activity and International Interstate Cooperation in Industry, an organisation closely linked to the security service, was to be involved in the purchase of critical components from India.

"Moscow even foresaw pumping investments into Russian-Indian electronics development and production plants," reveals "FT". These documents are supposed to confirm that India has moved closer to Russia, despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi signing a series of Indo-American cooperation agreements, including advanced jet engines and artificial intelligence.

To what extent did Russia manage to implement the mentioned plan? That is unknown. However, detailed data regarding trade flows suggest that relations with India have deepened in the context of specific categories of goods identified in Russian correspondence.

The project was to be overseen, among other things, by Vadim Poida, the president of the aforementioned consortium. It involved developing a five-stage plan that would allow Moscow to spend rupees in exchange for components to be delivered from India. The plan included "representatives of relevant Indian state and private enterprises."

An anonymous Indian businessman, in a conversation with "FT", revealed that part of the rupees was to go to India to ensure the production process of dual-use components. "It could be low-value electronic elements, such as those found in washing machines or refrigerators," he explained. And such products could already reach Russia.

"FT" reminds us that India buys Russian oil on a large scale, and the trade exchange between the countries reached a record level of $66 billion in the financial year 2023/24. That is five times more than before the full-scale war in Ukraine broke out.