War impact: Russia eyes India for trade support in IT, medical equipment

Russia, which has been hit by sanctions by the US and Western countries, is looking to increase trade ties with India, especially with regard to medical equipment and software export.

Medical equipment companies from both the countries are discussing ways to boost supplies, said Rajiv Nath, a forum coordinator for the Association of Indian Medical Device Industry, as cited by a Bloomberg report.

Several Russian software companies are also looking for joint ventures in India and other BRICS nations to improve exports as sanctions by Europe and US has hit their companies.

Potential partners

“So, Russian software companies are keen to expand footprint and forge JVs in the BRICS nations, and India appears to be the best potential partners for Russia to create and achieve technological goals,” Valentin Makarov, president of St. Petersburg-based Russoft, an association of Russian software companies, told PTI in an interview.

“We believe the sanctions on Russia pose both challenges and opportunities. The US and western Europe make for more than half of Russia’s IT exports, and the restrictions impacted this trade. There is also a lot of focus now on import substitution,” he said.

Participation in Bengal Summit

A delegation of six software companies from Russia had participated in the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) in Kolkata recently, and held meetings with several Indian firms.

“Our delegation has met representatives of a number of Indian companies, and we have found joint interest with 19 firms. Negotiations are yet to be finalised. There are several areas in which we can offer our expertise, including artificial intelligence (AI), automation of industrial production, cyber security, telemedicine and digital governance,” Makarov said.

Makarov stressed on the scope for partnership in AI in tax treatment, optimising traffic movement through software, economising electricity consumption and working on information systems for logistics.

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“We are keen to help this region to be more competitive in the global market, and for that, we need access to India’s human resource to bring new software technologies. Our objective is to manufacture together, sell here and abroad,” Makarov said.

Rupee-ruble payment

Makarov also emphasised on digital currency and a rupee-ruble payment mechanism to avoid dependence on US dollar for international trade.

Russia and India are also working out a payment system in local currencies similar to the one used during Cold War to maintain bilateral trade. The Bloomberg report said India is hoping to boost exports to Russia as the payment system gets sorted out. New Delhi has faced criticism from the West for purchasing Russian oil amid the Ukraine crisis.