Indian Navy commandos rescued 20 crew members of an Iranian fishing boat, which had been hijacked on October 29 after a 48-hour operation off the coast of Somalia.

The Iranian-flagged Azini was seized by Somali pirates on Sunday, raising fears it might be deployed as a pirate mothership targeting merchant vessels.

India sent the destroyer INS Kolkata to track the vessel. The operation took place more than 3,000 kilometers from Mumbai, Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said. An Indian Air Force C-17 aircraft then airdropped Marine commandos to disarm the pirates.

An official with the Maritime Police Force of Puntland, a semi-autonomous region in northeast Somalia, told The Associated Press the Indian forces disarmed 12 pirates.

India’s Defense Ministry said the operation ended without anyone being injured. It is not clear whether the crew is still aboard the vessel.

The Azini was hijacked between Bandar Bayla and Hafun in Somalia. The Puntland official said it also had two Somali security guards on board.

❗Iran Thanks India For Rescuing 20 Crew Members From Pirates The Iranian Embassy in New Delhi praised the Indian Navy and Air Force for their role in rescuing the crew of fishing vessel Azini. It called the operation a "testament to the friendship and cooperation" between the two countries.

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) November 3, 2026

Iran thanked India for rescuing its crew members and lauded the role of the Indian Navy and IAF. The Iranian embassy in New Delhi heralded the operation as a “testament to the friendship and cooperation” between the two countries.

Somali piracy peaked around 2011, costing the world economy some $7 billion a year, before international naval patrols and armed private guards managed to contain the threat. The INS Kolkata has been deployed in the region for anti-piracy patrols and protecting Indian ships.

Six commercial vessels were reportedly hijacked between April and August in the region, the AP said. In September, pirates killed five crew members of the tanker MT Honour 25. Puntland authorities said they detained 16 suspected pirates from that incident.

Russian weapons maker Kalashnikov has signed a licensing agreement to produce anti-drone shotguns in India, expanding its small-arms collaboration with New Delhi.

The agreement covers local production of the MP-155 model by an Indian company, with support from Kalashnikov, company President Alan Lushnikov told reporters on Monday, TASS reported.

The MP-155 is a semiautomatic, 12-gauge shotgun developed by the Izhevsk Mechanical Plant, where its production began in 2012. Originally designed for civilian hunting, the weapon has since been adapted for use against low-flying unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

The model has proved suitable for counter-drone operations and is being promoted in international markets, Lushnikov said. Kalashnikov has also developed a specialized version capable of engaging low-flying aerial targets at distances of 50 to 100 meters.

📹 Russia Signs Deal To Produce MP-155 Shotguns In 🇮🇳 Kalashnikov CEO Alan Lushnikov confirmed that the company has signed a contract for licensed production of the semi-automatic shotguns in India. Originally designed as a hunting platform, the 12-gauge firearm has been adapted into a front-line counter-UAV weapon, firing specialized shot cartridges to shred low-flying kamikaze and FPV drones at short range.

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) November 3, 2026

The Indian partner, proposed manufacturing location, production volumes, contract value, and timeline have not been disclosed. The agreement builds on the company’s existing small-arms business in India.

India’s massive clean energy investments have acted as a shock absorber, helping the country limit the fallout from supply disruptions linked to the Middle East conflict, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said.

India’s clean energy capacity reached about 308 gigawatts (GW) by September, or about 55% of its total installed electricity capacity, five years ahead of schedule.

Pointing out that the Indian economy has continued to post robust growth despite the crisis, Modi said, “Had India not made the investments it did in clean energy and building the requisite mechanisms [and infrastructure], the impact of the crisis would have been far more severe than in the rest of the world.”

New Delhi imports the lion’s share of its energy, and the Middle East crisis impacted a number of key sectors, including manufacturing and agriculture. Despite this, the International Monetary Fund raised India’s GDP growth forecast to 7% for the financial year 2026-27, up from the 6.4% it had projected in July.

India’s #RenewableEnergy revolution is inspiring the world with a roadmap for a cleaner, more sustainable future. In my article for @htTweets, I highlight how India’s #CleanEnergy transition is driving growth and strengthening energy security under the visionary leadership of Hon’ble PM Shri @NarendraModi ji. As we prepare to host the Bharat Renewable Energy Summit 2026 and the 9th ISA Assembly, India’s success offers valuable lessons for the world. #BRESummit2026 #ISAAssembly

— Pralhad Joshi (@JoshiPralhad) November 2, 2026

India’s renewable energy sector is poised to open up investment opportunities of about $220 billion by 2030, Modi said. Clean energy helped India save $100 billion between 2011 and 2025, according to the International Energy Agency. That number is set to double by 2030.

Local manufacturing of hardware and battery systems and enhanced storage systems would form the cornerstone of the next phase of the solar push, which Modi has stated he believes will be driven by innovation.

The Indian government is building a Green Energy Corridor linking states with high renewable energy potential to centers of consumption, which is estimated to integrate 135 GW capacity into the national grid. Solar module and solar cell manufacturing,and solar rooftop installations are also seeing heavy growth.

India is among the world’s leading clean energy employers, with 1.3 million people working in the sector.

India’s electricity demand, which grew 6.5% in the first half of the current financial year, is projected to spike to 459 GW by 2035-36.

An Indian sailor was killed and 13 others rescued after an unidentified aerial object struck a cargo vessel off Oman’s coast on Monday, as attacks on commercial shipping in the Middle East continue.

The Indian-flagged MSV Al Jusufi was hit near Limah around evening while sailing from Hamriyah Port in the United Arab Emirates to Porbandar in India’s Gujarat state, according to a report by the Indian maritime authorities.

All 14 crew members abandoned the vessel in a life raft following the strike. The Omani Coast Guard rescued the survivors, but one sailor died en route to a hospital at Khasab Port.

Indian Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Tuesday identified the deceased as 26-year-old Gandhar Nahim Ajij from Gujarat. The Indian Embassy in Oman is coordinating with local authorities to assist the survivors and arrange their repatriation, along with the remains of the deceased sailor.

🚨 Indian Seafarer Killed, 13 Rescued After Commercial Vessel Attacked Off Oman The vessel MSV Al Jusufi was attacked near Limah on Monday evening. The MEA on Tuesday condemned the strike, calling recurring attacks on commercial shipping "deeply concerning" and urging immediate regional de-escalation as the Indian Embassy in Muscat coordinates repatriation. 📹 Social Media

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) November 3, 2026

New Delhi condemned the attack and called for the immediate de-escalation of tensions through dialogue and diplomacy. “The targeting of commercial shipping and civilian infrastructure in the region must end,” the Foreign Ministry said, stressing the need to restore freedom of navigation and uninterrupted maritime commerce.

Indian crews have been caught in several recent attacks on commercial vessels in the region. The latest death brings the reported number of Indian nationals killed in the Middle East conflict since February to 23, including 15 seafarers, according to the Hindustan Times.

The White House has listed an “improved” trade agreement with India among US President Donald Trump’s achievements, although New Delhi and Washington are still negotiating to finalize the pact first outlined in February.

New Delhi has held off on the deal, while seeking greater tariff certainty and preferential market access for its exporters and vowing to shield its sensitive agricultural sector.

The claim appeared on a list the White House released ahead of Tuesday’s midterm elections, among 127 promises that it touted Trump as having fulfilled during his second term. It also comes just two weeks after Trump himself described the deal as “pretty close” – not as finalized.

The claim, under the heading “Igniting a Blue-Collar Boom and Restoring Fair Trade,” said Trump had “secured new and improved trade agreements,” which cover more than half the global GDP, with major trading partners including India, the EU, Japan, and China.

The reference to India links to a February 9 fact sheet titled “The United States and India Announce Historic Trade Deal.” The document only says the countries would work toward finalizing an interim agreement. A joint statement days earlier had only proposed reducing US reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods to 18%, and India lowering duties on American industrial goods and selected agricultural products.

Türkiye, Qatar, Pakistan, and Indonesia signed the ‘Badr’ defense cooperation accord in the Qatari capital, Doha, on October 21. It is intended to deepen their defense industry cooperation, reflecting a broader effort by countries in the region to widen their network of security partners amid the prolonged US-Israel war on Iran.

The four countries are planning to build on existing military projects through joint production, technology transfers, and more closely integrated supply chains. The initiative is a result of the failure of the US and Iran to reach a concrete peace agreement, which pushes countries in the region to diversify their defense partnerships and look beyond overreliance on Washington for their security.

The four countries clarified, however, that closer cooperation does not mean abandoning long-standing alliances. Instead, the ambition is to gain greater control over their own security while strengthening pre-existing partnerships.

The implications could extend well beyond the four participants. It will impact both the Gulf Region and South East Asia. India, for instance, has been watching the Mecca Accord which earlier brought Türkiye, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia together. Now, Badr brings in Indonesia, a country with the largest Muslim population, and with which New Delhi is involved in practical cooperation, including in the defense sector.

Inside the military pacts

The Mecca Joint Defense Agreement (also known as the Mecca Pact), is a trilateral security pact concluded in August by Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and Pakistan and covering collective defense, military and intelligence cooperation, defense-industrial development, logistical support, and institutional coordination. The Mutual Defense Clause in the document is modelled similarly to NATO’s Article 5, stipulating that an armed attack against any one of the three member states is regarded as an attack against them all.

The Badr Accord (officially the Badr Memorandum of Understanding) is a joint defense cooperation agreement with a core goal to deepen military and defense industrial collaboration, move past simple “off-the-shelf” arms purchases, and build shared domestic manufacturing and technological capabilities. Focus areas include joint production of military hardware (including drones and precision missiles, airborne radars, air defense systems, and rockets).

Unlike the Mecca Accord’s mutual defense focus, the Badr Accord focuses primarily on defense-industrial cooperation rather than an automatic collective-defense trigger. The pact is designed to reduce the nations’ reliance on external Western or foreign arms suppliers and pool their complementary manufacturing strengths. Each country will bring its own resources or set of skills to the table. Türkiye contributes technological expertise, systems integration, and a mature defense industry; Pakistan and Indonesia offer manufacturing capacity, skilled workforces, and sizeable domestic markets; and Qatar provides investment potential and demand.

Such arrangements could give buyers a larger role in producing and supporting their own equipment, while providing manufacturers with longer-term orders and investment. This could bring down costs for Turkish companies and bring jobs to Pakistan and Indonesia, while tapping into Qatari financial muscle.

Pakistan’s existing naval manufacturing project with Türkiye is an example of how weapons purchases can support domestic manufacturing. Of the four ships announced under the project, two are to be built in Istanbul and two at Karachi Shipyard. Türkiye and Indonesia are meanwhile jointly building a tank.

Islamic symbolism

While the Badr Accord functions strictly as an industrial framework for joint weapons production, its nomenclature is deeply rooted in Islamic religious and historical symbolism. The accord derives its name directly from the Battle of Badr (624 CE), the most consequential and spiritually significant early military engagement in Islamic history. In Islamic tradition, the Battle of Badr represents a foundational victory where a small, under-equipped group of early Muslims (around 313 men) defeated a much larger, well-armed Meccan Quraysh army (around 1,000 men) through steadfast faith and divine intervention. By choosing the name for the pact, the signatory nations explicitly invoke themes of resilience, unity, and overcoming asymmetric structural disadvantages.

The word “Badr,” which literally translates to “full moon” in Arabic, was chosen to symbolize how the four distinct nations complement one another. The agreement aims to promote cooperation in military production, strengthen military capabilities, and support collaboration in technical military training and research and development, the Turkish Defense Ministry said.

Türkiye, under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has actively staked a claim to leadership in the Islamic world by presenting itself as the modern heir to the Ottoman Empire and the defender of global Muslim causes. Erdogan frequently champions the Palestinian cause, opposes Western policies in the Middle East, and speaks out on issues affecting minority Muslim populations such as the Uyghurs and Rohingya, and supports Pakistan on Kashmir. As a part of NATO, Türkiye has the most developed military industry while it faces heavy competition and deep-seated political rivalry from nations like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran, and the UAE.

Saudi Arabia is not only a significant petro-dollar economy and one of the world’s top three largest defense importers, the King of Saudi Arabia also holds the title of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, which represents the monarch’s official responsibility for protecting and maintaining the two holiest sites in Islam.

Indonesia has the world’s largest Muslim population, with approximately 251.25 million Muslims. Pakistan follows it with a Muslim population of 231 to 234 million people. Pakistan also has the seventh largest military and possesses the so called “Islamic bomb” (nuclear weapons).

Badr Accord limitations and complexities

As the Badr pact relies on deep, cross-border integration rather than traditional arms buying, it faces several foundational limitations and operational complexities. The Badr Accord is explicitly a defense-industrial and technology co-production framework, not a military alliance. Signatories are under no obligation to intervene militarily if another member is attacked.

While the goal is to bypass Western arms suppliers, many advanced defense systems produced by nations like Türkiye still incorporate critical subsystems (such as engines, optics, or microchips) patented or licensed by NATO allies. The Pakistani military is dominated by Chinese and American equipment.

The pact faces a structural ceiling if Western nations enforce strict end-user export restrictions on components required for joint production.

The pact relies on a complex, multi-layered decision-making process. Individual nations must first identify their distinct defense needs. These are sent to an “Executive Board” to map out joint production designs, which must then clear a “Strategic Board” tasked with finalizing budgets and allocating manufacturing locations. Managing national bureaucratic red tape across four geographically dispersed nations will naturally slow down project timelines.

Qatar is unlikely to abandon its strategic relationship with Washington, while Türkiye seeks greater technological independence within NATO, not autonomy from it. Türkiye, which has NATO’s second-largest army and a robust defense industry, has been helping Gulf nations, including Qatar, where it has a military base, bolster their defenses amid the Iran war.

A major complexity will be navigating intellectual property (IP) sharing. While the accord calls for technology transfers, high-tech hubs like Türkiye must balance regional goodwill against the risk of losing ownership of their proprietary R&D. Ensuring that financial backers (Qatar) and manufacturers (Pakistan/Indonesia) feel equity is distributed fairly remains a tough hurdle. Joint production facilities are primarily slated to be established in Türkiye due to its superior industrial infrastructure. This creates a logistical and operational imbalance. Harmonizing industrial output, supply chains, and technical military training protocols across disparate manufacturing floors in Islamabad, Jakarta, and Istanbul will test the pact’s long-term viability.

Implications for India

During the most recent military conflict between India in Pakistan in May 2025, Türkiye openly supported Pakistan with military hardware and technical support. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed the bilateral Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement in September, just four months after the standoff between New Delhi and Islamabad.

Perhaps, Pakistan was as desperate for security support as Saudi Arabia. In case of a future skirmish, will Türkiye and Saudi Arabia provide more material support or even send in troops, if requested?

While the Mecca Accord focuses on collective deterrence and military cooperation, the Doha Accord could provide the industrial and technological foundations for such partnerships. Such cooperation could also create economies of scale. The arrangement could help Pakistan and Indonesia manufacture more equipment domestically while giving Turkish defense companies access to larger markets and longer-term orders.

Pakistan already gets military technology support from China. This additional support will help Pakistan bridge the military capability gap with India as Islamabad could use the Badr agreement to strengthen its military capabilities through partnerships beyond Beijing, helping it to reduce the existing dependence.

Türkiye is particularly important in this context because of its experience in drones, electronic warfare, naval platforms, and other defense systems. It will also boost the Pakistani defense industry.

India would have to factor this into its defense planning, particularly if Pakistan becomes better equipped to sustain its military capabilities over the long term. For Islamabad, access to technology, joint production, and external markets could help sustain an industry constrained by economic pressures and dependence on imported components. If these relationships generate tangible advances in unmanned systems, electronic warfare, sensors, naval capabilities, or precision weapons, New Delhi will need to account for them in its threat assessments.

Indonesia’s participation in the Badr agreement could affect India’s own defense partnerships with Jakarta. In July, India and Indonesia announced a $630 million deal under which India would supply BrahMos cruise missiles and Astra air-to-air missiles. The concern is whether Indonesia could share information about Indian weapons with the other Badr participants, including Pakistan, potentially giving Islamabad access to sensitive technical knowledge.

Indian diplomacy has handled its global relations well. Saudi Arabia and Indonesia are already working closely with India on economic front. The Badr and Mecca pacts should not be seen as strategic encirclement of India.

New Delhi’s policies such as Make-in-India and Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) are already bringing results, while India continues partnering with Russia, US, and European nations for many projects and technologies. India has advantages in the scale of its industrial base.

While overtly visible, India should, for the moment, not look at these pacts through a religious prism until they prove otherwise. The pacts are still at a very early stage. The Mecca Accord is already under test against Houthis. Badr will take long to evolve. It is a wait and watch stage for India and it must continue diplomatic engagement with military and industrial growth as a deterrent.

Renowned US economist Jeffry Sachs has called for cooperation, not competition, between India and China.

The two Asian economic powerhouses can help to build a truly multipolar world, the economist argued. He also said India should not fear China and that Beijing should promote New Delhi as the 6th permanent member of the UN Security Council.

“Understand that China and India working together makes the multi-polar world, not the competition between them,” Sachs said.

“I strongly believe that India will not be the new world hegemon, and China will not be the new hegemon,” he argued.

Sachs serves as director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University and president of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network. He was addressing the World Symposium in the northern Indian town and spiritual center Varanasi, where 200 scholars, philosophers, and experts from across the world gathered on Monday.

Jeffrey Sachs To New Delhi: Don't Join Quad Sachs To Beijing: Promote 🇮🇳 As 6th UNSC Member Speaking at the World Symposium in Varanasi, the American economist argued that cooperation between the two Asian powers - not competition - would build a truly multipolar world. "China will not be the new hegemon," he said. 📹 ANI

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) November 2, 2026

The economist projected that by the end of this century, India would have twice the population of China and emerge as the single largest economy. “This is absolutely in the deep trends,” he said.

India is the world’s most populous country, commanding a $4 trillion economy, while China’s is pegged at $19.5 trillion. The two Asian neighbors are poised to clock 7% and 4.5% GDP growth respectively in 2026, according to the IMF.

New Delhi and Beijing were locked in a years-long diplomatic and economic battle following a border standoff in 2020. In 2024 the leaders of the two neighbors met at the BRICS summit in Russia’s Kazan and announced their willingness to improve ties.

Speaking on Monday, Sachs warned India against joining groupings like the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), an informal bloc comprised of Australia, India, Japan, and the United States that is generally seen as anti-China. Sachs described the bloc as an example of “Western attempts to prolong their declining power.”

Sachs described American ideology as being stuck in 1950. “It is fitting we have a president who is stuck somewhere around age three in his development, and his world is a world in which the US is the boss,” he argued. Europe too is “stuck” in a world in which the West is “the boss,” the academic said.

The Indian authorities are evacuating thousands of people from the eastern coast on Monday as the second cyclone in less than a week bears down, threatening renewed flooding in a region still recovering from the previous deadly storm.

Cyclone Murasu intensified into a “severe cyclonic storm” over the Bay of Bengal and is expected to make landfall overnight between Nellore and Narsapur in Andhra Pradesh state on November 2-3.
The state authorities started evacuating up to 30,000 people, Disaster Management Authority managing director Prakhar Jain told Reuters.

The storm is expected to bring sustained winds of 100-110 kph, gusting up to 120 kph, the India Meteorological Department said. It also warned of a storm surge of up to 1.5 meters above normal tide levels, raising the risk of coastal flooding.

❗🇮🇳 Second Cyclone In Less Than A Week — 30k To Be Evacuated As Murasu Approaches Around 2k people have already been evacuated from Andhra, with authorities planning to move another 30k to safety. Odisha has also begun evacuations from vulnerable areas as the storm approaches a region still recovering from Cyclone Arnab.

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) November 2, 2026

In the Konaseema district, fresh rain flooded homes and disrupted recovery efforts after Cyclone Arnab, which struck the region on October 28.

Arnab hit the coast as a “very severe” cyclone, with winds gusting up to 150 kph. It killed six people, damaged homes and farmland, and disrupted electricity supplies. More than 180,000 people were evacuated before it made landfall.

Murasu is expected to be less powerful than Arnab, arrives as damaged electricity infrastructure is still being repaired and coastal communities are still recovering from the flooding.

Five districts, including Krishna, Guntur, Bapatla, Prakasam, and Nellore, were placed under a red alert for extremely heavy rainfall. Neighboring Tamil Nadu, Odisha, and Telangana states also faced heavy rain warnings.

The approaching cyclone has already disrupted transportation and daily life. Heavy rainfall waterlogged parts of Chennai city, where schools and colleges were closed on Monday. Nearly a dozen flights were canceled.

India is plowing billions into becoming a global chipmaking hub, while smartly taking a route different from that of industry giants racing to produce the most advanced processors powering the AI boom.

The South Asian country already has a substantial presence in semiconductor design. Now, New Delhi wants to establish a domestic manufacturing industry and become a reliable global supplier.

That ambition was on display at the Semicon India event in New Delhi in September, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi pitched India as an alternative manufacturing destination amid growing demand and concerns over global chip production bottlenecks and supply uncertainties.

“The world needs new and trusted locations for chip manufacturing and India is preparing itself for this,” Modi told the conference.

A month earlier, in his Independence Day address, Modi had made semiconductor development an important component of the wider Make-in-India manufacturing push. “Chips are indispensable; without them, the world would come to a standstill,” he noted.

The initiative comes as artificial intelligence, data centers, electric vehicles, and expanding electronics production drive demand for semiconductors. But India’s strategy is not to immediately challenge the industry’s technological leaders on their own terms.

“I believe this is one of the smartest and most far-sighted choices India has made,” the co-founder and CMO of chip startup Indiesemic, Jinal Shah, told RT in emailed comments. Indiesemic is based in Ahmedabad, the capital of Modi’s home state Gujarat.

Why India is betting on older chips

While manufacturers such as Taiwan’s TSMC and South Korea’s Samsung compete to produce ever-smaller processors, including 2-nanometer chips used in high-performance computing and AI, India is initially concentrating on established technologies known as mature nodes.

These chips, ranging from 28 to 180 nanometers, may not be at the cutting edge of technology, but are essential to automobiles, industrial machinery, telecommunications, household appliances, and electricity networks.

Even the AI boom needs them. Because data centers cannot work without power-management chips, networking components, and other such chips.

Mature-node technologies account for nearly 70% of global chip production by volume, said Neil Shah, the co-founder and vice-president of research at the think tank Counterpoint Research. Starting with mature-node fabrication, specialized semiconductors, and conventional chip assembly and testing is “the only commercially rational entry point for India,” Shah told RT.

Pursuing 2-nanometer production is “simply too expensive,” the secretary at India’s Electronics and Information Technology Ministry, S. Krishnan, recently admitted.

Although eclipsed by the AI chips, mature-node chips are a high-growth market. Industry researcher TrendForce reported in June that rising demand for power-related semiconductors, including those used in AI infrastructure, was tightening manufacturing capacity and could sustain price increases into 2027.

India designs chips for the world. Why doesn’t it make them?

India is hardly a newcomer to the semiconductor business. The country accounts for nearly a fifth of the global chip-design workforce and hosts major research and development centers for companies such as Intel, Qualcomm, and Texas Instruments.

Indian engineers contribute to the development of sophisticated chips used around the world. Yet, much of the actual manufacturing takes place overseas.

Imports currently meet an estimated 90%-95% of India’s semiconductor demand, according to NITI Aayog. The think tank projects that the country’s chip market will grow to more than $200 billion by 2035, driven by electronics, automobiles, telecommunications, and digital infrastructure.

Getting into chip fabrication gives India two opportunities: reducing the dependence on imported chips for its expanding domestic industries, and supplying overseas markets looking for alternative manufacturing locations.

Bridging the gap: From designing chips to making them

India’s first semiconductor mission resulted in 12 approved manufacturing projects involving more than $17 billion in planned investment. These include a silicon fabrication plant, two specialized semiconductor facilities, and nine assembly, testing, and packaging units.

Five of the nine units have already begun commercial production, including those operated by US memory-chip maker Micron and Indian companies Kaynes Semicon, CG Semi, CDIL Semiconductor, and Suchi Semicon. Modi inaugurated commercial production lines at CDIL in Punjab and Suchi Semicon in Gujarat during the September industry event.

However, these units largely focus on assembly, packaging and testing rather than manufacturing integrated circuits directly on silicon wafers. Building that capability is the next major step.

The Semicon 2.0 program, backed by $13.5 billion, is intended to build an industry around such factories, extending support to equipment manufacturers, specialized chemicals, raw materials, chip design, research, and workforce development.

“India currently relies almost entirely on foreign nations for these foundational raw materials and machinery,” the director of the Sudeet Foundation, Raghava Srinivasan Balakrishnan, told RT.

Indian conglomerate Tata Group is building an $11 billion fabrication plant in Dholera, Gujarat, with Taiwan’s Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation. Commercial production is targeted for mid-2028, initially using 55-nanometer and 90-nanometer technology before moving to 28 nanometers.

At the September conference, US-based Applied Materials announced plans to invest $5 billion in India over the next decade, including in research, domestic supply chains, and workforce development.

The government is also trying to help Indian companies move from designing chips to developing commercially viable products of their own.

Centralized access to professional design tools and infrastructure “significantly lowers the initial capex barriers,” technology policy researcher Pranay Kotasthane wrote in August, welcoming the support for chip-design startups.

Could India eventually make advanced chips?

New Delhi’s ambitions don’t stop at mature-node manufacturing.

In a roadmap released in May, NITI Aayog proposed building a semiconductor value chain worth $120 billion-$150 billion by 2035, with India becoming one of the world’s top three destinations for outsourced semiconductor assembly, testing, and advanced packaging.

”Instead of chasing the global wafer race from behind, India should define its own pathway,” the report says.

The NITI Aayog also recommends building strength in specialized analog semiconductors and materials, such as silicon carbide and gallium nitride, which are important for electric vehicles, renewable energy, and industrial power systems.

India is not abandoning the ambition of making cutting-edge processors altogether, but just being pragmatic by going for the low-hanging fruit first.

Getting to the top of the hill will require experience in operating commercial wafer fabrication plants, developing a skilled workforce, and building a domestic network of equipment and materials suppliers.

For now, the country is seeking to establish itself in parts of the semiconductor industry where demand is already substantial and its existing strengths offer it a clear commercial edge.

Senior Indian opposition leaders from 19 political parties led tens of thousands protesters in a march in New Delhi on Sunday, demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, accusing him of voter-roll manipulation.

The demonstration at Ramlila Maidan, one of the Indian capital’s designated protest sites, was led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and regional party leaders. It is the latest in weeks of protests over the nationwide revision of electoral rolls that has cut more than 130 million names from draft voter lists, including those recorded as deceased, relocated, or untraceable.

Sunday’s protests were peaceful although a large number of police personnel were deployed on the streets.

Opposition parties allege that those who tend to vote against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have been deliberately excluded from the voter lists, and it will help tilt elections in favor of the party.

📹❗️RT India LIVE From Ramlila Maidan: Prominent Opposition Leaders Address INDIA Bloc Protest In Delhi RT India correspondent @rujutathete reports from the ground.

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) November 1, 2026

The controversy intensified after the Indian Express revealed that two election commissioners in the three-member panel had objected at least 14 times to decisions involving voter registration, deletions, and electoral procedures. Last week, the panel told India’s Supreme Court that all three commissioners had unanimously approved the orders authorizing the revision.

The poll panel denies favoring any political party, and maintains that the revision is intended to remove duplicate and ineligible entries. It also says any wrongly excluded voters can apply to be re-included in the rolls.

Addressing the rally, Gandhi accused Kumar of facilitating electoral manipulation and warned that he would face prosecution. “Gyanesh Kumar will be removed as CEC. Gyanesh Kumar will go to jail,” he declared.

Despite India’s increased defense spending, robust government support for domestic arms and military technology manufacturers, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s personal focus on the development of the military-industrial complex, experts warn that the Indian Air Force faces a critical squadron decline that may influence its ability to counter potential adversaries. 

This paradox stems from India’s procurement policies, which do not prioritize the acquisition of advanced aircraft for the air force. Apparently, segments of India’s business elite and military leadership, possibly influenced by Western companies, are lobbying for contracts that offer questionable benefits to the country’s armed forces. 

While India’s geopolitical and military rivals (China and Pakistan) invest in cutting-edge technology – such as the fifth-generation J-20 and J-35 multi-role fighters – India continues to acquire fourth-generation aircraft like the Rafale and Tejas fighters. However, such aircraft cannot address modern combat challenges or threats effectively.

The situation looks even more dire considering that the Rafale and Tejas fighters are not superior to the Su-30MKI, the primary fighter in service with the Indian Air Force, and may even fall short when it comes to certain tactical specifications. The Su-30MKI boasts significant advantages in speed, maneuverability, payload capacity, and operational range.

This raises a crucial question: why are substantial financial resources from the Indian budget allocated for the purchase of expensive aircraft (Rafale fighters cost about €160 million each) directly from the French private firm Dassault Aviation, when the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) offers the option to procure Su-30MKI aircraft assembled under license from Russia at a considerably lower cost?

Real threats

Clearly, the rivalry between Pakistan (and China, which stands behind it) and India is not going to fade anytime soon. In fact, competition will likely intensify in the foreseeable future. A critical factor in preventing the most dangerous scenarios lies in maintaining a balance of military capabilities and defense potential between the opposing sides. So, what does the power balance look like today?

Armed with highly effective long-range air-to-air weapons, Pakistan and China’s stealthy fifth-generation fighters will be able to launch missile attacks without being detected by Indian Air Force radar systems. Under such circumstances, India’s military aviation could face a devastating defeat, leading to humiliation and a prolonged recovery process. This is inevitable, since fifth-generation fighters surpass fourth-generation aircraft.

The strategy of overwhelming the enemy with sheer numbers and concentrating an extensive air force over specific combat zones, is fundamentally flawed: no number of Rafale or Tejas fighters can match the combat capabilities of J-20 and J-35 aircraft.

The air forces of Pakistan and China possess cutting-edge technologies like stealth capabilities, advanced radar systems capable of covertly tracking opponents, and long-range missiles that significantly outdistance those in the arsenals of Rafale and Tejas fighters.

However, if the Indian Air Force were to acquire Su-57E fighters, equipped with stealth technology, the modern N-036 Byelka radar, long-range RVV-BD missiles, and other state-of-the-art munitions, India’s ability to confront its neighbors in the above-mentioned scenarios would change dramatically.

Why Russia?

For over 70 years, Soviet and Russian aviation technology has been in service with the Indian military, demonstrating remarkable efficiency and reliability. Russia has proven to be a dependable partner in military-technical cooperation.

The ongoing modernization of the Pakistani Air Force and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force with advanced aircraft has prompted India to take decisive actions to restore parity and the balance of power. Given the current circumstances, a swift acquisition of 50 Su-57E fighters from Russia under a fast-track mechanism, along with plans for licensed production of an additional 450 units in India, seems like the most prudent course of action. This could involve the latest two-seat variant, the Su-57D. Over the next few decades, such a project would effectively address the challenges and threats that India faces. 

More than just a prototype

The Su-57 fighter jet has already entered service with the Russian Air Force and has participated in combat operations. 

India contributed to the development of the fighter that served as the basis for the Su-57. In 2010, the Indian Ministry of Defense initiated the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) program to create an indigenous fifth-generation fighter. However, after more than 15 years, this program has yet to reach the flight testing stage. Serial production is not likely to commence before 2035. 

Moreover, advanced Russian technologies transferred to India under a licensing agreement will assist Indian specialists in refining and successfully implementing several national projects, including the AMCA.

Unlike American F-35s – which have struggled to maintain supersonic speeds in sustained cruise mode –  the Su-57 meets all the criteria expected of a fifth-generation fighter.

For New Delhi, the Su-57 offers multiple advantages, especially since it was designed at the same bureau that developed the Su-30MKI – the Indian Air Force’s primary combat aircraft as of 2026. This continuity provides valuable benefits in terms of operational procedures, maintenance, repair, and logistical support, leveraging existing airfield, storage, and training infrastructures.

Indigenous programs

Prime Minister Narendra Modi highly supports India’s national defense industry initiatives. He made history as the first prime minister of India to fly in the cockpit of a supersonic fighter jet.

Professional pilots who have flown the Tejas aircraft praise its performance, noting it surpasses the MiG-21, which the Tejas was designed to replace under the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) program that began in 1983. However, the mission was not fulfilled; the project has faced significant delays, and by the time the Tejas was deployed in 2015, the vast majority of the 874 MiG-21s acquired by the Indian Air Force between 1963 and 1987 had already been retired due to wear and tear. Instead of 20 squadrons of MiG aircraft, by 2026, the Indian Air Force had just two Tejas squadrons consisting of 30 single-seat and six two-seat models. Field tests are being conducted to identify and rectify issues on aircraft from the initial production batch.

Like many Indian projects, Tejas is plagued by delays which result in technological obsolescence by the time of production. Consequently, the substantial financial investments in such programs fail to deliver the expected returns or strengthen India’s defense capabilities.

Indian manufacturers also developed a naval version of the Tejas. Testing began in 2020 aboard the INS Vikramaditya aircraft carrier (built by Russia under Project 11430) and continued three years later on the indigenously constructed INS Vikrant. The compact design of the Tejas offers advantages for hangar storage; however, with a standard combat load, it can only operate within a few hundred miles. During combat operations, the carrier would need to approach the target closer, increasing the risk of retaliatory strikes from the enemy.

After conducting evaluations, the Indian Navy concluded that such an aircraft was not suitable for carrier operations. The official reason for rejecting the LCA-Navy was its low thrust-to-weight ratio, which prevented full utilization of the aircraft’s potential when taking off from an aircraft carrier. In response to requests from Indian industry, further tests were conducted on an upgraded version, but its performance still fell short of naval requirements.

Coming to terms with the LCA-Navy’s inability to meet expectations, Indian aerospace engineers proposed a completely new aircraft – the Twin Engine Deck Based Fighter (TEDBF), which bears a striking resemblance to the French Rafale-M. This move signifies a concession by the creators and advocates of the Tejas, acknowledging their defeat in the competition for carrier aviation. Work on the TEDBF began in 2020. The prototype’s first flight is scheduled for 2032 and serial production is anticipated in 2038.

Meanwhile, last year, the People’s Liberation Army Navy received its third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, equipped with fifth-generation J-35 fighters. Construction has also begun on the fourth Type 004 aircraft carrier. It will likely have a displacement of around 100,000 tons and accommodate an air wing of 100 aircraft, including the J-35.

Dependence on the US

In coordination with the main contractor, Indian industry continues Tejas Mark IA testing, which started in spring 2022. Without waiting for these trials to conclude, the Indian Air Force has placed two successive orders totaling 141 single-seat and 41 two-seat aircraft, scheduled for delivery between 2027 and 2032. Production will take place at two facilities in Bangalore and Nasik.

Following this, production of the Tejas Mark II is expected to commence. The first test flight has faced multiple delays and is now expected no earlier than 2028. While no firm order has been placed for this new model, the Air Force leadership hopes to eventually have 18 squadrons of Tejas aircraft, including 10 Mark II variant squadrons. 

The idea to direct resources into producing fourth-generation fighters for the next decade seems imprudent, given that China has mastered mass production of fifth-generation aircraft and is set to begin transitioning to sixth-generation models in the coming years. Deliveries of Chinese J-35 fifth-generation fighters to Pakistan are underway, while existing JF-17s are being upgraded with systems and munitions developed for the J-35.

Negotiations for a licensed production agreement for the F414 engine have been challenging, largely because Washington is reluctant to share advanced General Electric technologies developed with Pentagon funding. The US is only willing to share some of the technology, omitting the most sensitive components.

The reluctance to fully share F414 engine technology can be explained by one factor: Washington seeks to maintain leverage over New Delhi by controlling the pace of the licensed production of engines for India’s frontline air force.

The second most costly imported component is the onboard radar system. Development of an indigenous MMR radar was halted due to unsatisfactory test results, leading to a preference for foreign alternatives. The prototype aircraft utilized the Ericsson-Ferranti PS-05 radar, originally designed for the Swedish JAS-39 Gripen. Delays in the LCA program rendered the PS-05 obsolete, resulting in its discontinuation. It has since been replaced by the EL/M-2032, which now equips Mark I variants.

Recently, Elta proposed the EL/M-2052 with an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar configuration. The manufacturer promises to refine it by the time Mark IA aircraft (formed in 2015) are delivered to the air force, projected for late this year or early next year. Various publications have diligently presented Israeli radars as a “temporary solution” for the Tejas program, but as seen with General Electric engines, “temporary” solutions often end up being used much longer than expected.

Strategic decision-making

The practical implementation of the LCA program has resulted in yet another fourth-generation supersonic fighter jet emerging on the global stage. However, the Tejas does not surpass its foreign counterparts. Technically, the Tejas Mark I barely matches the Chinese FC-1, which was adopted by the Pakistan Air Force as the JF-17 in 2007. At best, the Tejas Mark II might reach the level of the JF-17 Block III (with AESA, operational since 2023) and the J-10CE, which Pakistani pilots effectively utilized to fend off an Indian airstrike in May 2025.

Consequently, the Tejas cannot be viewed as a viable alternative to the Su-57E. Continuing the LCA program in its current form hampers the decision-making process, since the program competes for budget resources. Moreover, there’s another contender for state funding – the AMCA, with its first flight planned for 2034 and serial production slated for 2036.

In selecting a fifth-generation fighter program, decision-makers in India will need to consider numerous factors and criteria that can sometimes be conflicting and contradictory. Among these is the inherent bias towards domestic projects (i.e. AMCA, LCA, etc.), even if they may not be technically or technologically superior compared to the best foreign alternatives.

The desire to produce everything domestically is understandable, but there are many compelling arguments in favor of purchasing the best foreign technologies or producing them under license. The advanced Su-57E, a premier frontline fighter, is one of such example. For India, Russia remains a reliable partner as decades of effective military-technical collaboration have proven.

India has pulled nearly half a billion people out of poverty in little more than a decade, the World Bank has said. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government introduced a number of highly effective policies to help channel the benefits of the country’s rapid economic growth to the poor.

The feat is particularly impressive given that its population continued to grow during this period. It is now the most populous country on Earth, having overtaken China in 2023, and achieved poverty reduction much faster than its northern neighbor.

An estimated 496 million Indians were lifted out of poverty between 2011 and 2023, according to the World Bank’s October 2026 Poverty and Equity Brief.

The number of people living in extreme poverty, with an average income of $3 or less per day – declined from 27.1% of the population to as low as 2.6% during the period.

The proportion of Indians living below the lower-middle-income poverty threshold of $4.20 per day, measured at 2021 purchasing power parity (PPP), declined from 57.7% in 2011 to 16.1% in 2023.

A 2022 report, jointly produced by the World Bank and the Chinese Finance Ministry, showed that China had lifted 800 million people out of poverty, although it took four decades to do it. Beijing kickstarted its economic reforms in 1978 and the cited poverty reduction figures are from 2020.

It is not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison, but serves to show New Delhi’s remarkable achievement as India is a much smaller economy. China’s $20.85 trillion economy is now the world’s second-largest, while the Indian economy measures only about a fifth of that, at $4.5 trillion.

For much of the period when poverty rates were sharply declining, Modi led the country, having become prime minister in May 2014. His signature policy measure – direct benefit transfers – ensured the money from the government actually reached the bank accounts of the poor, rather than being siphoned off through various intermediaries.

The rapid economic growth under Modi’s stewardship also helped keep job generation far ahead of population growth. In the 2017-2023 period, employment in the South Asian nation increased by about 134 million people, with the job creation rate nearly twice the growth rate of the working-age population. 

Much of these gains were driven by rural women entering the paid workforce and raising the number of earners per household.

The World Bank also cited wage disparities in the South Asian nation, as median earnings among the top 10% of workers were about 13 times those of the bottom 10% in 2023. More than 824 million people, about one in ten worldwide, were living in extreme poverty in 2024, as per latest World Bank data.

Speaking at the Gas Exporting Countries Forum in Moscow on October 27, President Vladimir Putin warned that excluding Russia from global gas markets would raise costs for consumers. He also revealed discussions with potential American partners for exploring cooperation in Arctic gas development. This is happening even as restrictions on Russian energy projects remain in place. 

Putin’s remarks come amid continued disruption to LNG supplies. QatarEnergy has extended the suspension of certain deliveries into December, while India’s LNG import bill rose 23% to $8.5 billion during April-September, despite volumes increasing by just 4.4%.

For import-dependent economies such as India, the question is whether prospective Arctic cooperation could eventually expand supply options, or whether sanctions, pricing and transportation constraints will keep that possibility beyond commercial reach.

Arctic gas cooperation meets commercial reality

Russia’s interest in Arctic cooperation extends beyond developing its vast gas reserves. Following Putin’s October 27 remarks, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak clarified that discussions with Washington concerned potential joint development of gas fields and LNG liquefaction facilities, including opportunities involving Russian infrastructure.

Russia and the US compete for LNG buyers, yet Arctic development could give their energy companies reasons to work together. Russia could find opportunities to deploy its Arctic expertise and attract investment, while American developers could benefit from technology and infrastructure suited to challenging northern conditions.

Yet commercial interest alone cannot overcome the obstacles facing Arctic LNG development. Washington sanctioned Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 project in November 2023, subsequently extending restrictions to companies and vessels involved in supplying equipment and transporting LNG from the project.

In September, the Novatek-led Arctic LNG 2 project sought approximately $1 billion in damages from South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean in an arbitration dispute over cancelled contracts for specialized ice-class LNG carriers, highlighting the shipping complications facing Russian Arctic gas development.

The regulatory environment remains equally complicated. On October 16, President Donald Trump waived sanctions and tariffs under the Graham Act, but the decision did not automatically remove restrictions imposed separately on Russian LNG projects.

Beyond regulatory approvals, Arctic operations depend on a limited fleet of specialized carriers capable of navigating ice-covered waters. Seasonal conditions further restrict their deployment, making transportation capacity a critical consideration for new projects.

India’s LNG security faces an Arctic test

India’s response to recent LNG disruptions offers an indication of how importing economies may approach future supply arrangements. According to Kpler data for the month of October, the US, Oman and Nigeria accounted for 68% of India’s LNG imports between March and September, against 25% a year earlier. Qatar’s share fell sharply before shipments began recovering this month.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) projects India’s LNG requirements could reach 64 billion cubic metres annually by 2030, with the gap between contracted supplies and projected demand widening after 2028.

That gap could influence how Indian importers negotiate their next generation of LNG contracts. Long-term agreements offer greater supply certainty, while shorter commitments provide flexibility when demand or prices change. The balance between them will become increasingly important as India seeks to expand natural gas consumption.

Transport economics add another dimension. Analysis by Reuters in May estimated that shipping LNG from Russia’s Yamal project to India’s Kochi terminal via the Northern Sea Route could cost approximately $3.80 per million British thermal units (MMBtu), compared with $2.60-$2.70 through the Suez Canal using transshipment facilities at Murmansk.

In August, the Indian authorities announced plans for a joint Russia–India pilot voyage along the Northern Sea Route in 2027, alongside a bilateral cooperation agreement that is being negotiated. In September, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov confirmed these plans, stating in the future, Russian-Indian shipments along the NSR could reach 5 million tons annually.

The proposed voyage could help establish whether the NSR offers practical advantages for India-bound cargoes. For LNG, however, that assessment would require more than a successful transit, including evidence of year-round operating reliability and the costs of deploying specialised vessels.

Asia’s LNG market confronts a new supply equation

China offers an early indication of how Arctic LNG is entering Asian markets despite Western restrictions. According to S&P Global Energy, Chinese imports of Russian LNG increased nearly 25% during January-July 2026, supported partly by discounted Arctic LNG 2 cargoes. Reuters reported in June that Beijing was preparing a second receiving terminal for the sanctioned project’s shipments.

Yet stronger imports do not necessarily signal sustained demand growth. The IEA reported that Asian spot LNG prices averaged $17.50/MMBtu in the second quarter, up 45% year-on-year, and projected a 0.5%  decline in regional gas consumption during 2026 as higher prices encouraged fuel switching and reduced industrial demand.

China’s experience contrasts with that of other Asian importers. On October 1, Britain exempted certain Russian LNG shipments to Japan and South Korea from its sanctions restrictions until March 2028, but only for Sakhalin-2 supplies under existing contracts. India, meanwhile, declined an offer of sanctioned Russian LNG in May, according to Reuters, while remaining open to permitted cargoes. These differences show how sanctions compliance and contractual commitments can shape Asian buyers’ access to Russian gas, regardless of the availability of additional supplies.

Prospective US-Russia cooperation could bring additional Arctic gas into international trade, but new production alone would not redraw global LNG supply patterns. For India and other importing economies, the larger question is whether future projects can offer access on terms that improve their existing procurement choices. The Arctic’s next commercial breakthrough may depend as much on reaching buyers as on producing gas.

A helicopter crash in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand has killed all six people on board, including the pilot, officials said on Friday.

The helicopter owned by Trans Bharat Aviation Private Limited, with the call sign VT-HCX, was heading from Badrinath in Chamoli district to Dehradun when contact with it was lost at around 1:15 PM IST. It crashed into a hillside, local officials said.

“We have received the unfortunate news of a helicopter crash near Chayee village, close to Joshimath,” Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami posted on X. Joshimath is a sacred hill town in the Garhwal Himalayas.

Indian Army and local rescue teams were rushed to the scene of the crash. The Chamoli district administration later confirmed the deaths of all on board the chopper.

The five passengers on board the chopper were from the southern Indian state of Karnataka. The pilot, Capt. Himanshu Sabharwal, was from Delhi, reports said.

Heavy rains and poor visibility have been reported in the area, which is under an “orange” alert issued by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD). The IMD has forecast thunderstorms, hail, and gusty winds accompanied by heavy rainfall in many areas of the Himalayan state bordering China and Nepal.

The pilgrim site of Badrinath, from where the chopper took off, is part of the Char Dham pilgrimage route along with Kedarnath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri. Pilgrims take chopper rides to avoid difficult mountain treks on the route.

Aviation authorities have boosted inspections and imposed flight curbs following a spate of mishaps in the hill state’s pilgrim routes.

Seven people were killed in a helicopter crash involving pilgrims near Kedarnath in June last year, and a similar number of casualties were reported in another crash on the same pilgrimage route in October, 2022.

India will build an additional eight next-generation stealth warships at a cost of $4 billion for its navy, as part of a fleet expansion powered by a domestic shipbuilding program.

The Cabinet Committee on Security, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the project on Wednesday, ANI news agency reported, citing senior government officials. Contracts with two state-owned shipyards are expected to be signed in the coming days.

India plans to expand its navy to more than 200 ships by 2035, Navy chief Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi said in February. Forty-two vessels have already been ordered, while another 78 ships and submarines have received preliminary procurement approval, Vice Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Ajay Kochhar said earlier this month.

Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers, based in the eastern port city of Kolkata, is expected to build five of the new vessels. Goa Shipyard Limited on the western coast will construct the remaining three. The first warship is targeted for delivery in 2030, with efforts under way to accelerate construction, reports said.

$4BN Fleet Push: Centre Greenlights 8 Next-Gen Stealth Warships For Navy 🇮🇳💪 The Cabinet Committee on Security has cleared a landmark ₹40,000-crore project to construct eight Next-Generation Corvettes (NGCs), featuring an all-new indigenous stealth profile, 2,000-tonne displacement, and top speeds of 30 knots. (ET) The contract is expected to be signed with state-owned GRSE and Goa Shipyard Limited in the coming days, according to government officials quoted by ANI.

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) October 30, 2026

Each warship is expected to displace around 2,000 tons and reach speeds of 30 knots. They will feature a new stealth design developed by the Indian Navy, and sport more than 70% indigenous content, India Today reported.

Indian exports are set to cross $1 trillion in the 2026-27 financial year, government Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran has said.

The South Asian nation’s cumulative exports, including goods and services, totaled $476.20 billion in the April-September period, government data showed.

“We are on track to exceed or even achieve $1 trillion exports this year,” he said, pointing to the 13.84% growth recorded in the first half of the fiscal, from the year-ago period.

India’s total exports in the financial year ended March was 863.1 billion, with merchandize exports reaching 441.8 billion, and services exports at $421.3 billion.

To compare, China’s goods exports alone stood at $3.77 trillion in 2025, while overall US exports, including services, came in at $3.43 trillion.

Achieving the ambitious export targets would, however, require New Delhi to strengthen its manufacturing amid geopolitical tensions and supply-chain disruptions.

Sectors that received robust federal government backing should help deliver strong export numbers and provide the country with the ability to compete on import prices, the government’s chief economist said.

India is on course to exceed $1 trillion in exports in 2026-27, according to Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran. He described 2025-26 as a critical economic inflection point for India — comparable to 1991 in significance, not in crisis terms — after years of global supply-side shocks from the pandemic, the Ukrainian conflict, and tensions in the Gulf. https://t.co/hpFV5iIYKE

— Sputnik India (@Sputnik_India) October 29, 2026

“We have to insist on quid pro quo from the industry in terms of export competitiveness, and/or import parity,” he said.

Nageswaran also advocated setting up reservoirs of essential commodities as a way to deal with supply chain issues.

The South Asian nation clocked real GDP growth of 7.8% in the first quarter of 2026-27, making it one of the fastest-growing major economies in the world.

The US remained India’s largest export destination in the first-half of the fiscal year, with exports of $50.81 billion, up from $45.82 billion a year ago despite the tariff uncertainties and continuing negotiations over a trade deal.

India will not compromise the interests of its farmers in the trade deal it is negotiating with the US, the federal trade minister has said, amid warnings and protest calls from powerful farm groups against cheaper American agricultural imports.

New Delhi and Washington announced a framework for an interim trade agreement in February, but the pact is yet to be signed. Negotiations have faced repeated delays over market access and tariffs, and unpredictability in US tariff policies.

“Not a single sensitive interest of our farmers or any stakeholder has been compromised,” Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said at an industrial development conference in New Delhi on Thursday. He maintained that India would gain a strong competitive advantage once the agreement’s details are made public.

Sensitive sectors including dairy, meat, poultry, maize, cereals, and genetically modified foods would remain protected, a February background paper published by India’s Commerce Ministry said. The concessions include limited, reduced-duty import quotas for almonds, walnuts, and pistachios, while tariff reductions on certain other products would be phased in over up to ten years.

There would be zero additional US duties on selected Indian agricultural exports worth $1.36 billion, including tea, coffee, spices, and processed foods, according to the government.

The West African nation of Sierra Leone is looking to India and Russia for technology and expertise to process its mineral resources rather than remain a mere supplier to the world’s industrialized countries.

Sierra Leone wants to combine Russian mining expertise with Indian technology to develop its mineral wealth and expand domestic processing, the country’s Minister of Mines and Mineral Resources, Julius Daniel Mattai, told RT.

“Geology is not wealth,” the minister noted on the sidelines of the third Russia-Africa Summit in Moscow on Wednesday. He argued that mineral resources must be combined with knowledge and effective governance to generate economic benefits. Sierra Leone is seeking investment and technology for this move.

More and more African leaders are emphasizing local processing as they push to move their economies up the industrial value chain. It was also raised at the summit by African Union chair Evariste Ndayishimiye, who called for partnerships that would help African countries manufacture finished products, RT reported on Wednesday.

'Sierra Leone is Looking to Combine Russian Know-How With Indian Tech Talent’ - Julius Daniel Mattai, 🇸🇱's Minister of Mines & Mineral Resources ‘If we combine Russian knowledge, resilience, technology, education, with the intellectual capacity and capabilities of India, that means we have good friends,’ Julius Daniel Mattai tells RT India, on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa summit.

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) October 28, 2026

“We cannot accept a future where Africa supplies the minerals … while value addition and manufacturing take place elsewhere,” South African President Cyril Ramaphosa told the BRICS summit in New Delhi last month.

Sierra Leone is preparing to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Russian State University for Geological Prospecting covering scholarships, staff exchanges, laboratory access, and technology transfer, Mattai said.

Russia’s expertise in geological data interpretation, mineral processing, smelting and refining could support Sierra Leone’s mining industry, Mattai said. He stressed that reliable energy would be essential to expanding domestic processing and manufacturing.

India’s Adani Group is among the suitors for Dutch energy storage company VTTI, as the South Asian nation’s businesses aggressively pursue overseas deals linked to energy and manufacturing, Bloomberg reported.

VTTI’s massive terminal capacity acts as a vital buffer in times of supply disruptions and volatile commodity markets. A deal could value the Rotterdam-based VTTI at around $3.4 billion, the report said.

Adani Group, which is backed by billionaire Gautam Adani, has interests spanning ports to power generation, airports, data centers, and mining assets.

Australian infrastructure player IFM Investors Pty and energy and commodities trader Vitol SA have a 45% stake each in VTTI, with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) holding the rest.

ADNOC is reportedly open to shedding its entire stake in VTTI, which runs facilities that store and distribute crude oil and liquefied petroleum gas and biofuels, apart from linking these to transportation infrastructure – trucks, ships and pipelines.

“The only steel plant left in the Netherlands today is a Tata Steel plant,” says a smiling Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal in the Netherlands https://t.co/cjr3XKHfXP

— Shashank Mattoo (@MattooShashank) October 26, 2026

None of the businesses involved have publicly commented on the report.

With a net worth of $105.7 billion, Gautam Adani is India’s richest person, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

The Adani group has been at the forefront of Indian businesses pursuing overseas deals. It recently considered buying a stake in the UK’s largest port operator, Associated British Ports. IFM ultimately won that deal, which valued AB Ports at $13.4 billion.

In July, the group’s flagship Adani Enterprises raised $1.6 billion from institutional investors, to fund capital expenditure and debt repayment.

Earlier this month, Tata Motors cleared a milestone in its takeover bid for Italian truck manufacturer Iveco Group, receiving provisional acceptances that crossed the 80% stake requirement threshold, Reuters reported.

India’s Reliance Industries is also funding the construction of the first new oil refinery in the US in 50 years. The $300 billion facility, to be located in Brownsville, Texas, will be developed by America First Refining.

India’s long-planned refinery expansions could make it an even bigger diesel supplier in 2027, just as disruptions to Russian and Middle Eastern shipments have created an unexpected export opportunity for Indian refiners.

State-owned refiners plan to add 16.5 million tons of annual diesel production capacity next year, executives said at an industry conference in Goa on Tuesday. The projects were originally intended to meet India’s growing domestic fuel requirements, not the current global diesel shortage.

“The expansion is driven by a portfolio, but the opportunity is in diesel,” XAnalysts founder and chief oil analyst Mukesh Sahdev told RT.

Why are global diesel supplies tight even as oil demand is falling?

The US-Iran war has disrupted Middle Eastern fuel shipments, while attacks on Russian refineries and export restrictions have reduced supplies from another major producer. Diesel powers transportation, factories, and farms, and the shortages are largely driving the current price inflation and affordability crisis.

Global diesel and gas oil availability fell by 1.7 million barrels per day – equivalent to roughly two-and-a-half times Japan’s daily diesel consumption last year – in the third quarter, compared with a year earlier, according to figures from the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the Energy Institute.

Wholesale diesel prices surpassed $200 per barrel in September, nearly double their prewar levels, and reached around $220 in Europe and the US, the IEA said.

The shortage persists despite weakening overall oil demand, as diesel consumption has remained comparatively resilient and inventories have fallen, the agency said. On October 15, IEA members agreed to accelerate emergency stock releases, including over 20 million barrels of diesel.

How are Indian refiners positioned to benefit?

Indian Oil Corporation, the country’s largest refiner, expects expansions to add around 8 million tons of diesel a year. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation’s new Rajasthan refinery is expected to produce 3 million tons next year, while the expanded Numaligarh refinery in Assam state will add another 3 million tons, Reuters reported.

Bharat Petroleum Corporation plans another 1.5 million tons of annual output. In all, India’s plans will expand overall refining capacity from 267 million tons annually to 300 million by 2030.

The country already produces more diesel than it consumes.

Refiners produced around 59 million tons from April to September, against domestic consumption of around 46 million, according to Oil Ministry data cited by Bloomberg.

The additional volumes are coming onstream amid a global shortage, creating a commercial opportunity for projects originally designed around Indian fuel demand, ICRA senior vice president Prashant Vasisht told RT.

Russian crude ‘a natural fit’

New refining capacity alone does not guarantee more diesel. Refineries need suitable crude oil, while equipment limits how much of it they can turn into diesel, Vasisht explained.

“Indian refineries are also getting the right quality of crude oil,” Sahdev said, noting Russian, Iraqi, and heavier Venezuelan grades as suitable feedstocks for diesel production.

Russian crude is “a natural fit for the Indian system,” he added. The new Rajasthan refinery can process Russian Urals and Iraqi Basrah grades, S&P Global reported in July.

Sahdev said India’s reliance on Russian barrels has also grown as production from traditional suppliers in Malaysia and West Africa declined.

Can India fill the global supply gap?

India is already the world’s second-largest seaborne diesel exporter after the US, according to data analysis firm Kpler. Exports reached 596,000 barrels per day in September, compared with the year-to-date average of 482,000 barrels per day, the data shows.

Additional Indian production could make a meaningful difference to global supplies, but it cannot replace all the diesel lost because of disruptions affecting Russia and the Middle East, the analysts cautioned.

“We are providing very large quantities to Europe and some of the other regions, but these are still not enough,” Vasisht said.

Not all the additional diesel will be available for export. India’s growing domestic demand, refinery operations, and freight costs will determine how much reaches overseas buyers.

The IEA expects global refinery output to recover in 2027, but warns that depleted inventories could keep diesel markets tight well into next year.

But expanding production alone is not enough, Sahdev cautioned. India also needs stronger commodity-trading networks and financial mechanisms to capture the full value of its growing refining capacity.

“If India does not do this, then somebody else will make money on Indian capacity,” he said.

India has raised objections to a $686 million US package to upgrade Pakistan’s F-16 fighter jets and extend their service life, Indian media have reported.

Washington has gone ahead with the upgrade even as India and the US continue to deepen defense cooperation under a ten-year partnership framework signed last year. India and Pakistan, both nuclear-armed, clashed briefly last year with drones and missiles following a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 26 civilians.

Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, in his talks with US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Wednesday, also raised the possibility of sensitive American military technology supplied to Pakistan reaching third countries, the Economic Times reported, citing officials familiar with the discussions. The two officials met on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus in Cebu, Philippines.

The proposed package, notified to the US Congress in December, is intended to modernize Pakistan’s aging F-16 fleet and extend their operational life through 2040.

It includes 92 Link-16 tactical communication systems, avionics upgrades, secure communications, navigation equipment, spare parts, and training, according to a US Defense Security Cooperation Agency notification published last month. The package does not involve the sale of new fighter jets, and the US agency said it would not alter the basic military balance in the region.

📹 'Our Strategies Are Battle-Tested': Rajnath Singh Cites Operation Sindoor At ADMM Defence Meet 💪💥 🇮🇳 DefMin cited the operation as proof of New Delhi's counter-terrorism methods being battle-tested. He also offered to share that experience with ASEAN partners through joint drills and intelligence sharing.

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) October 29, 2026

Washington has maintained that the upgrades would support cooperation with Pakistan in counterterrorism operations, improve coordination between the two countries’ air forces, and address aircraft safety concerns.

India has previously objected to American support for Pakistan’s F-16 fleet, including in 2022 when Washington approved a $450 million maintenance package. Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar also questioned Washington’s justification that the aircraft were needed for counterterrorism operations.

Pakistan has restored overflight rights to two Taiwanese airlines after they stopped using its airspace three days earlier, according to AP, Bloomberg, and Dawn.

On Wednesday, Islamabad issued permits allowing Taiwan-based China Airlines and EVA Air to use Pakistani airspace until March 27, 2027, the outlets reported, citing official documents.

Hours earlier, Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif defended restrictions on Taiwanese carriers, citing Islamabad’s longstanding adherence to Beijing’s One-China policy.

“The aviation division follows the One-China policy – only mainland China is allowed,” Asif told Bloomberg. “We have permitted only Chinese airlines to fly over Pakistan.”

According to flight-tracking data, Taiwanese airlines began rerouting flights to avoid Pakistani airspace on October 25. Taipei condemned Islamabad for what it described as undermining Taiwan’s sovereignty and “politicizing and weaponizing airspace,” according to Taiwanese media.

Most countries, including the US and Russia, do not formally recognize Taiwan as an independent state. Beijing considers the self-governing island part of China and seeks reunification, preferably through peaceful means, but has not ruled out the use of force. Washington and several other Western governments maintain unofficial ties with Taiwan and supply it with weapons, drawing condemnation from China.

China and Pakistan maintain close political and military ties, describing their relationship as an “all-weather strategic cooperative partnership.” China is Pakistan’s principal arms supplier, and Islamabad has consistently supported Beijing position on Taiwan.

Taiwanese airlines largely avoided Russian airspace after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, although neither Moscow nor Taipei formally prohibited them from using it. Following the Pakistani restrictions, several Taiwan-Europe flights were rerouted through Russia.

According to Bloomberg, no country had previously imposed a blanket overflight ban on Taiwanese commercial airlines. In April, Seychelles, Mauritius, and Madagascar withdrew overflight clearances for Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te’s aircraft, forcing him to postpone a visit to Eswatini. Lai eventually made the trip in May.

India is building additional launch pads, deploying new technologies, and boosting private players and startups in an ambitious program to grow its space industry fivefold to $44 billion by 2033.

New Delhi introduced reforms to its space industry – where the publicly-owned Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) was the sole player – to promote private sector participation in 2020.

“Earlier, only ISRO could do end-to-end activities, while other companies were working as vendors to ISRO,” Vinod Kumar, director at the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe), told ANI recently. IN-SPACe is the regulatory and promotional agency for non-government entities in India’s space sector.

India’s space ecosystem has expanded rapidly since, with 50 large firms, 450 space startups, and 300 small and micro-medium enterprises currently active in the $8.4 billion market.

The growth comes even as the Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV) program, launched in 2023 with an outlay of $1 billion, is expected to triple India’s launch pad capacity. This additional launch capacity is critical for realizing missions including manned flights to the Bharatiya Antariksh Station and lunar exploration, as well as meeting launch demands from domestic industries.

“We have SSLV, and we have augmented launch capacity with a new launch pad at Kulasekarapattinam in (the southern state of) Tamil Nadu,” Kumar said. The SSLV is a launch vehicle for small satellites, crucial to meeting the rising demand from low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellations for internet connectivity and earth observation satellites.

“That business will (now) stay in India,” Kumar was reported as saying. Two Indian companies – billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Jio Satellite Communications, and Bharti Group-backed Eutelsat OneWeb – have sought licenses for providing satellite internet services in the country, alongside Elon Musk’s Starlink.

NewSpace India Limited, the commercial arm of ISRO, has signed 118 technology transfer agreements to enable the domestic industry to access and utilize technologies that its parent has developed. A rejigging of the space policy in 2023 and changes to foreign direct investment norms have also contributed to growth in the sector.

India launched a $102 million venture capital fund and $52 million technology adoption fund for space startups. The cumulative funding in Indian space start-ups touched $618.5 million as of March 31. The funding pattern has also shifted from early-stage seed support to larger, growth-stage rounds, according to the government.

India has invited Pakistan to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meet in Delhi, the first such invite since the armed stand-off between the two nuclear-armed South Asian countries last year.

New Delhi invited Pakistani Minister for National Heritage and Culture Aurangzeb Khan Khichi to the first SCO civilizational Dialogue Forum to be held on November 20-22.

This is the first time a Pakistani minister is being invited by India since the clash.  The stand-off, dubbed Operation Sindoor by New Delhi, followed a terror attack in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir that killed more than a score of Indian civilians.

If Khichi accepts the invite, it will be the first time since the SCO foreign ministers’ meeting in Goa in 2023 – attended by Bhilawal Bhutto – that a Pakistani minister would visit India. The forum is aimed at promoting cultural relations between member countries and promoting mutual understanding.

“There should be no double standards in dealing with terrorism, and no place for those who finance, support or provide safe havens to terrorists. The entire ecosystem of terrorism must be firmly and collectively dismantled,” Singh said in the presence of Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar.

The SCO comprises ten member states – Belarus, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan – and 15 dialogue partners, in addition to Afghanistan and Mongolia as observers.

A “very severe” cyclone slammed into India’s east coast on Wednesday, killing at least five people as winds of up to 150 kph uprooted trees and knocked out power. More than 180,000 people were evacuated before the storm hit.

Cyclone Arnab crossed the coast of Andhra Pradesh state near Yanam between 2 and 8 AM, with sustained winds of 125-135 kph. It weakened to a “severe” cyclone after moving inland, the India Meteorological Department said.

Satellite images show Arnab’s broad cloud bands stretching across large parts of eastern and southern India. Although its winds weakened after landfall, the authorities warned that heavy rainfall could continue through Thursday, raising the risk of further flooding.

The six-hour landfall battered coastal districts, including Kakinada, Konaseema, and West Godavari. Strong winds brought down trees and electricity poles, blocked roads, and disrupted power supplies. The coastal road near Uppada in Kakinada district was washed away, while flooding affected low-lying areas.

❗🚢 Sulphur-Laden Cargo Ship Runs Aground In Andhra Amid Cyclone Arnab (ANI Citing Local Authority) The vessel reportedly suffered engine failure after departing Visakhapatnam and drifted off course. Maritime authorities are monitoring the situation ahead of an inspection. 📹 Via ANI

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) October 28, 2026

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) confirmed the deaths and reported damage to 31 houses in Andhra Pradesh. Two of the fatalities were from electrocution, and at least one was killed by falling treees, reports cited officials as saying.

A cargo ship carrying sulfur ran aground on the Andhra Pradesh coast after its engine reportedly failed. The maritime authorities are assessing the vessel’s condition, reports said.

🌪️ Cyclone Arnab Unleashes Powerful Winds! Violent gusts are sweeping through the area, with winds reportedly reaching 150 km/h. Nature’s fury is on full display! Stay safe and follow local weather alerts. ⚠️🌬️ https://t.co/y6O5FgiiNU

— Veer Thakur (@veerthakur1906) October 28, 2026

Visakhapatnam district in Andhra Pradesh recorded 315 millimeters of rain by Wednesday morning; Koraput in neighboring Odisha state received 188 millimeters.

Ahead of the storm, officials evacuated residents across the two states, opened more than 2,000 cyclone shelters, and deployed nearly 1,100 medical teams to support communities in the storm’s path. The NDRF deployed 39 teams across Andhra Pradesh and Odisha states, and other regions that could be affected.

Operations at three Andhra Pradesh airports were suspended, dozens of trains were canceled or rescheduled, and some schools were closed.

The storm struck almost exactly a year after Cyclone Montha battered the coastline, damaging roads, power infrastructure, and crops.

Russia’s agricultural exports to India soared in the first nine months of the year, powered by sunflower oil shipments, the Russian agency Agroexport has said, citing estimates.

The federal agency told Interfax that shipments had reached 1.3 million tons between January and September, an 11% surge in volumes

Sunflower oil exports formed the major chunk of exports, accounting for $1.2 billion of the total $1.45 billion of exports, despite recent disruptions caused by attacks on Black Sea ports.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict delayed 60,000 tons of sunflower oil shipments bound for India, forcing New Delhi to boost palm oil purchases ahead of its November festival season, according to local reports, citing traders.

🇷🇺🌾🇮🇳 $1.45BN In 9 Months: Russia’s Agri Exports To India Rise By 34% (Interfax) Moscow said shipments reached 1.3Mn tonnes between January and September 2026. Sunflower oil led exports at over $1.2Bn, followed by soybean oil at around $150Mn. https://t.co/GfjizIGk9l

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) October 27, 2026

Agroexport said the January-September shipment numbers were the second highest recorded after the previous 2.5 million tons clocked in 2024, amounting to trade worth $1.7 billion.

India and Russia have set a target of $100 billion in bilateral trade by 2030.

Bilateral trade has grown by more than 20% so far this year, Russian State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin said on Sunday. Volodin is also seeking the removal of trade barriers and expansion of joint ventures to aid this growth.

Indonesia is looking to secure gasoline supplies from India amid rising energy prices and friction with Singapore over toxic haze in the region from forest fires, according to reports.

Indonesian Energy Minister Bahlil Lahadalia is slated to visit India and China this week to secure more gasoline supplies, the Jakarta Globe reported. “I will travel to several countries, including India and China, to ensure supplies,” Lahadalia said in Jakarta. 

Singapore, a major refining hub in the Southeast Asian region, accounted for half of Indonesia’s gasoline needs and supplied 28.36% of its oil and gas imports in the first half of 2026. However, Indonesia slashed its piped gas exports to the city state last week, days after Jakarta slammed neighboring countries that had complained about haze from intense forest fires on its territory.

The cuts have led to tensions between the two countries. Singapore depends on imported natural gas for about 95% of its electricity generation. The city state has not resorted to any retaliatory action, but its foreign minister is visiting Indonesia on Tuesday.

Indonesia is not the first country to look toward India for its fuel needs amid the global oil crunch. Last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio termed India a “refining superpower” as Washington sought to tap New Delhi’s oil refining capabilities to cool global fuel prices.

Indian refineries, especially the Jamnagar refinery complex owned by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, are configured to process both Russian and Venezuelan heavy crude. The latter, especially, is considered key to lowering global fuel diesel prices, as it yields a higher volume of the fuel.

India has demanded equal veto rights for all permanent members of an expanded United Nations Security Council (UNSC), warning that creating a second tier of permanent seats would reinforce existing inequalities in the global body.

New Delhi opposes proposals for long-term membership without veto powers, which would create “second-class” members while preserving the authority of the existing five, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Harish Parvathaneni, said during talks about reforming the UN in New York on Monday.

The Security Council currently has five permanent members – Russia, China, the US, the UK, and France – with veto powers, alongside ten non-permanent members elected for two-year terms. The council’s only expansion, in 1965, increased the number of elected seats from six to ten without changing its permanent membership.

In 1997, the then-UN General Assembly President Razali Ismail of Malaysia proposed expanding the Council, including adding five more permanent members but without veto powers.

“Fairness and justice demand that all permanent members enjoy the same rights and responsibilities,” Parvathaneni said, reiterating that veto powers must extend to new permanent members as long as the system exists.

📹 No Second-Class Permanent Seats: India Demands Veto Parity In Reformed UN Security Council Ambassador P. Harish emphasized that New Delhi’s position remains firmly aligned with the Common African Position, insisting that basic fairness and justice demand identical rights and obligations for all permanent members.

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) October 27, 2026

The Asia-Pacific region accounts for more than 60% of the world’s population, but has only one permanent seat; Africa and Latin America remain without permanent representation. The African Union formally presented its reform model, which calls for at least two permanent UNSC seats for Africa, carrying veto rights, earlier this year.

India and its G4 partners – Brazil, Germany, and Japan – have also called for negotiations on expanding both permanent and non-permanent membership.

India’s imports of Middle Eastern crude have surged to more than half of its total oil purchases, as steep Gulf discounts and soaring freight costs make Russian supplies less competitive for Indian refiners.

Middle Eastern crude accounted for 54% of India’s oil imports in September, up from 32% in August, while Russia’s share fell to 33.5% from 46.6%, according to ship-tracking data reported by Reuters. Russia nevertheless remained India’s largest individual oil supplier.

The shift is reflected in purchases by state-owned Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), which expects Russian crude volumes to decline significantly in November. Russian oil accounted for around 37% of BPCL’s crude sourcing during July-September.

India increased Russian oil purchases when the US-Iran war disrupted Middle Eastern supplies. However, Gulf shipments have since recovered to prewar levels, with producers offering steep discounts to attract buyers.

The conflict has driven up global tanker rates, making the longer voyages from Russian ports increasingly expensive. Average crude freight costs have risen nearly sevenfold over the past year, from around $3 per barrel to more than $20, according to Goldman Sachs. The bank cited war-risk premiums, higher fuel expenses, and costly ship-to-ship transfers.

Freight costs for Russian Urals crude shipped to Asia reached around $30 per barrel or more in early October. Transporting a tanker shipment from Russia’s Black Sea ports to India currently costs $27 million-$30 million, compared with approximately $19 million in September, Reuters reported.

Meanwhile, some Iraqi cargoes are being offered at discounts exceeding $25 per barrel against the Dubai benchmark before shipping, while selected Saudi shipments have been discounted by as much as $10, Bloomberg reported, citing traders. Russian crude, which previously sold at steep discounts, was being offered at around a $2 premium to the separate Dated Brent benchmark.

“Due to the increase in freight, we are not getting good offers from Russia,” BPCL finance director Vetsa Ramakrishna Gupta told analysts on Monday.

Indian and Russian troops have finished up the INDRA-2026 military exercises in Chelyabinsk Region. During simulated combat, they worked with drones, artillery, tanks, and robotic systems, making use of real-world battlefield experience.

The ground phase of the exercise ended on Friday after ten days at a Russian Central Military District training ground, Russia’s Defense Ministry said.

The final operation simulated the enemy occupying a settlement and establishing defensive positions. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and ground-based robotic systems carried out reconnaissance before artillery units and strike drones targeted mock command posts, weapons positions, and supply depots, clearing the way for a joint assault.

The joint contingents then advanced under cover from tanks, air defense systems, mobile fire teams, and first-person-view (FPV) drone interceptors. The forces practiced securing the settlement and pursuing the retreating enemy, completing the ground exercise.

The October 14-23 drills focused on joint command and control and coordinating operations against armed groups. The Russian contingent consisted primarily of personnel from the Central Military District’s 90th Guards Tank Division.

💥🇮🇳🇷🇺 Total Annihilation: India, Russia Unleash Drones, Tanks & Assault Teams In Massive INDRA-2026 Drills The joint contingents unleashed relentless firepower to encircle and wipe out simulated fortified enemy positions. 📹 🇷🇺 MoD https://t.co/gz4zLkZnzk

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) October 24, 2026

The exercise incorporated lessons from recent armed conflicts to improve combat readiness and coordination between tactical units, Central Military District combat training chief Sergei Pimenkov said at the closing ceremony.

”All assigned tasks were accomplished and the objectives achieved during the joint training,” he said.

For the air component of the exercise, Russian and Indian aircrews practiced coordinated missions using Su-30SM fighter jets, including engaging low-flying targets and maneuvering combat at medium and low altitudes. Mi-8 helicopter crews rehearsed special forces deployments and search-and-rescue operations.

”We have seen how professionally the Russian armed forces are working,” Indian Brigadier Shubhanshu Kamatnurkar told RT. He said the Indian troops were able to gain from the Russians' frontline combat experience during the exercise.

The INDRA exercises are part of regular military cooperation between India and Russia.

India’s interim trade deal with the US remains stalled as New Delhi reportedly refuses to accept a proposed 18% tariff rate and weighs politically sensitive agricultural concessions ahead of next month’s US midterm elections.

India wants to retain the current additional 10% levy on covered exports and could reassess negotiations after the November 3 elections, the Hindu BusinessLine reported on Sunday, citing sources familiar with the talks.

Under a framework agreed in February, Washington proposed reducing tariffs on several categories of Indian goods to 18%, from penalties of up to 50% imposed last year. In return, India agreed to lower duties on US industrial goods and selected agricultural products.

However, the negotiating landscape changed after the US Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s sweeping emergency tariffs later that month. Washington subsequently imposed a separate additional 10% duty on covered Indian imports under Section 301 of US trade law.

Around 55% of India’s exports to the US are subject to the additional levy, while products including generic pharmaceuticals and smartphones remain exempt, according to India’s Commerce Ministry.

New Delhi is seeking assurances that future US tariffs will not leave its exporters at a disadvantage to competitors in Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Indonesia, the BusinessLine reported. India also wants protection against further duties after an agreement is signed.

Agricultural market access remains another obstacle to finalizing the deal. Washington is seeking concessions on American farm products, including those from Republican-leaning states, while India has sought to protect sensitive sectors such as dairy, poultry, rice, and wheat.

Granting such concessions while accepting higher tariffs would be difficult to defend domestically, sources told BusinessLine. New Delhi is therefore reportedly inclined to wait until after the US elections before deciding how to proceed.

India has reminded developed nations that they have an equal responsibility to find solutions to conflicts around the world impacting people in the Global South.

“The Global South today faces a 4F crisis of finance, fuel, food and fertilizers,” Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar told a global forum on peace and international cooperation in New Delhi on Saturday. “The Global North must realize that it has equal stakes in finding solutions.”

The minister and career diplomat is known for his takedowns of Western narratives employed to coerce the Global South, including India, to isolate Moscow. Earlier this month he reminded the West that New Delhi’s ties to Moscow run long and deep, and will not be “easily forgotten.” 

With the Ukraine conflict now in its fifth year, and the Iran war disrupting energy supplies from the Middle East, Jaishankar called for “genuine dialogue” to bring them to an end. “We cannot remain helpless spectators,” he said, adding that India was expressing the global sentiment when it urged dialogue and diplomacy as the only solution.

A pleasure to join Chinmaya Amrit Mahotsav Global Sammelan celebrating the United Nations day. Underlined: ➡️ How ‘Advaita’ or ‘One Reality’ requires us to discard zero-sum game thinking and instead, focus on the collective, the shared, the common and our unity. ➡️ The indivisibility of peace, where war anywhere threatens peace everywhere. 🇮🇳 urges dialogue and diplomacy as a solution. ➡️ The need for stronger resolve in countering terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. ➡️ The equal responsibility of Global North in find solutions to ensure progress and prosperity for the world. ➡️ AI’s universal applicability and 🇮🇳’s advocacy for responsible, inclusive and human-centric approach. ➡️ The urgent need for reformed multilateralism and for the UN to show leadership in face of global crises

— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) October 25, 2026

New Delhi has consistently called for the Ukraine conflict to be resolved peacefully, and offered its own proposal earlier this month. Both the Kremlin and Kiev have welcomed India’s efforts.

The Indian position stands in stark contrast to that of Europe, which wants a seat at the negotiating table, but has still not named a negotiator. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted on Sunday that “the EU has been willing to [appoint a negotiator] for a very long time, but it either cannot do so or lacks the resolve to do so.”

Jaishankar said market distortions caused by constriction and chokepoints only add to the suffering of the people in the Global South.

The Indian foreign minister also called on the United Nations to show leadership rather than remaining a spectator to global crises, pointing out that the case for a reformed multilateralism is getting stronger by the day.

Trade between India and Russia has grown by more than 20% this year, Russian State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin said during talks in New Delhi on Sunday, where he called for the removal of trade barriers and the expansion of joint business ventures.

Volodin met the speaker of the Lok Sabha, Om Birla, ahead of the 12th BRICS Parliamentary Forum, which New Delhi is hosting on October 26-27. The discussions covered closer cooperation on trade, industry and agriculture, along with the strengthening of parliamentary ties.

Bilateral commerce reached $47.7 billion in the first seven months of 2026, up 24.3% from a year earlier, according to data from the Indian Commerce Ministry, cited by Russian lender Sberbank.

India imported $44.9 billion of Russian goods during the period, including $36 billion in crude oil. Indian exports to Russia totaled $2.8 billion, with Moscow increasing purchases of chemicals, electrical goods, medical equipment, seafood, tea, and spices.
Volodin credited Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with advancing bilateral ties.

🇮🇳🇷🇺 'Dynamic' Modi & Putin Set The Pace: Russian Duma Chief Says Moscow & Delhi Align On Global Issues Vyacheslav Volodin told Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla that bilateral ties are advancing across sectors, stressing that parliamentarians must ensure agreements reached by the countries' leaders are translated into law. The duo met ahead of the 12th BRICS Parliamentary Forum in New Delhi.

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) October 25, 2026

Lawmakers should “provide legislative support for all decisions made at the level of heads of state,” he said, according to TASS.
Birla highlighted opportunities to expand cooperation in nuclear energy and other industrial sectors, while calling for regular exchanges between the two parliaments.

The expansion in commerce comes as New Delhi and Moscow work toward reaching $100 billion in annual bilateral trade by 2030. India is seeking to narrow its trade imbalance with Russia by increasing exports of pharmaceuticals, engineering goods, chemicals, food products, and auto components.

The BrahMos corporation is working to add more destructive power and reach to its namesake supersonic cruise missile, following its spectacular combat successes last year.

The operational and functional parameters of the missile are being upgraded, and new versions are in the works, the CEO and managing director of the joint venture between India and Russia, Jaiteerth Joshi, told local media recently.

Named after the Brahmaputra and Moskva rivers, the BrahMos is engineered for high-precision, long-range strikes. The missile offers militaries the versatility to engage threats using land, sea, and underwater platforms. 

BrahMos earned its stripes last year when the Indian and Pakistani militaries briefly clashed with missiles and drones, following a terrorist attack on civilians in India’s Jammu and Kashmir state.

As the two militaries tested each other with drones, India fired BrahMos missiles to strike hardened high-value targets, including hangars reportedly housing Pakistan’s US-made F-16 fighter jets. 

India has said there was not a single interception of the BrahMos during the clashes, dubbed Operation Sindoor, and buyer interest has risen since.

BrahMos Aerospace is a joint venture between India’s DRDO and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya. 

BrahMos’ trajectory into the future

BrahMos started as a land-launched cruise missile, but its developers have worked to give it more flexibility and lethality as battlefield needs evolved and expanded.

The missile, which flies at nearly three times the speed of sound and carries a 200 to 300 kg warhead, had an initial range of 290 km but continuous upgrades have extended its reach.

There is also a Block III land-attack variant, which can fly very low and approach targets from unexpected angles – dodging any defenses the enemy may try to throw at it. 

The BrahMos corporation is working on a long and ambitious list of upgrades. At the top of the current development efforts sits a lighter, air-launched variant.

Christened the BrahMos-NG, it can be flown on the IAF’s other fighter jets, including the domestically produced Tejas light combat aircraft. The Su-30MKI will be able to sortie armed with three of these missiles.

The BrahMos-NG will feature higher domestically-produced content and advanced materials. The Indo-Russian joint venture expects to unveil this prototype by 2027-28. 

This long-range version is at the conceptual stage, and the company is discussing further upgrades with its Russian joint venture partner. Joshi has told Indian media outlets in recent interviews that the range-extension program will proceed in phases, with test firings from land, sea, and air to validate the missile’s operational capabilities. 

Also, on the missile maker’s drawing board is a hypersonic version – the new frontier of modern warfare – currently called BrahMos II. 

The concept aims to integrate advanced technologies, state-of-the-art design, and smart materials to field a hypersonic futuristic weapon that will dominate fast-evolving battlefield technology. 

BrahMos II will have an “air-breathing” scramjet engine that would boost it to a top speed of Mach 5. 

BrahMos is seeing high global interest

The missile has already been sold to multiple countries, and many others have shown an interest in buying it.

One of the first foreign customers of the Indo-Russian missile was the Philippines, with Manila signing a $375 million contract in 2022. The first batch of BrahMos missiles was delivered to the country in April 2024, and the second in April 2025. 

In June this year, India confirmed it had a deal with Vietnam to supply the missiles.

Indonesia, which has also evinced interest, has moved forward with procurement plans. 

In addition, over a dozen nations including Malaysia, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Chile, and South Africa have evaluated or expressed a formal interest in the BrahMos missile system.

BrahMos is gearing up for a demand surge

The BrahMos project is a trailblazer in India’s defense industry. It broke the shackles of excessive bureaucratic controls that were once the hallmark of Indian state-owned defense corporations that had forced the country to remain a major arms importer. 

With a burgeoning order book, BrahMos corporation is prioritizing the fulfillment of orders received from the Indian armed forces, for whom the missile is a primary strike weapon. India recently contracted for more BrahMos launchers and fire-control systems, so more of its warships can be armed with the missile. 

The missile maker now has production facilities in four Indian cities: Hyderabad, Nagpur, Pilani and Lucknow. Research and development clusters, nicknamed ‘tech-bricks’ have been set up to work on niche technologies for the next generation missiles. 

The supply chain is being expanded to make it more robust and resilient – and to meet an expected surge in demand. For this, the company will expand the industry partners for each system and subsystem to up to 45, from the current one or two partners. 

India’s arms export ambitions ride on BrahMos 

New Delhi is gradually setting its sights to make a complete transformation from being one of the biggest arms importers to a major defense exporter. 

The federal government’s annual defense production target is $31 billion by 2029, of which defense exports are pegged at $5.5 billion. 

BrahMos will be key to New Delhi’s ambitious goals to emerge as a major global arms exporter.

Thousands of Indian Umrah pilgrims remain stranded in Saudi Arabia with airlines extending flight suspensions following attacks on the kingdom’s airports.

Affected travelers and their families have spoken to RT about canceled flights and difficulties in returning home, and appealed for more help from the Indian government.

The disruptions come amid a wave of attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Saudi Arabia. An Indian national was killed and two others injured in a strike on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam on Wednesday.

Indian carrier IndiGo on Friday extended cancellations to Jeddah, Medina, and Dammam until October 27, while flights to Riyadh will remain suspended until October 31. Akasa Air has also suspended services to Riyadh and Jeddah until October 27.

Mohammed Yahad, an Umrah pilgrim stranded in Medina, told RT that two tickets for his group had been canceled. He said he was safe and in contact with his family back in India, while his travel agent was providing food and accommodation.

”No one from the Indian Embassy has contacted us yet,” he said.

Around 3,000 pilgrims have returned to India on available flights over the past week, alongside more than 10,000 others traveling on scheduled services, India’s Foreign Ministry said Thursday.

Indian lawmaker Asaduddin Owaisi separately estimated that around 4,000 pilgrims remained stranded in Mecca and Medina.

Their travel agent later confirmed that he had been moved safely to Mecca. The agent was also covering food and accommodation, but their return could take another week, Ansari said.

”I would like the Indian government to speak with the Saudi government and find a solution to this problem,” she told RT.

Indian Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said Friday that the government was assisting pilgrims still awaiting their return. Indian diplomatic missions in Riyadh and Jeddah are coordinating with airlines and tour operators and have established round-the-clock helplines.

Fourteen Indian sailors on board a yacht which was attacked in the Red Sea on Thursday have been rescued, New Delhi’s mission in Yemen has said.

“Reports suggest that all 14 Indian nationals are safe and located around Hodeidah in Yemen,” the Indian mission in Yemen said in an X post on Friday. The embassy will continue to work to ensure their well-being, it added. 

On Thursday, the embassy said Indian officials were working to find out more details about the reported strike on the yacht. It said information was sparse due to the conflict in the region.

“We have reached out to different parties to establish the circumstances and facts of the incident and hope to update as soon as authentic information becomes available,” it said in the X post.

Reports suggest that all 14 Indian nationals are safe and located around Hodeidah in Yemen. We will continue to work for ensuring their well being.@MEAIndia

— India in Yemen (@IndiaInYemen) October 23, 2026

“The Saudi enemy is targeting an Indian yacht near Zuqar Island, carrying 14 people of Indian nationality, according to preliminary information,” Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree posted, according to an NDTV report. “The Yemeni Armed Forces are rescuing them and will provide more details later.”

The incident comes after an Indian national and a Saudi citizen were killed in an attack by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels on Dammam airport on Wednesday.

Houthi fighters have unleashed a wave of attacks against Saudi Arabia as retaliation for the kingdom’s backing of the Yemeni government they oppose.

India will not cut off Russian crude supplies even if the current US push for it to take in more Venezuelan oil to cool global fuel prices masks the larger goal of weakening New Delhi’s energy ties with Moscow.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in Mumbai on Tuesday that India diversifying its energy supplies is a “smart thing to do.”
 
Some analysts see a hidden geopolitical and economic goal behind those words and Rubio’s push for Indian conglomerate Reliance to buy and refine more Venezuelan oil.

“A key US goal is to weaken the Indo-Russian relationship by steering India farther away from Russian crude,” geopolitical analyst Brahma Chellaney posted on X on Thursday.

“Washington’s underlying diplomatic objective is to get India to substitute Russian oil with US crude and US-controlled Venezuelan oil.”
 
Washington imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods in August 2025 to pressure New Delhi over its Russian oil purchases, arguing that Moscow’s energy revenues were helping finance its military in the Ukraine conflict. The penalty was withdrawn in February this year.

Last week, US President Donald Trump also waived separate sanctions and steep tariffs targeting major buyers of Russian energy under a recently passed law, citing ongoing US efforts to negotiate an end to the Ukraine conflict.

During his Indian tour, Rubio sought to get India to buy more U.S. energy as well as more oil from Venezuela, whose export revenues are directly deposited into an account controlled by the U.S. Treasury, with Washington determining when, how much and for what purposes the funds are released. Rubio wants the world’s largest oil-refining complex in Jamnagar to process more Venezuelan crude. Washington appears not to be content with India’s rapid emergence since May as a top global buyer of U.S.-sourced and U.S.-controlled energy supplies. The U.S. has already become India’s largest supplier of both liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). At Washington’s urging, India has also become the largest destination for Venezuelan oil exports. A key U.S. goal is to weaken the Indo-Russian relationship by steering India farther away from Russian crude. While Rubio framed India’s efforts to diversify its energy portfolio as a “smart thing to do,” Washington’s underlying diplomatic objective is to get India to substitute Russian oil with U.S. crude and U.S.-controlled Venezuelan oil.

— Dr. Brahma Chellaney (@Chellaney) October 21, 2026

“What America is trying to do is gain greater control over the international oil market,” Jindal School of International Affairs adjunct professor and former Jawaharlal Nehru University professor, Anuradha Mitra Chenoy, told RT.

“India will continue purchasing Russian oil,” she added.

Russia remains India’s largest oil supplier amid global energy disruptions. Russian crude made up more than half of India’s oil purchases in July, although the share fell to 33.5% in September as Middle Eastern supplies recovered and competition from China intensified, Reuters reported.

Venezuela produced approximately 1.16 million barrels per day of crude in September, compared with Russia’s 8.43 million, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). India’s Russian imports alone exceeded Venezuela’s entire output that month.

India, looking to widen its crude basket amid the global uncertainty, has already expanded Venezuelan purchases substantially. New Delhi’s Venezuelan imports surged from $255 million in all of FY2026 ended March, to $3.6 billion in the April-August period this year, data shared by the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) think tank showed.

India is a fast-growing major economy and one of the few bright spots amid the macroeconomic headwinds blowing across the world. The IMF forecasts it to grow at 7% this year and next.

Sustaining that growth depends heavily on the availability and affordability of energy, Chenoy pointed out. “India cannot simply abandon Russian oil because Washington wants it to.”

Why Venezuelan oil cannot easily replace Russian crude

Venezuela’s Merey grade is being offered at around $25 per barrel below benchmark Brent, but that cost advantage disappears when the $35-a-barrel freight to India’s west coast is added in, energy analyst Natalia Katona told the Indian Express.

The discounts on Russian crude have also narrowed and freight costs risen, making its delivered price comparable to some Middle Eastern grades, particularly Iraqi oil, reports said.

Still, it would be tough for Venezuelan oil to compete with Russian crude, let alone replace it for Indian buyers, because of the limited production, higher cost, and specialized equipment needed to refine the heavy grade.

Reliance’s Jamnagar complex, which can process around 1.4 million barrels daily, is among the refineries equipped to handle the Venezuelan grade.

From the American perspective, Merey has one advantage that likely prompted Rubio to rush to India amid higher fuel prices back home: it can produce a higher volume of diesel.

However, that is not a great reason for India to replace Russian crude with Merey.

India has questioned Western nations for imposing climate-related trade barriers on developing economies despite Europe’s historical contribution to the climate crisis the world is facing now.

Wealthy countries built their economies using fossil fuels but are now imposing additional costs on poorer nations, Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal told the Berlin Global Dialogue on Thursday.

“Who’s responsible for this mess in the first place?” Goyal asked, referring to the West’s carbon emissions, and challenged the European Union’s environmental trade restrictions.

India accounts for around 17% of the world’s population but has significantly lower per capita emissions than Europe, Goyal pointed out.

The minister questioned the $100 billion annual climate finance commitment made by wealthy countries to help developing economies address climate change. The target, first agreed upon during UN climate negotiations in 2009, was extended through 2025 under the Paris climate process.

📹 ‘Who’s Responsible For This Mess?’ Piyush Goyal Gives Europe A Climate History Lesson Goyal reminded Europe that it built its economies on cheap coal, questioning its climate demands on India despite the country having “one of the fastest growing clean energy program.” https://t.co/ji6ShNq0BH

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) October 23, 2026

“Eleven years later, we haven’t seen a nickel or dime of that. It’s all promises,” Goyal said.

He argued that the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) fails to recognize the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, under which developed countries are expected to shoulder a greater burden in addressing climate change.

The mechanism places carbon-related costs on imports of steel and other emissions-intensive products. Brussels has justified it by saying it ensures imported goods face carbon costs comparable to those paid by European manufacturers.

India’s concerns echo a position adopted by BRICS leaders at their September summit in New Delhi. The declaration opposed unilateral and discriminatory carbon border measures that could undermine developing countries’ efforts to address climate change.

Indian and Russian air force crews practiced joint drills in Russia’s Chelyabinsk region as part of the wider inter-service Indra-2026 military exercise.

The Russian Aerospace Forces and the Indian Air Force (IAF) teams engaged in joint operations in Su-30SM fighter jets during the drill. The focus of the operations was on actions against small, low-flying targets and destroying carriers of short- and medium-range aerial weaponry.

The personnel also performed air combat maneuvers at medium and low altitudes, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Thursday.

The Su-30SM is a modernized version of the Su-30MKI model, the IAF’s workhorse fighter jet. It has been modified with Russian-specific avionics, radar, and communication systems and has extreme agility.

The IAF is also running its own program to upgrade and make its Su-30MKIs more lethal and survivable, under the ‘Super Sukhoi’ program, at the state-backed Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.

The $7.5 billion modernization program aims to upgrade an initial batch of 84 Su-30MKI fighter jets, with plans to eventually expand to over 200 more aircraft, extending the fleet’s service life through 2055.

Russia’s Rosoboronexport agency earlier highlighted that the modernization program can be performed with significant involvement from the Indian defense industry, while the facilities involved in the manufacturing of the Su-30MKI can be used for co-manufacturing of the Russian fifth-generation Su-57E fighter jet, if India decides to go ahead with Russia’s proposal.

The exercise’s aim was to build operational capabilities in deploying special forces units and for search-and-rescue operations in hazardous and difficult terrains.

The maritime phase of the drills took place in the Gulf of Peter the Great near Vladivostok over the weekend and involved the Russian Pacific Fleet corvette Aldar Tsydenzhapov and the Indian Navy frigate INS Sahyadri

The land exercises will end on Friday, with troops practicing joint command and control and operations against simulated armed groups.

An Indian national and a Saudi citizen were killed in an attack on Dammam airport on Wednesday night, authorities have said.

Two other Indians were amongst the injured, Saudi authorities informed the Indian Embassy in Riyadh.

At least eight people were injured, according to media reports quoting Saudi’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA). Those included Saudi, Indian, Yemeni, Bangladeshi, and Nepalese nationals, according to reports.

The US mission in Riyadh has issued an alert for more possible attacks.

“We are ascertaining further details and contacting the affected families,” the Indian Embassy in Saudi said in an X post on Thursday. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and loved ones of the deceased, and we wish speedy recovery of the injured.” 

“We strongly condemn the continued attacks on civilian and energy infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, including the attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam and Saudi Aramco’s Shaybah oil field in the Eastern Province on October 21,” India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.

The MEA also said that attacks on civilians and critical infrastructure are completely unacceptable and must “cease immediately.”

Our statement on attacks on civilian and energy infrastructure in Saudi Arabia ⬇️ 🔗 https://t.co/CT1ZHRz8q4 https://t.co/gbwyQ5Vpjr

— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) October 22, 2026

Earlier on Wednesday, two people were killed when Saudi air defenses intercepted a drone heading toward Aramco’s Shaybah oilfield, the kingdom’s energy ministry said.

The incidents come amid a wave of attacks unleashed by Houthi rebels against Saudi Arabia as retaliation for the kingdom’s backing of the Yemeni government.

In all, 13 people were killed and hundreds injured when the Houthis struck the King Khalid International Airport last week.

The US State Department on Wednesday directed its diplomats and their family members in its missions across the country to leave the kingdom.

US President Donald Trump has said he expects the finalization of a “much different kind” of trade deal with India soon, boosting hopes that a breakthrough is near after months-long negotiations appear to have stalled over bilateral trade concessions.

Earlier this month, Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the negotiations hit a “plateau,” making further concessions difficult for both sides.

India, which currently faces 10% tariffs on exports to the US, has sought an advantage over its competitors in South Asia in the American market. In return, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is willing to allow market access to US companies, apart from some sectors in which local industries could be harmed.

“They want to make a deal. We’re going to make a deal. Pretty close, yeah… It’s going to be a much different kind of a deal than we’ve done,” Trump told reporters at the Oval Office on Tuesday.

The US president did not explain what he meant by a “much different deal” and did not provide a time frame.

A trade deal would offer a significant boost to a host of India’s export-oriented sectors, including pharmaceuticals, engineering goods, textiles, electronics, and information technology-related services, NDTV reported.

The recent passage of the Russia sanctions act – which gave Trump the authority to impose up to 100% tariffs on Russia’s top oil buyers, including India – frayed ties and threatened to stall the trade talks.

Trump, however, suspended these sanctions last week, in what was seen as a conciliatory gesture to New Delhi.

A Kuwait-flagged tanker carrying 21 Indian seafarers was struck by an unidentified projectile in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, the second time the ship was attacked in less than two months. All crew members were reported to be safe following the attack.

The oil-products tanker MT Al Dasma was hit about 11 nautical miles west of Bukha, Oman, sparking a fire that was later extinguished. The vessel remained stationary following the strike, according to maritime security reports.

India is monitoring the situation and remains in contact with the ship’s management company to ensure the crew’s safety, Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said on Wednesday.

“All 21 of our Indian crew members, along with the rest of the crew are completely safe,” Sonowal posted on X.

⚠️ IMPORTANT UPDATE ⚠️ On Oct 21, Kuwait-flagged oil product tanker M/T AL DASMA, carrying 21 Indian seafarers, was struck by an unknown projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz. All 21 of our Indian crew members, along with the rest of the crew are completely safe. We are continuously monitoring the situation and remain in close contact with the ship management company to ensure the ongoing security and wellbeing of our seafarers.

— Sarbananda Sonowal (@sarbanandsonwal) October 21, 2026

The tanker was previously attacked on September 7, southeast of the Strait of Hormuz, according to the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The vessel was damaged in both incidents, with no pollution reported.

Indian crews have been caught in several recent attacks on commercial ships in the Middle East. On October 16, the tanker MT ST 3, carrying 15 Indian seafarers, was struck by a projectile in the Strait of Hormuz. All crew members were reported safe.
Five days earlier, two Indian sailors were reported missing after the tanker MT Petro Dolphin was struck near Oman. Another tanker, MT Valthera, was hit the same day, but all 11 Indian seafarers aboard were unharmed.

The Antigua and Barbuda-flagged bulk carrier Cape Dao also sank near the strait on October 14, weeks after an attack killed an Indian seafarer.

The IMO had recorded 119 confirmed maritime incidents and 24 seafarer deaths across the Strait of Hormuz and the wider Middle East as of October 21.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said Thursday that four vessels allegedly involved in illegal oil transfers were struck and caught fire in the northern Persian Gulf on Wednesday.

New Delhi previously condemned the recurring attacks on commercial shipping and called for immediate de-escalation through dialogue and diplomacy.

“Attacks on commercial vessels, seafarers and civilian infrastructure must cease,” India’s Foreign Ministry said on October 11, stressing the need to protect freedom of navigation and the uninterrupted flow of maritime commerce.

After spending years pressuring New Delhi to cut back its Russian oil purchases, and isolate Moscow, Washington has now changed tack and is seeking India’s help to bring down elevated domestic fuel prices that are largely of its own making.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who skipped New Delhi entirely on his second visit to India this year, made clear what had brought him to the country – the massive refining capacity of Reliance Industries, owned by billionaire Mukesh Ambani.

“I’m also here in my capacity as the National Security Adviser,” Rubio said in Mumbai. “Energy is related to national security … we’re going to go see a company that has a tremendous amount of refining capability.”  

President Donald Trump’s administration is showing a new urgency to bring down the high fuel prices that threaten Republicans’ prospects in November’s midterm elections. US retail diesel prices reached a record average of about $6.32 a gallon on Tuesday.

American refineries are already operating at close to capacity, and Washington is working with India to increase refining output and bring more petroleum products to global markets, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in Houston the same day. 

“Energy politics is inseparable from American geopolitics,” Jindal School of International Affairs adjunct professor and former Jawaharlal Nehru University professor Anuradha Mitra Chenoy told RT. “The US is using energy as a geopolitical instrument, and that is central to understanding Rubio’s visit.”

From Russian oil tariffs to Venezuelan crude

Washington has regularly used energy sanctions to achieve its geopolitical aims. First it took Iranian, and then Venezuelan, crude off the market with the threat of sanctions. Since the Ukraine conflict began, Washington also pressured India to stop buying Russian crude. The argument was that choking off Moscow’s oil revenues would help end the conflict, which is now in its fifth year. 

New Delhi has maintained that providing affordable energy to its 1.4 billion people is central to its oil-purchasing decisions. India imports about 85% of its energy requirements, and Russia remains one of its biggest sources of oil.

But the pressure reached a breaking point when the US Congress passed a law last month that threatened “bone-crushing sanctions” on major buyers of Russian energy. New Delhi warned that the proposed measures could affect bilateral relations and global energy markets. 

Trump announced a deal with Russia to buy diesel for the domestic market. And cleared the deck for Rubio’s visit by waiving off sanctions on Moscow’s top oil buyers – which includes China and India, allowing Russian oil to flow more freely into global markets.

“None of these tariffs are meant to punish or harm India,” Rubio said in Mumbai, adopting a more conciliatory tone than has come out of Washington until recently.

Why Reliance, and Jamnagar, matter to Washington

Washington’s top diplomat held talks with Mukesh Ambani at Jamnagar in India’s Gujarat state on the second day of his visit. The Reliance refinery in Jamnagar is the largest single-site refining complex in the world, and can process around 1.4 million barrels of crude a day.

It is also one of the few facilities capable of processing large volumes of Venezuela’s extra-heavy crude, which is good for producing diesel – showing its importance to a US administration worried about domestic fuel prices. 

Jamnagar already plays a major part in keeping global fuel prices in check – by selling fuel refined from Russian crude to markets including Europe, which sanctions the same crude.

And it is buying more Venezuelan oil, accounting for more than 74% of the nearly $3.6 billion worth of Venezuelan crude imported by India between April and August, according to figures shared by the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) think tank.

Rubio wants Reliance to buy, and process, more of the Venezuelan crude, which the US now controls after kidnapping the country’s President Nicolas Maduro.

“The refining capability exists,” GTRI founder Ajay Srivastava told RT. “The question is whether expanding purchases makes commercial sense.”

Venezuelan crude is cheaper but it also costs more to refine, he pointed out. He also questioned the wisdom of India buying more of the South American country’s oil, which was once subjected to US sanctions. 

“It would be very unwise for India to stop using Russian oil,” Chenoy said, pointing out that there are only a limited number of major sources available internationally, and Russia remains one of the most important.

Reliance is also involved in a proposed refinery project in Brownsville, Texas, under a long-term agreement to purchase its output. The facility, which Trump called a $300 billion project in March, is designed to process lighter American shale crude. 

The Indian conglomerate “helps utilize and unleash the energy that is being developed in the Western Hemisphere,” Rubio told the Indian Express, describing his visit as an opportunity to identify ways of diversifying energy supplies.

Rubio dodges a Musk-ignited controversy

Ahead of his meeting with Ambani, Rubio had to sidestep the controversy ignited by trillionaire Elon Musk.

The world’s richest man, a prominent donor to the Republican party, had accused Ambani earlier this month of obstructing the launch of his Starlink satellite internet service in India.

Musk targeted Ambani, sarcastically addressing him as “Prime Minister Ambani” and questioning whether his company would allow Starlink to compete in the country.

Reliance also dismissed suggestions that it was blocking competition. 

“Elon Musk is a private citizen,” Rubio told the Indian Express, adding that Musk had the right to express his views.

Rubio also sought to assuage concerns about the India-US trade deal, which has been holding fire despite months of tortuous negotiations. Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman described the talks as deadlocked earlier this month, saying both sides were finding it “very difficult” to make further concessions.

“We are weeks, not months, away from, I think, finalizing it,” Rubio said. “I would say we are about as close as you can be without having executed the agreement.” 

India has been holding off on finalizing the deal as it wants to lock in a competitive advantage in the US market relative to rival exporter nations. 

Pragmatism back on the table

The US administration turning on the charm, so to speak, suggests that Washington’s energy and political interests are taking precedence over its geopolitical considerations and moral grandstanding.

With pragmatism back on the table, Rubio’s visit could mark a step toward easing bilateral tensions and strengthening cooperation beyond the immediate fuel crisis driving the change.

Still India must “carefully examine what it is being asked to commit to, what commercial benefits it can expect, and the risks of future changes in US policy,” Srivastava said.

Russia’s Ural Airlines will start direct flights to Delhi next week, as it seeks to benefit from a spurt in business travel and tourism between the two countries.

The flights will operate from Ural Airlines’ base, Koltsovo Airport in Ekaterinburg, to New Delhi three days a week, on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, the airline told RT India.

The service will start on October 25.

“The decision to launch regular flights was driven by both commercial and strategic reasons,” the airline said, citing strong demand and the availability of a suitable fleet of Airbus aircraft.

Ekaterinburg is the largest transport and industrial hub in the Urals. Direct flights from the city will significantly slash travel time from the Urals and Siberia.

Russian Ambassador to India Denis Alipov recently said the number of airline services to India a week could soon jump nearly fivefold to 71 from the current 15.

“Siberian Airlines (S7) and Ural Airlines are actively working on the possibility of launching regular flights to Delhi from Novosibirsk and Ekaterinburg,” Alipov told RT.

“We are awaiting a response from our Indian partners,” the ambassador said.

Officials in Tatarstan also previously indicated they are in talks with the East-West Group and Russian authorities about launching direct flights to India, including to its financial hub, Mumbai.

India and Russia are similarly boosting ties in the civil aviation sector. Two Indian domestic airlines have signed agreements on buying 85 Russian passenger aircraft, as Moscow and New Delhi move to expand cooperation in civil aviation and manufacturing.

The new services come amid an expected surge in activity in various sectors including tourism, pharmaceuticals, agriculture and food processing, information technology, engineering, and transport and logistics. India and Russia expect bilateral trade to hit $100 billion by 2030.

The ideological parent of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has slammed talk of regime change in the country in the wake of protests in Europe as a deliberate ploy by Western forces.

Citing recent political upheavals in neighboring Bangladesh and Nepal and the raging protests in France and Albania, the head of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Mohan Bhagwat, said on Tuesday that such movements were fueled by forces pursuing vested interests inimical to the interests of the country.

“There are many powers in the world that want India to lose,” he said.

RSS, the world’s largest voluntary and Hindu nationalist organization, has between an estimated 4-6 million members across India.

“A storm has blown in from the West,” Bhagwat added. “India is their main target because India is progressing. Regime change will not happen in India.”

The row ignited when a leader of India’s Aam Aadmi Party, Prashant Bhushan, said at a press conference last week: “We want regime change… what is wrong in this?”

Uddhav Thackeray, a former Modi ally in the western Maharashtra state, also demanded “regime change” on Tuesday.

Their comments followed the massive protests by the opposition parties and the youth-led satirical Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) in the Indian capital earlier this month demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over millions of names being cut from the voter rolls following a nationwide revision exercise.

The other opposition parties have not explicitly described the protests as an effort at toppling the Modi government.

“They claim that changing a regime will change the situation, but that has never really happened,” the RSS chief said at a rally. “Problems will remain, and protests are inevitable in a democracy.”

He added that the protests should be aimed at finding solutions.

The CJP’s protests have found resonance across the country, and police action against the protesters has triggered backlash.

The RSS chief slammed the “forces” exploiting social differences by injecting a sense of victimhood among communities. He urged political leaders, protesters, and administrators to refrain from pursuing a divisive agenda.

India and the US are “very close” to finalizing a bilateral trade deal, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said.

“We are very, very close,” Rubio told reporters in Mumbai on Tuesday, with US Ambassador to India, Sergio Gor, by his side. “I would say we are about as close as you can be without having executed the agreement.” The two countries have been negotiating the deal for months.

Although the US Supreme Court threw out the tariffs that President Donald Trump imposed on India, along with on other countries, New Delhi has held off signing the deal as it sought terms that gave it a competitive advantage in the US market.

However, Trump recently waived “bone crushing sanctions” on the buyers of Russian oil, including India – the prospects of which had worried policy planners in New Delhi – removing a potential major obstacle to the deal.

Rubio called India a very important partner, and said there will be some good news to announce very soon.

#WATCH | US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visits the Gateway of India in Mumbai, Maharashtra, accompanied by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. #MarcoRubio #IndiaUSRelations #Mumbai #DevendraFadnavis https://t.co/BxifwllfGf

— DD India (@DDIndialive) October 20, 2026

On Monday, while in Uzbekistan, Rubio showed that the Trump administration recognizes New Delhi’s arguments about buying Russian oil. India is the world’s third biggest crude importer and the second largest buyer of Russian oil.

“Every country has a complex set of factors that they ⁠have to take into account,” he told reporters. “Geography is real. For some countries, it’s very difficult to acquire energy from alternative sources.”

Rubio’s focus on his trip, the second this year to India, is oil. He is meeting Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, who owns the world’s largest refinery complex at Jamnagar in Gujarat state, on Wednesday.

Tapping Reliance’s massive refining capacity and allowing its output to flow into the world markets is important for the administration’s push.

Calling India a “refining superpower,” Rubio said he will talk with Ambani about Reliance buying more Venezuelan oil. The Reliance refinery is configured to refine the heavy Venezuelan crude.

Rubio said “energy is a matter of national security as well,” justifying his focus on oil.

He is also meeting with Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in Mumbai.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Mumbai on Tuesday and visit a major oil refinery in western India the next day as he makes his second visit to the country this year. 

Washington’s top diplomat is leaving New Delhi out of his itinerary and is focusing instead on diesel supplies and business deals as high fuel prices weigh on the prospects of US President Donald Trump’s Republican Party ahead of November’s midterm elections.

Rubio is scheduled to visit the Jamnagar refining complex of Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries on Wednesday, where he is expected to meet with its billionaire owner Mukesh Ambani.

The Trump administration is emphasizing business deals over policy and politics as American voters focus on the economy, experts told CNBC.

Why Jamnagar has become important for US

Reliance, India’s largest private company, operates the world’s biggest single-site refining complex at Jamnagar – in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Gujarat state – which is capable of processing around 1.4 million barrels of crude a day.

The facility’s importance as a major supplier of refined fuels globally has increased as disruptions in the Middle East and Russia squeeze diesel supplies, with ripple effects on US markets. 

US diesel prices averaged $6.29 a gallon in September, according to the Energy Information Administration. The International Energy Agency has warned that global shortages could persist into 2027.

Reliance has cranked up increased exports amid the crunch. Its diesel shipments to Europe reached around 4-5 million barrels in July, a ten-month high, while exports to Brazil also rose, Reuters reported.

Any additional Indian diesel flowing to global markets would help ease diesel prices and explain Rubio’s trip to Jamnagar. 

Jamnagar, unlike many other refineries in India, can process Venezuela’s heavy crude. Venezuelan deliveries scheduled for India could more than double to around 465,000 barrels a day in October, according to ship-tracking firm Kpler. All of those listed Sikka, the port serving Jamnagar, as their destination, Bloomberg reported. 

Trump has also waived key sanctions and tariff provisions under a new law targeting the Russian energy trade, potentially making more Russian crude available to refiners. Rubio said that Washington was assessing the economic impact of further restrictions, including on countries dependent on Russian oil such as India.

Ambani has invested in Trump’s dream

Rubio’s meeting with Ambani is significant for another reason. 

Reliance is backing a proposed refinery in Brownsville, Texas, designed to process American shale oil. The planned facility would handle 168,000 barrels a day, with the company agreeing to purchase the output under a 20-year arrangement, Reuters reported.

The developer has described it as the first new US refinery in half a century. It will be designed designed for American shale oil. The full investment and construction costs remain undisclosed.

The refinery is key to bringing to the US consumer the benefits of Trump’s efforts – under the political slogan “drill, baby, drill” – to increase domestic fossil fuel production.

The project also adds another strand to the economic ties between New Delhi and Washington, even as both countries inch toward closing a bilateral trade deal following months of negotiations. 

The deal’s first phase has entered legal drafting, Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said last week.

Washington and New Delhi are “very close” to finalizing the deal, Rubio said Monday, adding that trade negotiations were among the factors considered in Washington’s sanctions decisions.

Trillionaire vs. billionaire

Rubio’s expected meeting with Ambani comes on the heels of Elon Musk’s public outbursts attributing delays to the launch of his Starlink satellite internet service in India to the Indian billionaire.

Musk, who has Trump’s ears, accused powerful business interests of obstructing Starlink’s entry and even blamed Ambani for the delay, referring to him as “Prime Minister Ambani” in a X post.

Reliance, whose telecommunications business Jio serves more than 530 million customers in India, has denied blocking competition. It has welcomed Starlink and pointed out that its own satellite venture was awaiting New Delhi’s security clearance.

India has also denied favoring domestic companies in the approval process. Musk subsequently acknowledged Reliance’s response, saying, “Much appreciated.”

Rubio cannot avoid politics

Rubio’s decision to hold talks in Mumbai rather than New Delhi has drawn criticism from India’s opposition Congress party.

Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi snarked that Rubio “summoned his employee to Mumbai,” while senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh questioned why the American ambassador announced details of Jaishankar’s schedule.

In the US, six Democratic lawmakers urged Rubio to raise concerns over the detention of anti-government protesters in New Delhi and the alleged use of excessive force. Their October 16 letter also sought an investigation into reports that Indian diplomatic missions monitored protesters in the US.

Meetings with foreign dignitaries outside the capital are not unusual, India’s Foreign Ministry pointed out, citing previous engagements in several cities. It confirmed that Rubio and Jaishankar would discuss energy, trade, investment, defense, and emerging technologies.

The Trump administration prioritizes business over politics, and it may well be that the global energy situation – and a billionaire – have placed New Delhi in a sweet spot to benefit from that.

Russian and Indian warships have completed joint naval drills off Russia’s Pacific coast, conducting live-fire exercises and practicing defenses against drone attacks as part of the wider Indra-2026 military exercise.

The maritime phase of the drills took place in the Gulf of Peter the Great near Vladivostok, involving the Russian Pacific Fleet corvette Aldar Tsydenzhapov and the Indian Navy frigate INS Sahyadri, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday.

INS Sahyadri arrived in Vladivostok on October 10 and conducted harbor engagements before operations at sea.

The crews fired naval artillery at surface and aerial targets, carried out coordinated maneuvers, and tested communications between the vessels. They also practiced repelling attacks by unmanned boats and aerial drones representing a simulated enemy. The Russian corvette used 30mm automatic guns, small arms, and electronic warfare systems to counter the simulated threats.

The exercises culminated in a simulated joint operation to rescue a civilian vessel seized by pirates. Russian and Indian naval counterterrorism units boarded the vessel and neutralized the attackers, with drone operators coordinating their movements.

An Indian helicopter landed aboard the Russian corvette shortly after a Russian helicopter took off. The crews then exchanged mannequins representing wounded sailors as part of a casualty evacuation exercise, RT correspondent Igor Zhdanov reported from aboard the Russian warship.

Indra-2026 began on October 14 and involves land, naval, and air forces from both countries.

The land component will continue in Russia’s Chelyabinsk Region until October 23, with troops practicing joint command and control and operations against simulated armed groups. Russian and Indian aircrews are also conducting exercises involving Su-30SM fighter jets and Mi-8 helicopters.

The previous edition of the exercise was held off the coast of the southern Indian city of Chennai.

The deployment builds on the longstanding defense partnership between Moscow and New Delhi and carries forward cooperation discussed during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India last December, India’s Defense Ministry said.

India has asked Meta to review how Facebook and Instagram recommend content, citing concerns that their algorithms disproportionately promote certain narratives, amid protests over disputed voter rolls in New Delhi.

The advisory from India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) calls for changes to content-ranking systems to prevent misleading, manipulated, or out-of-context material from being repeatedly recommended to users, news agency PTI reported on Monday after reviewing the document which was issued on October 10.

Meta has been asked to act immediately and inform the government of the steps taken.

The advisory comes amid demonstrations by the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and opposition parties demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over a nationwide electoral-roll revision.

Opposition groups allege that legitimate voters have been excluded and that the exercise benefits Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Election Commission and BJP deny manipulating voter lists. The advisory does not identify any specific protest as the reason for its issuance.

The document calls on Meta to prevent users from being disproportionately exposed to a “single or limited set of narratives” and ensure greater diversity of credible information.

India’s IT Ministry has received reports from government agencies suggesting that Meta’s algorithms favor certain kinds of content, PTI reported, citing sources in the ministry.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Russia next year for his annual summit with President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin said on Monday, after preparing for a visit this year.

”More likely next year,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS when asked whether Modi would visit before the end of the year.

Putin invited Modi to Russia for the 24th Russia-India Annual Summit during his visit to New Delhi last December. The two leaders meet on a rotating basis under a strategic partnership established in 2000.

Preparations for the visit were already under way in May. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Modi confirmed during their meeting in New Delhi that it is his turn to visit Russia this year. Lavrov was in India for a meeting of BRICS foreign ministers.

Modi and Putin last met in September during the BRICS summit in New Delhi, when the Russian president renewed his invitation. Modi accepted, with the dates to be finalized through diplomatic channels, according to the Indian Prime Minister’s Office.

Moscow, however, raised the possibility of a 2027 visit last month. A visit this year is possible if Modi’s schedule permits, but Russia will otherwise arrange the meeting in the first half of next year, Kremlin presidential aide Yury Ushakov said.

Cooperation has also advanced on workforce mobility. Putin signed an agreement on the temporary employment of Indian and Russian nationals last week.

India remains a natural partner for Russia as Moscow strengthens its relations with Asian countries, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said last week. Maintaining strong ties serves the interests of both nations and the world, he added.

Improved connectivity, including more direct flights, could act as a catalyst for stronger bilateral trade between India and Russia, Manish Synghal, board member of the East-West Group of companies and chairman and managing director of Dimaz Group, has told RT India in an exclusive interview.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Russia-India TIME Business Forum in Kazan, central Russia, Synghal said, “Easier travel procedures, subject to the respective governments’ policies, and more direct air links can stimulate tourism, business travel, investment and people-to-people exchanges.”

Officials in Tatarstan, of which Kazan is the capital, told the media they are in talks with the East-West Group and the Russian authorities about launching direct flights to India, including to its financial hub, Mumbai.

“A Kazan-Mumbai connection is worth exploring, provided a detailed assessment confirms sustainable passenger demand, commercial viability and the necessary regulatory clearances. With the right cooperation between governments, airlines and the tourism industry, such initiatives could create meaningful benefits for both sides,” Synghal said.

Asked about India’s efforts to diversify trade in response to tariff pressure from key trading partners, Synghal said diversification was “a strategic necessity for India,” adding that “our objective should not be to replace one market with another, but to build a broader, more balanced and sustainable network of international trade partnerships.” He said he sees potential in tourism, civil aviation, pharmaceuticals, agriculture and food processing, information technology, engineering, and transport and logistics.

Police detained Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke in the Indian capital New Delhi on Friday, hours before the start of a rally called by the youth-led movement demanding the resignation of the country’s election chief over disputed voter rolls.

The march was called after CJP leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were jailed for five days on Wednesday for allegedly entering Jantar Mantar, a central Delhi site recently removed from the list of approved protest venues in the Indian capital. Dipke had urged supporters to gather with Indian flags at Connaught Place’s Central Park.

Another prominent activist and student leader, Neha Bora, was also detained near Jantar Mantar.

More than 25,000 police and paramilitary personnel were deployed across New Delhi and nearby areas, with barricades, surveillance cameras, and drones used to monitor the planned gathering.

The rally went ahead despite the detentions, with around 2,000 protesters gathering in and around Connaught Place holding the national flag, local media reported, citing police estimates.

How many will the Modi-Shah put under arrest? Abhijeet’s detention is gross violation of his rights. Every arrest this government makes more youth will hit the streets! https://t.co/rb0vqyBkbR

— Cockroach Janta Party - CJP (@Cockroachisback) October 16, 2026

The Indian capital has seen back-to-back protests in the last two weeks by the opposition parties and the satirical CJP movement demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over a nationwide electoral-roll revision that has removed more than 130 million names.

Opposition groups allege that eligible voters have been excluded and that the exercise benefits Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Election Commission and BJP deny the allegations. The poll body says any wrongly excluded voters can seek reinstatement of their names in the rolls.

It is the second time Dipke has been detained as Indian authorities try to choke off the protests. He was detained from a plane when he landed in Delhi on Saturday but was later released.

Police had earlier visited the residence and served Dipke notice warning him against holding the rally. Authorities said Connaught Place, a business and commercial area in the heart of the Indian capital that is also known as Rajiv Chowk, was not an authorized protest venue and urged him not to disrupt traders, commuters, and other members of the public.

The New Delhi Municipal Council closed Central Park for two days, and the police offered to facilitate a symbolic flag ceremony involving 11 people at a “suitable location.” The Delhi High Court had declined to prohibit the rally on Thursday but recorded police assurances that the gathering would be regulated.

Trade between India and Russia reached $38 billion in the first half of this year and is on track to reach the $100 billion annual target set for 2030, Indian Ambassador to Russia Vinay Kumar has said.

“We think we are on the right path to achieve the target,” Kumar told The Tribune newspaper on the sidelines of the second Russia-India TIME Business Forum in Kazan on Thursday. He said India was sourcing energy and fertilizers from Russia while exporting pharmaceuticals and expanding opportunities for skilled workers.

The two countries are making a concerted effort to diversify trade and deepen economic ties, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin giving personal attention to the relationship. The Kazan forum, in the Russian Republic of Tatarstan, follows the INNOPROM.India trade fair held in New Delhi last month.

The $100 billion trade target was set during Modi’s visit to Moscow in July 2024.

15 октября 2026 года в Казани состоялось торжественное открытие II Российско-индийского бизнес-форума «TIME: Индия – Россия. Взаимная эффективность», организованного Генеральным консульством Индии в Казани совместно с Агентством инвестиционного развития Республики Татарстан. Форум объединяет представителей органов государственной власти, деловых объединений и ведущих компаний Индии и России, преследующих общую цель — укрепление практического сотрудничества и разработку новых совместных проектов. В церемонии открытия приняли участие Председатель Государственного Совета Республики Татарстан г-н Ф.Х. Абдулганиев, Чрезвычайный и Полномочный Посол Индии в Российской Федерации Его Превосходительство г-н Винай Кумар, член Законодательного собрания Дели Шри Хариш Кхурана, а также другие высокопоставленные представители органов власти и деловых кругов. В программе двухдневного форума – выставка «Индия и Россия: межрегиональное партнёрство», серия экспертных сессий по вопросам образования, культуры, промышленности, информационных технологий, туризма и другим направлениям, встречи в формате B2B, промышленные экскурсии, культурная программа, Фестиваль индийского кино и другие мероприятия. @PMOIndia @MEAIndia @PIB_India @DDNewslive @airnewsalerts @ANI @PTI_News @IndianDiplomacy

— India in Russia (@IndEmbMoscow) October 15, 2026

The strong growth in trade has continued beyond the six-month period cited by the Indian envoy. Bilateral commerce reached $47.7 billion in January-July, up 24.3% year-on-year, according to Indian Commerce Ministry figures cited by Russian lender Sberbank.

India’s imports from Russia totaled $44.9 billion during the seven months, including $36 billion in crude oil purchases. Indian exports reached $2.8 billion as Russia bought more chemicals, electrical goods, medical equipment, seafood, tea, and spices.

India and Russia’s Republic of Tatarstan are exploring joint data center and digital infrastructure projects, with Indian cloud provider Bharat AI Cloud planning to sign a cooperation agreement with the region’s IT Park.

The plans emerged at the second Russia-India TIME Business Forum in Kazan on Thursday. A technology hub in India’s southern Telangana state has expressed interest in jointly developing infrastructure in Tatarstan, the Russian region’s deputy minister of digital development, Bulat Gabdrakhmanov, said.

The proposed partnership could allow both sides to exchange cloud technologies and expertise. Bharat AI Cloud, which earlier announced plans to open an office in Kazan, is also looking to enter the Russian market.

Russia has established data infrastructure providers, while India’s large domestic market offers opportunities for expanding digital services, director of the Chamber for Indo-Russian Technology Collaboration (CIRTC), Subham Sarkar, said at the forum.

The discussions build on earlier cooperation between the two sides. At last year’s TIME forum, Tatarstan’s IT Park signed a three-year agreement with CIRTC to promote technology partnerships, investment, and market access.

Officials also explored building an artificial intelligence data center with Indian operator CtrlS in October last year. The proposed project remains under consideration, with its progress dependent on electricity costs, market demand, and opportunities to expand in Russia, according to Tatarstan’s Digital Development Ministry.

India has explored similar arrangements with other countries. In January, New Delhi and the United Arab Emirates agreed to examine the possibility of establishing digital embassies under mutually recognized sovereignty arrangements. The two countries also discussed cooperation on data centers.

The India-Tatarstan discussions extend beyond data infrastructure to healthcare, AI, cybersecurity, and digital public services.

Russia could offer Indian partners domestically developed operating systems, office software, email platforms, and messaging services, the Tatarstan Information Technology Center’s deputy director general, Kamil Gazizov, said at the Kazan forum. He also highlighted opportunities for both sides to work together against cybersecurity threats.

The push for deeper economic engagement between India and Russia is at the heart of the second Russia-India TIME Business Forum that opened in Kazan on Thursday.

The results of the effort, kickstarted when Russian President Vladimir Putin visited New Delhi in December, are already visible in Kazan, capital of the Republic of Tatarstan. India’s trade with the Russian region is surging, and exceeded $1.09 billion in the first six months of the year – a more than ninefold rise from the same period a year ago. The figure also surpasses the roughly $400 million recorded for all of 2025, according to regional authorities.

Both countries are seeking to expand joint manufacturing and investment projects by capitalizing on this momentum.

India’s ambassador to Russia, Vinay Kumar, said relations with the Russian region have been on a positive trajectory since Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Kazan for the BRICS summit in 2024. He noted the growing trade, the higher number of Indian students and businesses in the region, and the opening of an Indian consulate in Kazan.

“Tatarstan offers opportunities in trade and investment,” Kumar said, adding “mutuality of interest between India and Tatarstan to take the relationship forward is giving an impetus not only to regional ties but also India-Russia relations.”

Following negotiations at the INNOPROM.India exhibition in New Delhi last month, Tatarstan’s investment agency signed cooperation agreements with Indian companies working in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, biotechnology, and pharmaceuticals.

The discussions mark a shift “from general declarations to substantive negotiations” on production and joint ventures, Tatarstan Investment Development Agency chief Taliya Minullina said ahead of the forum.

Indian companies could also supply electronic components to Tatarstan’s manufacturers, while Indian cloud provider Bharat AI Cloud has announced plans to open an office in Kazan.

“Our relationship goes deep into history, where our roots intersect,” Lerner said. “It’s not surprising. Trade routes passed through Tatarstan.”

The event has a strong cultural component this year. Alongside an Indian film festival and a musical project titled ‘Purana Symphony’, Tatarstan’s renowned craftsmen are presenting their wares.

“What is very important is that some of them saw similarities with their culture,” Lerner said.

The first TIME forum last year resulted in 19 cooperation agreements involving businesses, educational institutions, and regional authorities.

Workforce cooperation also expanded. Tatarstan issued 978 work permits to Indian nationals during the first eight months of 2026, compared with 665 throughout last year. Earlier this month, Putin signed off on an agreement with India on temporary employment, as Russian companies seek more workers in manufacturing and other industries.

Russia and India have launched joint tri-service military exercise Indra-2026 involving army units, warships, and air force assets.

The bilateral military maneuvers are aimed at improving coordination and operational compatibility between forces of the two countries.

The opening ceremony for the land component was held at a Central Military District training ground in the Chelyabinsk Region on Tuesday, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The land phase of the exercise will run until October 23, with the two sides practicing command and control and carrying out a simulated joint operation against illegal armed groups. The Russian contingent will be made up primarily of troops from the 90th Guards Tank Division. 

In Vladivostok, the opening ceremony for the naval component was attended by the crews of the Russian corvette Hero of the Russian Federation Aldar Tsydenzhapov and the Indian Navy frigate INS Sahyadri, which arrived in the Russian Pacific port several days earlier.

Russian and Indian officials said the exercise will contribute to stability in the Asia-Pacific region.

One segment will also include joint action against attacks by unmanned aerial vehicles and unmanned boats.

The air component will see Russian and Indian Air Force crews flying Su-30SM fighter aircraft fly drills against small low-flying targets, simulate strikes on carriers using short- and medium-range airborne weapons, and air combat practice at low and medium altitudes.

Crews flying Mi-8 helicopters will also practice inserting special forces and conducting search-and-rescue missions in difficult terrain.

Oman overtook the US as India’s largest supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in September, as disruptions to shipments through the Strait of Hormuz reshaped New Delhi’s gas imports.

Overall, India’s LNG purchases were 7% higher than a year earlier despite a sharp decline in supplies from Qatar, according to commodity analytics firm Kpler.

India imported around 590,000 tons of LNG from Oman during the month, compared with 340,000 tons from the US, which had been its largest supplier in August. Nigeria emerged as the second-largest supplier, followed by the US and the UAE.

The decline in American shipments to India came as European buyers stepped up purchases ahead of winter, attracting LNG cargoes that might otherwise have gone to Asia. More than half of US LNG exports went to Europe in September, according to financial data provider LSEG, cited by Reuters.

The shift also reflects India’s efforts to secure supplies outside the Strait of Hormuz, where shipping has been severely disrupted since the US-Israeli war with Iran began in February. Unlike Qatar and the UAE, Oman’s LNG exports do not pass through the strait.

Qatar, previously India’s largest LNG supplier, saw its September shipments fall nearly 90% year-on-year. Iranian attacks on its Ras Laffan energy complex in March damaged production facilities, while restrictions on shipping continue to limit deliveries.

US donors opposed to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are funding the country’s youth-led ‘Cockroach’ protest movement, American singer Mary Millben has alleged, calling for a peaceful counter-movement. Her remarks come as two leaders of the group were jailed for five days following a protest in New Delhi.

Unnamed American donors are financing Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke and his movement, Millben claimed in a X post on Wednesday. She said such donors follow a pattern of recruiting US-educated activists to challenge conservative leaders in their home countries.

Dipke earlier rejected foreign-funding allegations, saying CJP organizers and friends pool money to finance protests.

The American singer performed India’s national anthem at an Indian diaspora event attended by Modi in Washington, DC, in June 2023, during his state visit to the US.

Millben backed Modi, saying the Indian prime minister would not yield to disruptive forces from the US. She did not identify the alleged donors, or provide evidence of any financial transfers. 

To all the beautiful young patriots in India: This is not the time to be silent. @abhijeet_dipke and the @Cockroachisback are being funded by donors in the U.S. who are against Prime Minister @NarendraModi and your future under his leadership. Do not fear, my young patriots. Your Prime Minister, who has served India for 25 years, 12 years as Prime Minister, elected three consecutive terms, is not going to bow to disruptive forces from my country. And these select donors have a pattern globally - target conservative global leaders, find an U.S. educated person from the country, radicalize them, send them back to the country, and fund them to start chaos and destruction. None of them have been successful but have impacted the development and governance of the country. It is time for a new voice in #India, born, raised, educated on the soil of India, to RISE UP, organize, and peacefully protest the disruptive spirit of the Cockroach Party. There should always be a counter movement to uphold democracy and freedom. Rise up, young patriots! Rise up!

— Mary Millben (@MaryMillben) October 14, 2026

The Indian capital saw massive protests last week, spearheaded by the opposition despite police locking down the city. They were demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over a nationwide electoral-roll revision that has removed more than 130 million names since last year, including those recorded as deceased, relocated, or untraceable.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has also accused CJP leaders and opposition politicians of attempting to destabilize India at the direction of foreign powers.

“This is not the time to be silent,” Millben wrote, urging young Indians to organize peaceful demonstrations against the CJP. “There should always be a counter movement to uphold democracy and freedom.”

The two were detained for allegedly violating undertakings to maintain public order that they had given following their detention last weekend.

The CJP emerged from a viral satirical post responding to remarks by India’s chief justice comparing unemployed youth to “cockroaches.” The movement has since organized protests over education, employment, and the alleged irregularities in voter lists.

India remains a natural partner for Russia as Moscow turns increasingly toward Asia amid its deteriorating relations with European nations, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar has said. Maintaining strong ties with Moscow serves the interests of both countries and the wider world, he added.

Russia’s relationship with Europe has become “pretty much a broken, embittered relationship,” pushing Moscow to strengthen its ties with Asia, particularly China, Jaishankar told the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in New Delhi on Tuesday.

He noted that Russia had historically considered itself a European country and valued its relationships with both Europe and the US, but that sanctions following the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine had pushed it toward Asia.

The European Union on Monday adopted new sanctions targeting 826 Russian companies and 743 executives, saying the restrictions were intended to increase pressure on Moscow over the Ukraine conflict.

🇷🇺🤝🇮🇳 'India Is A Natural Option': Jaishankar On Russia’s Pivot To Asia The EAM asserted that it is in both 🇮🇳’s and the world’s interest that 🇷🇺 has other major options in Asia - framing New Delhi's 75-year partnership as an essential geopolitical stabilizer. https://t.co/vuzrW4JnXk

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) October 14, 2026

The Indian foreign minister said it is in New Delhi’s interest, and that of the wider world, for Russia to have multiple choices and maintain substantial partnerships with other Asian powers. “We are a natural option in that regard,” Jaishankar said, pointing to nearly eight decades of steady relations between New Delhi and Moscow.

India has continued to assure Russia that despite changes in the international order and Moscow’s strategic calculations, the longstanding bilateral partnership remains intact, he said.

The relationship has served both countries and contributed to the balance of power in Asia, Jaishankar added.

Russia has completed the ratification of its labor agreement with India, with President Vladimir Putin signing the document on Monday. The pact, which eases the procedures for hiring temporary employees, comes as Moscow seeks more Indian workers to address labor shortages.

The State Duma approved the pact on October 1, followed by the Federation Council a day later.

The agreement covers Indians working in Russia and Russians employed in India under employment or service contracts. It also applies to full-time students taking temporary jobs outside their studies.

“The agreement is clearly significant for Russia as there is a need for manpower, both qualified and unqualified,” a research fellow at the Center of the Indo-Pacific Region, Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Gleb Makarevich, told RT. “For India, it creates opportunities to export labor, increase remittance inflows, and somewhat ease the social burden on the country’s broader system of governance.” 

“With this agreement we can clearly see the institutionalization of the cooperation on labor mobility between the two countries, and we can expect a further increase in the number of Indian workers going to Russia,” he added.

Russian authorities have estimated an immediate shortage of at least 2.3 million workers in the country. Sberbank, its largest bank, has called for easier entry procedures for Indian workers to help address shortages in the construction industry.

"Russia is facing a labour shortage, which has become the main factor holding back economic development,” researchers at the India Lab at the Moscow School of Management, Igor Gundobin and Lydia Kulik, wrote in a report titled ‘Human Capital in India and Russia: In Search for Complementarity’.

“India sees itself as a talent pool for the global economy for the coming decades and is actively pursuing the opportunities for educational and labour migration with all its key partners.

“The strategies of India and Russia are thus complementary, and their demographic structures are mutually reinforcing,” they added.

The labor agreement and a separate accord to combat irregular migration were signed in New Delhi last December during Putin’s visit to India. 

The agreements are the “first ones of their kind,” Kulik told RT separately. “They are framework documents setting very important parameters for future engagement between the two countries in the field of labor mobility.”

“There is still a lot that needs to be done between the two countries to make the process of employment efficient and transparent,” she added. “This includes setting up robust digital networks and adaptation of employees and their employers to working responsibly.”

Workers will still need employment permits and must work in the jobs for which those permits were issued. The agreement requires foreign employees to receive pay and working conditions no less favorable than those offered to local workers in comparable positions.

Employees laid off because of business closures or staff reductions will be entitled to compensation under local laws. Pension, social security, and medical insurance provisions will also be governed by host-country legislation and applicable bilateral agreements.

The agreement will formally take effect once both governments complete the required domestic procedures and exchange written notifications.

India will be the world’s fastest-growing major economy despite the drag from higher oil prices and slowing global growth, the International Monetary Fund has said.

The IMF raised India’s GDP forecast for 2026-27 to 7%, from its July figure of 6.4%, in its latest World Economic Outlook released on Tuesday. It also upgraded its growth projection for the country in 2027-28 to 7%, from the previous 6.7%.

The upgrade reflects stronger-than-expected economic momentum, supported by domestic demand and services activity. India’s expanding domestic market, favorable demographics, and continued structural reforms have also strengthened its growth potential, the IMF said.

The Indian economy expanded 7.8% in the financial year ended March 2026, and maintained the same pace in the April-June quarter. The latest revision follows similar upgrades by other major institutions. The World Bank raised India’s growth forecast for 2026-27 to 7.1% last week, citing strong domestic demand and exports. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) also increased its projection for the current financial year to 7.1%.

India’s expansion is also supporting growth across South Asia, where the World Bank expects the country to remain a major driver of regional economic activity.

The upgraded Indian outlook contrasts with slower global growth. The IMF expects the world economy to expand 3.1% in 2026, down from 3.5% last year.

The administration in the Indian capital, New Delhi, has been on its toes since last week as Indian opposition parties and an informal movement known as Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) are staging protests over the removal of millions of names from voter ‌lists. 

New Delhi became a fortress over the weekend, with barricades made of iron and armed personnel stationed at nearly all major intersections ahead of the protests. Still, people showed up, thousands were detained, and the formal opposition parties took the baton with a massive march towards the Supreme Court on Monday.

The key demand of the protesters is the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over allegations that a country-wide revision of the electoral database is helping the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) party, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to stay in power and win elections across states. Both the BJP and the Election Commission have rejected the accusations. 

CJP back in action

The CJP, a youth movement born out of an online meme, became prominent earlier this year for staging massive protests against irregularities in the examination system that eventually led to the resignation of the country’s education minister.

This time, the protests are challenging the nationwide Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls done by the Election Commission of India earlier this year. The CJP and formal opposition parties allege that the SIR exercise caused the widespread and irresponsible deletion of people from electoral rolls. Reports say there have been 130 million names deleted from the provisional electoral rolls through the ongoing revision process. The Election Commission says this is necessary to eliminate duplicate names, names of deceased people, and those who have migrated. It also maintained that it operated strictly under constitutional and legal frameworks.

On Saturday, thousands of young activists, students, and opposition leaders gathered around Jantar Mantar and several other prominent locations in the center of the Indian capital. This is despite warnings from the police and the lack of official permission to protest.

The Delhi Police formally denied permission for the Jantar Mantar protest on Saturday, citing public order and traffic concerns. A 24-hour temporary mobile internet shutdown was enforced across central Delhi and key border points. Entry and exit were restricted or closed across 57 Delhi Metro stations around the central corridor, and over 60 incoming regional trains were canceled or short-terminated.

Over 23,000 police and paramilitary personnel were deployed across central intersections, converting locations like Connaught Place and Janpath into restricted zones.

“We have a right to protest against the Election Commissioner,” Ariba Fahim, 19, a student activist who was detained briefly near INA on Saturday during the demonstration, said.

Shiv Tanakiya, 21, a college student who traveled from Meerut in the neighboring state of Uttar Pradesh a day before the protest, said young people have a right to seek accountability from the government.

“We are the youth of this country wanting to be heard. We live in a democracy. We are not doing this at the behest of any opposition party, but this is a concern for the whole country,” he said. 

Early Saturday morning, key CJP organizers Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das, and Ashutosh Ranka were taken into preventive custody directly from an incoming flight at Delhi Airport. After over 24 hours of preventive detention, all three were freed after a peace bond.

At a press conference shortly after their release on Sunday afternoon, the leaders condemned the government’s response, saying the use of thousands of security personnel and internet shutdowns against peaceful demonstrators exposed the administration’s fear of youth-led accountability.

“Picking up citizens off airplanes and shutting down an entire city just to block a peaceful protest is not governance; it is intimidation,” Das told reporters, reaffirming that the CJP would continue its pan-India campaign for electoral transparency despite the state restrictions. 

Prominent YouTuber and influencer Dhruv Rathee, who traveled to Delhi from Germany where he resides, to take part in the protests was detained from his parents’ residence before he could do so. “I was not arrested or detained, I was KIDNAPPED,” Rathee said in a post on X after he returned home.

Official police reports indicate that over 7,000 individuals were taken into preventive detention across Delhi and surrounding border checkpoints throughout the day; most of them were freed on Sunday. 

“We are educated peaceful protesters exercising our constitutional rights,” Kirti Sahu, 22, a university student who was detained near CP before being loaded onto a police bus, said. “The government caused inconvenience to people by shutting down metro stations, cutting the internet; you are proving our point about highhandedness.”

Another student protester, Rinku Singh, said the key demand is transparency in public institutions.

The CJP seemed to be prepared for the police crackdown. Just as the detentions started, founder Abhijeet Dipke dropped a pre-recorded video telling protesters to spread out. Prominent student leader Neha Bora, the president of All India Students’ Association, quickly shifted the crowds away from a blocked Jantar Mantar toward Connaught Place, outsmarting police barricades and keeping the protest moving across the city.

“Narendra Modi’s government cannot simply ignore young people. India has a massive youth population with high ambitions, but millions of educated graduates are struggling to find decent jobs, creating deep frustration,” Asim Ahmad, a researcher from Jamia Nagar, Delhi, who was also part of the protest, said.

Nitin Nabin, the president of the ruling BJP, lambasted the CJP protests and said the leaders working at the behest of the opposition cannot see India moving forward.

“PM Modi has the trust of [the 1.4 billion] people of India. We will ensure the Viksit Bharat dream will be taken forward, and any forces, whether they live in this country or outside trying to destabilize India will be strictly dealt with,” Nabin said in a post on X, adding that the opposition is attempting to destabilize the country in collusion with foreign powers.

Special attention

The Delhi protests were widely covered by international media, drawing immediate attention from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). It released a statement on Saturday, expressing concern over “mass detentions” and urging the Indian authorities to “ensure that the right to peaceful assembly is fully respected and fulfilled, and that those detained arbitrarily are released immediately.”

The Ministry of External Affairs issued a firm response, calling the OHCHR’s remarks “an unwarranted interference in the internal affairs of India”

“As in every democracy, Indian citizens exercise this right subject to the maintenance of public order and safety. Our law enforcement authorities act strictly in accordance with the law, and our courts remain available to all for the redressal of any grievances,” New Delhi said. It also noted that OHCHR’s “double standards” in commenting on protests – and the way local authorities respond to it – in various parts of the world.

“Violent responses to protests in our neighborhood have gone uncommented, as indeed have law enforcement actions in its own vicinity. Such double standards only erode the credibility of its standing and contribute to the loss of faith in multilateralism,” New Delhi said.  

While images of detentions in India are dramatic, they are hardly comparable to those coming out of France, where student protesters have clashed with fully equipped riot police using tear gas and water cannons. 

No official statement came from the OHCHR office regarding the French protests, though the spokesperson for the UN human rights office on Friday said the body is “following with concern incidents related to the student protests and high school blockades in France.”

“We call on everyone to ensure that they remain peaceful and that there is no disproportionate use of force by law enforcement,” the spokesperson said, according to Le Monde. 

Opposition springs into action

The official opposition has called for new protest, with Rahul Gandhi, the head of the main opposition Congress party, leading a march to the Supreme Court on Monday. He was joined by other opposition leaders who form the INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) bloc.

At a press conference ahead of the march, Gandhi said the opposition’s fight will continue until the Election Commission’s leadership changes, the Constitution is upheld, and the electoral system is overhauled.

INDIA leaders filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the Election Commission, alleging large-scale voter deletions and irregularities in the electoral roll revisions. The plea also raises concerns over restrictions on peaceful demonstrations. 

In anticipation of the opposition march, Delhi Police not only barricaded all major access roads with multiple layers of barriers and closed nearby metro stations, but also de-notified Jantar Mantar as a designated protest site – a role it had served for more than three decades.

Under the new arrangement, protests will be permitted only at Ramlila Maidan in central Delhi, Burari Ground in north Delhi, and CBD Ground in east Delhi.

However, in a special hearing on Sunday following the October 10 security lockdown, a Supreme Court bench comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana reasserted the constitutional right to peaceful assembly, ordered an immediate halt to all unauthorized preventive detentions, and demanded the full restoration of normal transit and mobile internet services across the capital. The court stressed that while law enforcement can enforce prohibitory orders in specific restricted zones, citizens holding peaceful, unarmed demonstrations cannot be subjected to city-wide blackouts or arbitrary detentions.

Thousands took part in the march on Monday, with drone footage showing massive crowds in the streets of central Delhi leading to the Supreme Court building, which Gandhi and other opposition leaders reached by the evening. Chief Justice of India Surya Kant earlier declined the request of the opposition for a meeting, arguing, according to the media reports, that the meeting would be inappropriate as the issues to be raised are already sub judice before the Supreme Court.

While local protests over the electoral rolls have been seen in other large cities, including Mumbai and Bengaluru, agitation is yet to become nationwide. What is clear, however, is that it is unlikely to die out easily. 

“It is the people who choose the government. People have a right to seek answers, but this government is not listening and is using police to stop peaceful demonstrations,” Shiv Tanakiya said. “We are the future of this country, and we must be heard.”

Hundreds of opposition protesters led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi marched toward India’s Supreme Court in New Delhi on Monday demanding the resignation of the country’s election chief Gyanesh Kumar over a disputed revision of voter lists.

The latest rally followed a weekend of unrest in Delhi, when police detained thousands of protesters, including leaders of the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), who are also asking for the election body’s special revision of electoral rolls to be halted.

The march was stopped by police barricades a few hundred meters from the top court. Lawyers representing Gandhi filed a plea in the court after it permitted a delegation of 10-15 people to enter the petition-filing area outside its high-security zone, The Times of India reported.

Gandhi was joined by his sister Priyanka Gandhi, opposition lawmakers, and student leaders, including Neha Bora. Some demonstrators pushed through barricades but were dealt with by riot-police and water cannons. The entries and exits at six Delhi Metro stations were closed for ten hours, while traffic restrictions affected more than 20 roads.

The opposition went ahead with the march after India’s Chief Justice Surya Kant declined a request from Gandhi and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge for a private meeting. He said related matters were already before the court and the opposition should pursue formal judicial proceedings.

❗️Rahul Gandhi & Opposition Leaders File Supreme Court Petition Against Electoral Commission Over Alleged Irregularities RT India correspondent @KediaRiddhima reports as 'senior Congress members plan to keep up their protest' until demands are met. https://t.co/gKZhXO5Trd

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) October 12, 2026

Separately, the court agreed to hear on Tuesday petitions over allegations that lawyers had been detained during the protests. Kant said demonstrations should not impede the court’s functioning.

Meanwhile, Delhi Police removed Jantar Mantar, long a protest venue in central Delhi, from the capital’s list of officially designated demonstration sites.

On Sunday, the Delhi police named Ramlila Ground, about 3 km away from Jantar Mantar; Burari Ground, about 21 km away; and CBD Ground, about 12 km away, as replacements. Police cited the recommendations of a Home Ministry panel for the change. CJP leaders, however, objected and demanded a date for a peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar itself, giving police 24 hours to respond.

About 300 people were detained during a demonstration in the financial capital of Mumbai on Sunday, and about 80 protesters in the western city of Pune.

The voter-list revision, launched last year, has resulted in more than 130 million names being cut from electoral rolls, including those of people recorded as deceased, relocated, or untraceable, according to Election Commission figures cited by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The Election Commission and BJP deny manipulating the rolls for political gain. The poll body says wrongly excluded voters can seek reinstatement.

The BJP, meanwhile, has accused Congress of undermining constitutional institutions in an attempt to regain political power.

India is not inclined to relax security requirements or offer special treatment to Elon Musk’s Starlink, despite the trillionaire’s repeated jabs over his satellite internet service’s delayed launch in India, according to Indian media reports.

With US-India relations “nose-diving” amid an unclosed trade deal, and Washington adding to the visa and other curbs on Indian IT companies and workers, New Delhi has no reason to humor Musk, the Hindu BusinessLine said on Monday.

Musk last week accused Indian businessman Mukesh Ambani of stalling Starlink’s launch in India. He doubled down on those allegations over the weekend, saying in a series of X posts that Ambani’s Reliance Jio was operating as a “de facto monopoly.” The world’s richest man even sarcastically addressed the Reliance Industries chairman, seen as close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling BJP party, as “Prime Minister Ambani.”

He also argued that Starlink would give consumers more choice and promised affordable prices, without announcing a subscription rate. “Obviously, if Starlink is too expensive in India, no one will buy it,” Musk said.

India’s Communications Ministry rejected allegations of favoritism last week, describing its satellite licensing framework as “fair and non-discriminatory.” Starlink, Ambani’s Jio Satellite Communications, and Bharti Group-backed Eutelsat OneWeb are all undergoing security assessments before they can receive spectrum and begin commercial operations.

Indian Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia also rejected Musk’s monopoly allegations, saying India does not allow monopolies in any sector. The Home Ministry is examining the operators’ compliance with security requirements and will issue final clearances, he said.

Jio and OneWeb completed their technical and security compliance demonstrations before Starlink but are still awaiting final approvals. Jio completed its demonstration in March last year, OneWeb in the second half of the year, and Starlink in early 2026.

The dispute comes ahead of Jio Platforms’ planned initial public offering, which is targeting a valuation of around $106 billion, Reuters reported.

Two Indian sailors are missing after a tanker was attacked off Oman on Sunday. A second tanker was also struck on the same day in the Strait of Hormuz, but the Indian crew on board were unharmed.

New Delhi condemned the strikes on the two commercial vessels.

The Nicaragua-flagged MT Petro Dolphin was reportedly struck by a drone at Sohar Anchorage on October 11. Nine of the 11 Indian crew members were rescued and are safe, while Oman’s Coast Guard is searching for the other two, Indian Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said.

Another tanker, the Marshall Islands-flagged MT Valthera, was hit by an unidentified projectile while passing through the Strait of Hormuz the same day, causing a fire on board. All Indian seafarers aboard the vessel were reported safe.

India’s embassy in Muscat is coordinating with the Omani authorities and the respective ship management companies to locate the missing sailors and assist the crews, the Indian Foreign Ministry said. “The recurring attacks on commercial shipping in the region are deeply concerning,” the ministry said, warning that they risk further aggravating tensions.

Statement on the attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz region ⬇️ 🔗 https://t.co/SqBo213LvT https://t.co/t4zJMeZSdZ

— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) October 11, 2026

New Delhi called for immediate de-escalation through dialogue and diplomacy, stressing that attacks on commercial vessels, seafarers, and civilian infrastructure must stop.

Indian crews have been caught in several recent attacks. On October 9, the Panama-flagged tanker MT Gem No. 2 was struck at Sharjah Anchorage in the United Arab Emirates, but all 22 Indian sailors aboard were reported safe.

Three days earlier, 11 Indian seafarers were among 12 crew members injured when the Panama-flagged tanker MT On Peace was hit by an unidentified projectile off Oman.

The protests in the Indian capital New Delhi demanding the resignation of the country’s chief election commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, have intensified, with the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a satirical youth movement joining the cause on Saturday. 

Delhi’s police have moved to snuff out the protests even before they begin. They detained CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke from inside a plane when he landed in Delhi on Saturday morning. And YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, a known critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was detained from his residence in Gurugram.

Central Delhi has been turned into a fortress. Prohibitory orders are in place and permission for further demonstrations have been denied. Local reports say 20,000 police personnel are now on Delhi’s streets. The capital’s stadiums have been turned into makeshift detention centers. And the internet has been cut. 

Up to 250 long-distance trains arriving in Delhi have been cancelled. Restrictions have been imposed on public transport, including on Delhi’s metro system – prompting India’s Supreme Court to intervene.

The approaches to Jantar Mantar – an 18th century astronomical observatory in central Delhi, which has served as a site for the protests – were sealed earlier this month. 

However, Delhi police have so far avoided the heavy-handed approach they had taken against the CJP in July, when the movement humbled Modi’s government and forced the resignation of federal Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. 

Why does the opposition want the election panel chief to resign?

The opposition parties allege that the Election Commission’s country-wide voter revision exercise is helping Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stay in power, and win elections in state after state.

The Election Commission of India started its special revision of voter lists in the world’s largest democracy last year, starting with the northern Bihar state. The aim was to identify, and remove, the names of dead voters, those who have moved locations, have registered for vote in more than one constituency, or those that simply could not be traced.

About 130 million names have been removed or flagged for removal so far, figures cited by the BJP itself show. If that figure sounds big, remember that India has a 1.4 billion population. The final decisions on removing many of these names are yet to be made. 

However, India’s opposition parties allege that legitimate voters, including people from minority communities and groups less likely to back the BJP, have been removed. 

They claim the name removals means India’s elections are no longer a level playing field. The opposition says the exercise has already skewed the results of state elections held in April, with the BJP and its alliance winning three of the five states.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has gone so far as to call it “vote theft,” arguing that any laws passed by lawmakers elected through “stolen” votes lack legitimacy. Both the BJP and the Election Commission have denied manipulating the rolls for political gain.

The BJP maintains that the exercise is only for removing ineligible voters. Home Minister Amit Shah has said it is also intended to prevent “infiltrators” – an euphemism for illegal immigrants, mainly from neighboring Bangladesh – from voting. 

The election panel contends that any wrongly excluded voters can request to be added back to the rolls, and further appeal any adverse decisions. 

Opposition Congress party leads the charge in Delhi

The Congress-led opposition took the issue to Delhi’s streets earlier this week. The protests received unexpected energy when Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi, led from the front. Dramatic scenes unfolded, with Rahul climbing atop police barricades and waving the national flag, and the siblings then dodging the police and entering the office complex of the state broadcaster All-India Radio in an attempt to reach the Election Commission office next door. 

Police detained them and several other lawmakers briefly on October 6, and again the next day. Cases were filed against them for alleged obstruction and assaults on officers. 

But Rahul Gandhi has remained unfazed and pressed on. He said there were already 45 first information reports (FIRs), the formal complaints that start police investigations, against him. “Every FIR is a medal for me,” he taunted, adding that he wanted the figure to reach 100.

What happens next?

Kumar remains in office. He can only be removed after a parliamentary process and a two-thirds majority vote in both the houses of the Indian Parliament. That seems a bridge too far – the opposition alliance holds just 184 of the 543 seats in the Lok Sabha.

The opposition’s only other option is to raise the pressure on Kumar through public protests and force him to resign. 

The CJP’s role is crucial. Its last protest was successful because it resonated across India. Can they get the same popular support this time is the key question.

Gyanesh Kumar’s future, and that of the CJP, depend on it

India has accused US Vice President J.D. Vance of making “deeply offensive” comments, after he described foreign workers as “indentured servants” while announcing Washington’s suspension of a key green-card sponsorship process for major technology companies, including several Indian IT firms.

“Resorting to terminology that carries painful historical and colonial legacy connotations is deeply offensive,” India’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday.

Vance made the comments at a White House news conference on Thursday, accusing eight tech companies of replacing American employees with lower-paid foreign workers. The suspension covers new and pending applications under the Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) process for Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Wipro, HCL Technologies, and Capgemini.

PERM is a key step for employers seeking to sponsor foreign workers for permanent residency, or green cards. New Delhi defended Indian professionals as highly educated and skilled contributors to the US economy and innovation sector. It also pointed to generations of immigrants whose labor and enterprise have helped build American prosperity.

Statement on announcement made by the US Department of Labour ⬇️ 🔗 https://t.co/FZawXUTqcl https://t.co/67vMRyJ5EF

— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) October 9, 2026

It said skilled-worker mobility benefits both economies by supporting innovation, research, competitiveness, and job creation in the US, adding that Washington’s latest measures “do not advance the shared ambitions of both countries.”

The sharp Indian reaction comes as trade talks between Washington and New Delhi are deadlocked, with Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman saying Monday that it is “very difficult” for both sides to make further concessions.

Elon Musk has escalated his criticism of Starlink’s delayed India launch by singling out Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, hours after New Delhi rejected claims that its satellite approval process was discriminatory.

“Is Ambani the real boss of India?” Musk asked on X on Thursday, pointing out that his satellite internet service had spent five years complying with Indian requirements but was still unable to begin commercial operations.

Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries is India’s largest privately-owned conglomerate, with interests in oil-to-chemicals, telecommunications, retail, media, and green energy. He is also India’s second richest man, with a net worth of $86.3 billion, according to Forbes.

Musk’s tweet drew in Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, who replied: “Welcome to India, Elon. Wait till you discover the other guy.” 

Gandhi seemed to be targeting India’s richest man, Gautam Adani, with the “other guy” remark. Adani hails from the same state as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Gandhi has repeatedly accused him of receiving favorable treatment from the government.

Thank you, Rahul. This is indeed troubling.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 8, 2026

The world’s richest man had, a day earlier, accused unnamed “oligarchs” of blocking Starlink in order to maintain a “monopolistic chokehold” over Indian consumers. On Thursday, he also sent out a volley of retweets that echoed his views on Starlink’s utility to India. His outburst coincided with the 10th edition of the Indian Mobile Congress that Modi inaugurated in New Delhi.

Starlink, Ambani’s Jio Satellite Communications, and Bharti Group-backed Eutelsat OneWeb are all at broadly the same stage of regulatory approval for satellite internet connectivity in the country, with security assessments underway, according to India’s Communications Ministry.

Starlink has to complete the security assessment, and spectrum assignment, before it can start commercial services, although it holds an Indian telecom license and authorization for its satellite constellation.

Reliance Jio did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Musk’s latest remarks.

Musk and Ambani have previously been on opposing sides of India’s satellite-spectrum policy. Reliance had pushed for satellite spectrum to be auctioned, arguing that it would ensure a level playing field, while Starlink favored administrative allocation. New Delhi ultimately adopted the administrative route.

India has issued a new warning to its citizens about joining the Russian military, where dozens are believed to be serving. Moscow has confirmed it is identifying Indians in the combat zone, who will then be returned to their homeland.

Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Wednesday that 69 Indian nationals remain with the Russian armed forces while once again warning Indians against joining the Russian military.

“We have been following up with the Russian authorities for updates on the whereabouts of 69 Indian nationals who remain with the Russian army,” Jaiswal said.

India was the world’s second-largest arms importer in 2025, partly aided by a historically large naval buildout, according to a Russian think tank that tracks weapons purchases and military expenditures.

The South Asian nuclear power has been rapidly building up its armed forces following a brief clash with neighbor Pakistan last year, triggered by a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir. 

India’s identified military imports were worth $6.97 billion, or 5.83% of the global total, and the country is projected to retain the position through 2029, the Moscow-based Center for Analysis of World Arms Trade (CAWAT) said.  

Poland came in first with $11.91 billion, while Australia was narrowly behind India at $6.96 billion.

Among the major Indian deliveries cited by CAWAT was the Russian-built frigate Tamal, which joined the Indian Navy in July 2025. Two more Project 11356 frigates are being built at India’s Goa Shipyard with assistance from Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport.

India also commissioned the Vaghsheer, the sixth and final Kalvari-class submarine built by state-owned Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders under license from France’s Naval Group. The six-submarine program was valued at $3.6 billion, according to CAWAT.

CAWAT projects global arms imports at almost $633 billion over the 2026-2029 period, up 52.5% from in the preceding four years. The center expects Europe to take a larger share of global demand during the period.

Elon Musk has blamed “certain oligarchs” for holding up the launch of his satellite internet service Starlink in India to maintain their “monopolistic chokehold” on the Indian people. New Delhi has rejected the suggestion that its satellite approval process was unfair.

The SpaceX CEO made the remarks on the social media platform X, which he also owns, on Wednesday while responding to a post arguing that India needs Starlink to connect areas beyond the reach of conventional networks. The post said 11,256 Indian villages still lacked 4G coverage as of May.

“Unfortunately, we are being blocked by certain oligarchs in order to maintain their monopolistic chokehold on the Indian people,” the world’s richest man wrote, adding “You can guess who they are.” 

Apart from Starlink, Eutelsat OneWeb, backed by the Bharti Group, and JIO Satellite Communications, backed by Reliance Jio, hold the Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) license in India.

Unfortunately, we are being blocked by certain oligarchs in order to maintain their monopolistic chokehold on the Indian people. You can guess who they are … This is a crime against the people of India!

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 7, 2026

Reliance Jio is owned by Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, the second richest person in the country. Bharti Group is owned by billionaire Sunil Mittal. Reliance Jio is also planning its own network of around 1,600 low-Earth-orbit satellites, which could become a direct rival to Starlink’s constellation.

India’s Communications Ministry said in response to Musk’s post that all three licensed operators are at broadly the same regulatory stage, with security assessments underway, and called claims of discriminatory treatment “baseless and misconceived.”

📹 Hope Musk Is Listening: PM Modi Says India’s Data Is Already Cheap Speaking at India Mobile Congress, he highlighted 🇮🇳’s expanding telecom infrastructure and falling data costs, saying smartphones have now become “gaming consoles” for millions. Starlink chief Elon Musk on Wednesday said his service would bring “high-speed, affordable Internet” to Indians who cannot afford current prices or lack a connection.

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) October 8, 2026

Starlink’s wait to begin commercial operations in India has lasted four years. The company received its telecom license in June last year but still needs the remaining security clearances and spectrum assignment before services can start. Starlink Business Operations Vice President Lauren Dreyer said at the India Mobile Congress on Wednesday that the company has built 20 gateway sites with hundreds of antennas and designed its operations around India’s security requirements.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov expressed Russia’s gratitude for India’s readiness to make a strong contribution to resolving the Ukraine conflict while speaking to RT, responding to reports of a three-part peace proposal from New Delhi.

”The Indian side is really ready to make a strong contribution” toward resolving the conflict, Peskov said, adding “we are grateful to our Indian friends for such readiness and for those ideas that are being expressed.”

Peskov did not refer directly to Delhi’s reported three-part plan or endorse its individual elements. The conflict is now in its fifth year.

Moscow’s comments follow recent reports in India about New Delhi shifting gears on an issue that has vexed US President Donald Trump and his negotiators for more than two years. Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said Monday that India has moved beyond simply advocating for peace and is now holding conversations with both Moscow and Kiev.

Indian media have reported, citing diplomatic sources, that New Delhi’s proposal seeks to halt attacks on energy facilities and other infrastructure, keep grain and energy moving through Black Sea ports, and stop strikes on commercial shipping.

It was reportedly discussed during Jaishankar’s visit to Kiev last month. Ukraine has separately acknowledged receiving an Indian ceasefire proposal. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga described it as the “most comprehensive” among the four initiatives received by Kiev, the others being from Türkiye, Egypt, and the US.

New Delhi’s conversations began with Black Sea shipping safety and have expanded to grain and energy exports and possible agreements on halting attacks, Jaishankar said Monday.

”This will require dialogue and diplomacy. There have to be negotiations,” he said, describing the discussions as ongoing.

Russian President Vladimir Putin praised India’s efforts last week, saying Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi repeatedly brings up ending the conflict and has “very good ideas” to find mutually acceptable solutions. He thanked Modi for his desire to seek an end to the conflict through peaceful means.

At least 12 Indian seafarers were injured in attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and the Black Sea over the last two days, including 11 aboard an oil tanker struck off Oman on Tuesday.

The Panama-flagged MT On Peace was passing through the Strait of Hormuz when it was hit by an unknown projectile. Twelve of its 19-member crew were injured, including 11 Indians; 17 people on board were Indian nationals. The injured sailors were evacuated with help from the Omani authorities and are receiving treatment in Khasab, India’s Foreign Ministry said.

“The targeting of commercial shipping, seafarers and civilian infrastructure in the region must end,” the ministry stated, calling for navigation and commerce through international waterways to be restored at the earliest opportunity.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has recorded 93 confirmed attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and the wider Middle East as of October 6.

Indian crews were also caught in similar incidents in the Black Sea. On Tuesday, twenty-three crew members – all Indian nationals – aboard the Liberian-flagged tanker Aframax Rio were rescued after the vessel was set ablaze off Russia’s Black Sea coast following an attack by an unmanned vessel, according to Russia’s Transport Ministry. No injuries were reported.

Statement on the attack on a commercial vessel MT On Peace, off the coast of Oman 🔗 https://t.co/nuE2vv3x8k https://t.co/9KE13wy5UY

— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) October 6, 2026

The fire was later extinguished, with no contamination detected in surrounding waters and rescue vessels remaining on standby, Russian Transport Minister Andrey Nikitin said.

One Indian seafarer was injured aboard the MV Royad Mammadov after the vessel caught fire near Romanian territorial waters a day earlier, killing two crew members. The Romanian authorities did not establish the cause of the fire, while Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky blamed Russian drones.

Fifteen Indian seafarers were killed and two remained missing in 57 conflict-related maritime incidents across West Asia and the Black Sea in the preceding three months, India’s maritime regulator said in August.

Indian police have reportedly filed a criminal trespassing case against opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and several other lawmakers who allegedly entered the headquarters of the country’s state radio broadcaster without permission during a protest in New Delhi.

The First Information Report by the Delhi police followed a complaint by the broadcaster’s staff alleging that the opposition leaders entered Akashvani Bhawan, the facility where the offices of All India Radio are located, without permission after police blocked their march toward the nearby Election Commission headquarters.

At least ten MPs and other identified protesters were named in the trespassing complaint, local media reported, citing unnamed Delhi police officials. The specific charges invoked have not been publicly released.

The opposition in the world’s largest democracy is protesting against the ongoing special revision of electoral rolls, amid public complaints that millions of eligible voters have been left out. The opposition parties marched on Tuesday demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

They have also demanded that the results be scrapped, that those who say they were wrongfully excluded be restored, and that Kumar step down as the election panel chief over alleged irregularities in the process.

India has contracted for more BrahMos missile launchers and fire-control systems for its Navy warships, expanding deployment of its primary maritime-strike weapon across the fleet.

The Defense Ministry signed the roughly $69 million contract with BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited in New Delhi on Tuesday. The order covers fire-control systems and launchers for Indian Navy ships and was made under a scheme to buy items that are indigenously designed and manufactured.

Several frontline Indian warships including destroyers and frigates already are armed with BrahMos missiles. New ships commissioned in recent years have received the system as standard equipment, while older vessels are being retrofitted in phases as part of a wider push to expand BrahMos deployment across the fleet by 2030, reports said.

BrahMos can be launched vertically or at an incline from naval platforms and is capable of striking both ships and land targets at extended ranges at supersonic speed.

The Indian Navy has operated BrahMos since 2005, when its anti-ship variant was integrated onto Rajput-class destroyers. The system has since become the service’s principal surface-to-surface weapon.

BrahMos Aerospace is a joint venture between India’s Defense Research and Development Organization and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyenia. The program has produced ship-, land-, and air-launched versions of the supersonic cruise missile.

The new project will have at least 68% indigenous content and involve Indian companies, including micro, small, and medium enterprises. The ministry said the program is expected to generate employment over three years while increasing domestic participation in advanced military technology.

Indian police detained several opposition party leaders, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, in New Delhi on Tuesday after blocking their protest march to the headquarters of the country’s Election Commission.

Gandhi led the march while carrying a placard that read “Gyanesh, it’s done bro!” – a message to India’s chief election commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, in a dispute over voter rolls. Capital police stopped the march near the government think tank NITI Aayog. As some opposition leaders were being detained and taken away in buses, Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka clambered on a row of police barricades and waved the national flag.

As police moved to detain them, the two lawmakers from India’s most storied political family jumped from the bus and headed toward the election panel building. Again thwarted by the police, they then entered the nearby Akashvani Bhawan government broadcasting complex and staged a sit-in, meters away from the Election Commission’s office.

The Gandhis continued their protest under a tree in the compound even as reports citing Delhi police said they had been detained. “Gyanesh Kumar and the other two election commissioners don’t want to meet us, answer our questions,” Rahul Gandhi told reporters at the site.

VIDEO | Delhi: Lok Sabha LoP and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi climbs atop the barricades during the INDIA bloc MPs' march from Parliament to the ECI, demanding CEC Gyanesh Kumar's resignation. (Full video available on PTI Videos - https://t.co/d8jp61yd2p) https://t.co/YkwlFV8WCn

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) October 6, 2026

Tuesday’s march is seen as the second major challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, after the youth led-protests in July that led to the sacking of the federal education minister. Modi is now in his third term as prime minister.

The opposition’s anger is focused on the ongoing “special” revision of the electoral roll in the world’s most populous nation, aimed at removing duplicates and those ineligible to vote such as illegal immigrants from neighboring countries.

At the center of the issue is a newly introduced declaration which requires voters to state whether they, their parents, or grandparents were on an earlier voter list. Amid complaints that millions of citizens have been left out of the new rolls, opposition parties have demanded that the entire revision exercise be scrapped.

Airports in India’s financial capital, Mumbai, have stopped allowing cargoes booked on Russian airlines, reports have said.

Cargoes booked with Russian carriers Aeroflot and Volga-Dnepr have been held up at Mumbai’s main airport for nearly two weeks, while a Volga-Dnepr charter was rerouted to Delhi after being denied permission at the Navi Mumbai airport, amid concerns over compliance with US sanctions.

Navi Mumbai is a satellite city of Mumbai, and both airports are owned and operated by the Adani Airport Holding Ltd, owned by Indian billionaire Gautam Adani. Adani Airports raised $1 billion through the sale of shares to investors, including US funds managed by BlackRock, last month. 

Delmos Aviation, which represents the two Russian carriers, has sought intervention from India’s Civil Aviation Ministry as about 2.5 metric tons of cargo is currently held up at Mumbai airport, while another 12.5 metric tons await clearance.

Airport officials linked the restrictions to US sanctions on Russia, the Economic Times quoted Delmos Managing Director Naveen Rao as saying.

India does not implement or enforce unilateral sanctions imposed by the US or the European Union, according to a 2026 India sanctions guide published by Chambers and Partners. Indian businesses, nevertheless, face growing exposure to US and EU secondary sanctions over continued commercial ties with Russia, leading private companies to adopt their own compliance measures. 

In July, US tech major Microsoft restored IT services – suspended under EU sanctions – to the Russian-backed Indian oil refinery Nayara Energy after a court challenge.

Aeroflot operates daily flights between Delhi and Moscow. Bonded cargo, which is imported goods held under customs control before duties and fees have been paid, from Mumbai is normally processed through customs before being moved by truck to Delhi for onward shipment to Russia. That process has stalled for the two airlines, with trucks carrying some shipments forced to return to their point of origin.

Russia’s parliament has ratified a temporary employment pact with India as Moscow prepares to take in thousands of Indian skilled workers this year, particularly in construction and logistics.

The State Duma approved the agreement on October 1, followed by the Federation Council a day later. The pact was signed in New Delhi on December 4 last year and governs temporary employment of Indian citizens in Russia and Russian citizens in India.

Russia has agreed to take around 70,000 skilled Indian workers during 2026, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar told a parliamentary consultative committee last week, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.

The agreement covers employment and service contracts, as well as full-time students who take temporary jobs outside their studies. Moscow says the framework will help regulate labor flows from India in line with the needs of the Russian economy.

Workers covered by the pact cannot receive worse pay or working conditions than local citizens in comparable jobs. Employment generally requires a work permit, while compensation in cases of layoffs, as well as pension, social security, and medical insurance, will be governed by host-country laws and applicable bilateral agreements.

Russia has increasingly turned to India to meet workforce shortages. Authorities estimate an immediate shortfall of at least 2.3 million workers, including around 800,000 in manufacturing and 1.5 million in services and construction.

New Delhi has responded with a reality check to the collective West’s attempts to pressure India through economic and trade coercion to sever its ties with Moscow.

Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar told a weekend gathering of global foreign policy and security experts, including Western elites, assembled in the Indian capital what they would rather not hear: India’s ties with Russia are “not easily forgotten.”

“For us, Russia, and the Soviet Union before that, was a country that stood by us in many ways when our security, when our territorial integrity were under threat. And at a time when, you know, much of the world preferred backing a military regime next to us," the Indian foreign minister said, describing that history as a continuing influence on New Delhi’s ties with Moscow.

The West has used its control of the world’s finance system and geopolitical alliances to try to isolate Moscow ever since the Ukraine conflict began in 2022. Those efforts have largely failed as the world’s emerging economies and countries of the Global South have developed closer economic and trade ties with Moscow.

🇮🇳🇷🇺 ‘Russia Stood By Us When Our Territorial Integrity Was Under Threat’ Jaishankar On Why India Hasn’t Forgotten At the Munich Security Conference, EAM Jaishankar recalled that while “much of the world preferred backing a military regime next to us,” Russia stood by India. He added that today’s relationship has “widened beyond that.”

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) October 4, 2026

However, the illegal tariffs and sanctions wielded by the West have also increased the cost of economic activity and fanned inflation, inflicting economic pain across the world. The US also recently passed a law to impose steep sanctions on Russia’s top energy buyers, which includes India. New Delhi has warned that such tariffs will impact bilateral relations and that ensuring energy security for the country’s 1.4 billion population is its priority.

Military cooperation remains a key component of the relationship, alongside nuclear and space cooperation, while trade, investment, energy, and natural resources have become increasingly important, the foreign minister said.

Russia accounted for 40% of India’s major arms imports in 2021-25, the largest share from any supplier, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The share has fallen from 51% in 2016-20 and 70% in 2011-15 as India has diversified its suppliers.

India has maintained that the conflict should ultimately be resolved through dialogue, diplomacy, and negotiations.

India-US trade negotiations have hit a “plateau,” making further concessions “very difficult,” Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday, days after Washington said a deal is not imminent.

India and the US have been negotiating a Bilateral Trade Agreement since February last year, covering market access, tariff and non-tariff barriers, digital trade, and supply-chain resilience. The finance minister’s comments, despite repeated assertions by both sides in the last few months that a deal is near completion, is the first clear indication that the talks have hit an impasse.

“Both the sides have reached a plateau beyond which, giving, or taking, might be very, very difficult,” Sitharaman said at the Munich Leaders Meeting in New Delhi.

She said the talks are continuing, and left open the possibility of movement if either side finds additional negotiating space, describing the proposed agreement as “hard and very rigorously negotiated.”

India & US Trade Talks Hit 'Plateau’ – 🇮🇳 FM Sitharaman The negotiations are ‘still ongoing,’ Sitharaman said at the Munich Leaders Meeting in New Delhi Monday. ‘Giving or taking beyond that plateau might be very difficult,’ Sitharaman noted. US Trade Rep Jamieson Greer said last week that a deal ‘was not imminent,’ after a meeting with Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal. 📹: ANI

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) October 5, 2026

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said last week, following talks with Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, that the two countries have identified the remaining sticking points, but that an agreement is not imminent. Among them are US demands for wider access for its farm and dairy products, a politically sensitive subject for New Delhi.

Goyal struck a more optimistic note last month, saying the deal was almost “done and dusted.” He added, however, that implementation depends on India securing a competitive tariff advantage over rival exporters in the US market.

US goods imports from India reached $103.8 billion last year, compared with $45.4 billion in exports, leaving the US with a $58.4 billion goods trade deficit. Total goods and services trade between the two countries stood at an estimated $239.6 billion.

“The bigger risk is fresh US tariffs over Russian oil purchases or alleged excess manufacturing capacity. Signing a trade deal may not remove that risk.”

A new law signed by President Donald Trump last month gives him authority to impose tariffs of up to 100% on countries that continue significant purchases of Russian energy. India, the second largest importer of Russian oil, has warned that the tariffs could hurt bilateral ties.

Greer, however, has not publicly identified Russian oil as one of the unresolved issues in the trade negotiations.

India has moved “beyond advocacy” in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and is now holding talks with both Moscow and Kiev on Black Sea shipping, grain, and energy exports, as well as possible non-attack arrangements, Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar has said.

New Delhi has become more directly involved in recent months after years of calling for dialogue and diplomacy, Jaishankar said at the Munich Leaders Meeting in New Delhi. India is trying to help first on the safety of shipping in the Black Sea, while discussions have expanded to other immediate concerns shared by the two sides.

“We have conversations with both Russia and Ukraine in this regard,” he said, describing talks over grain and energy exports and “non-attack possibilities” as ongoing.

Ukraine separately acknowledged India’s increased involvement. Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga said last week that New Delhi had submitted the most comprehensive of four ceasefire proposals being considered by Kiev, alongside initiatives from Türkiye, Egypt, and the US.

Kiev is prepared to consider an energy and Black Sea ceasefire if it includes a halt to attacks on energy facilities and port infrastructure, Sibiga said. Ukraine says it is also open to an unconditional ceasefire along the line of contact.

When the leaders of the world’s two largest economies meet, the whole world watches the theatrics, the body language and the substance. Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to the US and summit with President Donald Trump took place against the backdrop of a surge in China’s global trade, while Trump has been struggling with falling approval ratings at home.

The high-stakes summit centred on symbolic gestures, personal rapport, and major economic and technology tensions. It yielded few breakthroughs on structural disputes. The most tangible outcome was an agreement to extend a critical trade war tariff truce by an additional two months, shifting the deadline to mid-January 2027. China’s export boom defied Trump’s tariff campaign.

From a position of strength, Xi was in no rush to make concessions while Trump was constrained by the costly Iran war that was hurting both his popularity and American wallets. The tariffs to address a trade imbalance with China were actually “killing” the US.

View from Delhi

Few nations have been monitoring the proceedings in Washington with greater scrutiny than India, as Xi-Trump discuss AI governance, tariff truces, critical minerals, regional maritime flashpoints, Taiwan and Indo-Pacific security. The outcome could affect New Delhi’s trade ambitions, supply chains, border security, Quad strategy, energy costs and influence.

New Delhi has been closely monitoring shifts in bilateral ties and supply chain vulnerabilities, and wondering about regional security frameworks like the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad). Indians have been also wondering why they were being singled out for 100% tariff for trading with Russia, while China was being wooed due high US economic dependences. As China has grown in global stature, it was clear that economic and military strength brings prestige and respect.

At the core of it all, for some time now, India’s calculations have been based on an enduring fear of the emergence of a US-China “G2.” Something that could position India as a “second fiddle.” 

The new emerging duopoly could establish a bilateral framework to partition spheres of influence, resolve global disputes, and manage international security above the heads of leading middle powers or an aspiring great power like India. China could get emboldened towards Asian dominance. Early signals were visible during Trump’s second term that Washington preferred a highly transactional foreign policy. Trump’s tariffs were bound to actually give greater leverage to China which monopolizes critical minerals and technologies and has a balance of payments advantage with all.

Despite structural mistrust between the US and China, these baby-steps towards managed coexistence present challenging outcomes for India. On the other hand, a total breakdown of US-China relations would be even worse for New Delhi and the world.

Washington’s policing failures around the world over the decades, and now never-ending Iran war, have lowered America’s global standing and influence. The tariffs have caused a level of distrust in New Delhi. NATO allies and West Asian friends of the US are running helter-skelter looking for alternative security arrangements and umbrellas.

In the recent past, India was looking for alternative sourcing through what is called the ‘China Plus One’ manufacturing strategy. American industrial giants that have been eager to exit China dependence have been investing billions of dollars into Make-in-India, especially in consumer electronics, pharmaceuticals, automotive parts, and solar equipment.  This has helped boost manufacturing’s share of India’s GDP and expand the country’s exports.

But now if Xi and Trump move towards a comprehensive trade deal, securing American industry interests, then the move towards India could slowdown. A transactional Trump has been vocal about India’s protective trade policies and domestic market restrictions. He may now push for opening India’s agriculture and technology sectors to American firms. Global commodity price volatility is also being watched closely by India. A reconciliation between Washington and Beijing could stabilize global demand, and be good for New Delhi.

Just days before the bilateral summit, on September 18, Trump signed into law a bill that allows a 100% tariff on top buyers of Russian energy, primarily China and India. Days later, the US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that Washington and Beijing had extended their Busan Agreement until January 10, 2027, under which the two sides agreed to avoid new tariffs and trade restrictions on each other.

Will India receive a similar concession? For now, it remains exposed to the tariff threat. Does Trump see India as a softer target? While US threatens India and Brazil, it is more considerate towards China because Beijing exercises much more leverage. Peter Navarro, an American economist and Trump’s senior counsellor for trade and manufacturing, at one point called Ukraine ‘Modi’s war’ - because of New Delhi’s oil imports from Russia. Nobody in Trump’s administration has ever tried to call the Ukraine crisis ‘Xi’s war’. Recall that in July 2025, Washington spared China but imposed an additional 25% on India for buying Russian crude. There is thus increased suspicion that India is in the crosshairs while Beijing keeps escaping US scrutiny.

India’s Indo-Pacific strategy relies heavily on the Quad alongside the United States, Japan, and Australia. But under Trump 2.0, the grouping has faced growing uncertainty, with the US president clearly favoring bilateral deals over multilateral frameworks. If Washington ends up softening its position on the South China Sea in exchange for economic concessions, it would send a deeply troubling signal — not only to New Delhi, but to the wider world.

As China becomes a peer power with the US, a weakening American position on Taiwan could embolden the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). While India’s immediate focus remains sovereignty over its territory along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and its influence across South Asia, an emboldened PLA could be a threat for India. It could weaken India’s position on the painstaking negotiations after the 2020 border conflict. Beijing might become less accommodating toward Indian border positions. Conversely a stable China-US relationship could also bring stability in China-India relations, and reduce the trust deficit. India also does not want Chinese or US influence in South Asia as it considers it detrimental to its security.

India hopes that the Xi-Trump discussions bring stability to the global energy trade. Spiking oil prices are already worsening India’s current account deficit and driving domestic inflation.

Reenergized US-China relations could reduce Russia-China dependency on each other. Russia may then edge closer to India.

Long strategic game

The export juggernaut that Trump sought to tame has kept roaring in what economists are increasingly referring to as ‘China Shock 2.0’. China’s global trade surplus is on pace to top $1 trillion for a second straight year. The Trump administration thought they could use massive unilateral pressure to force China to make concessions, but that did not occur.

Washington also sees Xi as uniquely able to exert pressure on Iran to negotiate, but Xi has shown little inclination to do so. Beijing is selling billions of dollars’ worth of goods to Iran through sanctions-evasion. Xi had urged the US and Iran to return to negotiations to end the war, but Xi has not publicly commented on Chinese support for Iran. China is moving from indirect influence to signalling readiness for a direct role. Could China become the next mediator in the US-Iran war?

Xi pressed Trump on Taiwan ⁠saying he hoped the US would “handle the Taiwan question with prudence.” Meanwhile, Senate Democrats criticized Trump for failing to publicly address China’s military pressure on Taiwan and called for the immediate delivery of approved military aid ⁠and arms sales to the island.

In his characteristic way, Trump said America was “very happy” about Xi’s visit, and hoped that China is “very happy also.” Xi said the US-China relationship had developed into a constructive one of “strategic stability on the basis of respect, fairness and reciprocity,” thus positioning Beijing as an equal to the US on the global stage.

The US and China remain strategic competitors across trade, technology, security and geopolitics, yet both governments have simultaneously demonstrated an interest in preventing competition from degenerating into confrontation. There was a talk about a possible hotline between the two countries, and some sort of a broad deal for sharing a progress report of sorts. Nothing of that sort happened.

Xi Jinping is playing a long strategic game. Washington continues to be at war and mired in multiple geopolitical and domestic crises. Beijing is quietly consolidating its economy, political control, restructuring its military and expanding its strategic footprint. China does not need to defeat America, it may only need to outlast American attention. “America is very happy about this visit, and I’m sure China is very happy also,” Trump said. Whether India is happy will be dissected in the corridors of power in New Delhi.

The captain of the FlyDubai plane who was allegedly attacked by his co-pilot has recounted to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi how he summoned his strength to open the cockpit door while his colleague was raining blows on him with the plane’s emergency crash axe.

Speaking to Modi on a video call from his hospital bed in Abu Dhabi on Thursday, Machchhar said he had fallen on the cockpit floor, but realized he had to get up as he felt the aircraft dive out of control.

“I was fighting for my life,” he told Modi. “But there was a moment when I realized – because I had fallen and sustained so many injuries, that I was lying on the ground – that if I didn’t get up ... I just opened it, sir; the others arrived.”

“One last push, Smit. Do it,” Machchhar recalled telling himself. “The door is right there.”

The pilot, with 17 years of flying experience, added that the passengers and crew who intervened played an equally important role in securing the aircraft.

FlyDubai FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv was carrying 174 passengers and eight crew members when the co-pilot allegedly attacked Machchhar on Wednesday. The aircraft plunged around 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds with no one at the controls. After the attacker was overpowered, two other FlyDubai pilots traveling aboard took the controls and the plane made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.

Modi praised the captain’s courage and presence of mind, saying he had prioritized the passengers’ lives despite fighting for his own. He told Machchhar that people across India were praying for his recovery and looking forward to welcoming him home.

Machchhar said he had recited the Hanuman Chalisa, a Hindu devotional hymn, during the emergency and continued to turn to prayer whenever he experienced pain. He also spoke about his two-year-old son, who joins him during morning prayers, and the importance of maintaining Indian cultural traditions while living abroad.

Modi said he had spoken with Machchhar’s parents and wife and praised their composure. The captain thanked Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for his medical care.

Preliminary Saudi investigations have indicated that the co-pilot assaulted the captain, and both men were injured in the scuffle that followed. UAE authorities are investigating the circumstances and motive behind the incident, including whether it was linked to terrorism.

The US and India are not on the cusp of a trade deal despite negotiations nearing completion, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Thursday following talks with Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal in Milwaukee.

The two sides have identified the remaining sticking points and are working to resolve them, Greer told reporters after the G20 Trade Ministers’ Meeting. “I don’t think there is something imminent,” he said, adding, “We’re in the short strokes” and that negotiations were approaching their final stages. He did not specify which issues remained unresolved.

Greer described his meeting with Goyal as constructive and said officials from both countries were continuing discussions. The Indian minister said the talks focused on concluding an interim agreement under the broader India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA).

The meeting came on the heels of a phone call between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump on Wednesday. The leaders reviewed cooperation in trade, defense, energy, and critical technologies. Greer called their conversation “very constructive” and said the two leaders could speak again soon to assess progress.

Goyal said last week that the pact was almost “done and dusted,” but its implementation depended on India securing competitive tariff treatment relative to rival exporters.

The negotiations are also taking place amid renewed US tariff pressure over India’s Russian oil purchases. Trump signed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act last month, authorizing tariffs of up to 100% on major buyers of Russian energy.

New Delhi has warned that such measures could affect bilateral relations and international energy markets. Greer did not identify Russian oil as one of the remaining obstacles to the trade agreement.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has “very good ideas” for ending the Ukraine conflict and has repeatedly pressed for its peaceful settlement, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said.

Modi has refused to take sides in the conflict, despite pressure from the West to isolate Russia. This neutrality has given India the room to discuss the need for a peaceful end to the conflict with both Moscow and Kiev.

Putin told the annual Valdai Discussion Club meeting on Thursday that Modi raises the Ukraine conflict at every meeting between them, despite their close personal relationship, and has proposed ideas aimed at finding mutually acceptable solutions. He thanked Modi for those efforts but did not disclose details of the proposals.

The Russian leader briefed Modi on the ongoing peace initiatives when they met on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi last month, where the Indian prime minister reiterated his call for dialogue and diplomacy and said India stood ready to assist peace efforts.

❗️Putin: PM Modi Has Very Good Ideas for Finding Mutually Acceptable Solutions in Ukraine Conflict

‘We are grateful to the Prime Minister for his ideas and for his desire to end the conflict peacefully and as quickly as possible,’ Putin added. pic.twitter.com/o7BvzJ5EP7

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) October 1, 2026

At the earlier Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Modi told Putin, “We need to move from endless war to an end to the war.”

Moscow, too, has welcomed New Delhi’s efforts at peace. Ahead of the BRICS Summit, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia appreciates Indian initiatives to help end the conflict.

For the Global South, energy security is no longer a policy talking point – it is a question of survival. With traditional shipping routes rattled by the Middle East conflict, developing countries are being hit by rising costs, broken supply chains, and shortages they did not create.

At the 81st UN General Assembly in September 2026, Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and other leaders from the Global South made that frustration unmistakably clear: poorer nations are being squeezed by a deepening crisis across energy, food, fuel, fertilizer, finance, and logistics.

Nepalese Prime Minister Balen Shah put it starkly: “We have built a world with flawless logistics for war and broken logistics for food. And this is not Nepal’s private misfortune. Ask Bangladesh. Ask Bhutan. Ask India. Ask the Maldives. Ask Pakistan. Ask Sri Lanka. Ask any other country in our region and you will hear the same account: hit by the climate we did not warm, and hit again by the wars we did not start.”

Events soon put that ambition under strain. Drone attacks disrupted Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline, an important route for moving crude to the Red Sea while bypassing the Strait of Hormuz. With loadings at Yanbu affected, Saudi Arabia began offering more crude to Asian buyers through ship-to-ship transfers off Oman. The episode showed how quickly even an alternative route can become vulnerable.

BRICS now includes some of the world’s biggest oil producers as well as major importers. Yet membership alone does not guarantee access to another member’s oil when supplies tighten. Producers may have other buyers, while prices and transport conditions can change quickly. The grouping has major oil resources. The harder part is making some of those barrels reliably available to members when supply pressures grow.

What Russian trade reveals

Russia is a useful example of how these energy ties can help during a shortage without guaranteeing supply. As Middle Eastern supplies became less reliable, Russian crude helped India make up some of the shortfall. In July, Russia accounted for a record 50.83% of India’s crude imports, showing how quickly buying patterns can change when supply is disrupted. But the increase in Russian supply did not amount to assured access. As Chinese refiners stepped up purchases, competition for Russian barrels intensified.

Russian oil, however, now faces another constraint. US President Donald Trump earlier this month signed legislation authorizing tariffs of up to 100% on goods from major buyers of Russian energy, potentially including India and China. For major buyers such as India and China, sanctions now add another layer of uncertainty to securing Russian barrels.

Trade has also begun to flow the other way. After repeated Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries contributed to domestic fuel shortages, Russia began importing gasoline from India: according to data from Kpler, Russia’s Murmansk port received 40,000 tonnes of gasoline from Nayara Energy, 49% of which is controlled by Rosneft. By late August, Russian gasoline production had fallen to about 70% of domestic consumption as more refineries were forced to temporarily suspend operations or reduce output.

India’s shift toward more Russian crude, and Moscow’s later purchases of Indian gasoline, were both responses to supply disruptions that had already begun to unfold. They showed how quickly energy flows can adjust when circumstances change. BRICS could try to organize some of that flexibility in advance, rather than leaving its members to scramble for alternatives only after a disruption has started. That would make the group’s energy cooperation less reliant on improvisation.

Making stored oil usable in a crisis

One way to reduce that improvisation is to position oil closer to the buyer before it is urgently needed. India already has one such bilateral example. The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited already have a storage relationship at Mangalore. A May 2026 agreement explores increasing ADNOC crude stored in India to as much as 30 million barrels, including possible new storage at Visakhapatnam and Chandikhol. It also considers Indian strategic crude storage in Fujairah.

One option is a voluntary emergency oil arrangement among interested BRICS members, rather than a common reserve for the entire grouping. Clear ownership is only one part of it. The importing country would also need a defined right to draw an agreed quantity when an emergency occurs. The terms could set how much oil is covered, where it is stored, and how it is priced. They would also spell out who can release it and how the stock is replaced. Refinery compatibility and transport would have to be worked out as well. This would remove some of the uncertainty before markets become even more difficult. India or any other buyer should not be negotiating access after ships have been diverted and prices have already jumped.

India is already working on some of these practical questions outside BRICS. A July India-Japan statement on energy resilience covers stockpiles, emergency response, supplies from third countries, and maritime transport. The India-Japan framework is different, but it shows that many of these operational questions can be worked through in advance. New Delhi therefore does not have to start from scratch. Some of those ideas could now be adapted to voluntary cooperation between BRICS producers and importers.

The test before the next summit

Getting hold of the oil is only part of the problem. The payment also must go through. BRICS finance ministers and central bank governors have already called for better cross-border payment systems. A promised barrel is of little use if the payment cannot be cleared when it is needed. Companies and banks should run payments through the agreed route beforehand and keep a backup ready.

Suppose Hormuz traffic falls further just as a bypass pipeline is damaged and war-risk insurance becomes unavailable. If an importer invokes its agreed right to the oil, how long does it take for the stored crude to reach the refinery? The time it takes would show whether the arrangement is useful in a real emergency.

The New Delhi pledge will matter more if it works when supplies tighten. A member facing a shortage should be able to draw on an agreed volume without having to negotiate the terms again. That is where BRICS can begin to turn its promise of resilient energy flows into something members can use.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump held a phone call on Wednesday. The two countries are trying to reach a trade deal amid US pressure on India over its purchases of Russian oil.

The leaders reviewed cooperation in trade, defense, energy, and critical technologies and exchanged views on regional and international issues, according to statements issued by New Delhi and Washington.

The call comes days after Trump signed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act into law on September 18. The legislation expands sanctions, tariffs, and prohibitions on Russia while extending existing sanctions on Iran. The official Indian readout made no mention of the new law.

Last week, however, New Delhi raised the issue directly with Washington. Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar reiterated concerns over the legislation during talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in New York. The law provides for tariffs of up to 100% on goods from major buyers of Russian crude oil and natural gas under specified conditions.

India has previously warned that measures targeting its Russian energy trade could affect bilateral relations and the international energy market, while maintaining that it will continue diversified oil sourcing.

The Indian captain of the FlyDubai flight to Tel Aviv, who was severely wounded in an attack by his co-pilot inside the cockpit on Wednesday, has been praised by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a hero for helping passengers and crew regain control of the jet.

Captain Smit Machchhar, whose family is from Mumbai, is being treated at a hospital in Saudi Arabia and is reported to be in stable condition.

FlyDubai flight FZ1073 was traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv when Machchhar was stabbed by his co-pilot, who Netanyahu said was an Omani national and had apparently tried to crash the aircraft. The jet plunged about 17,400 feet in under two minutes before passengers and crew subdued the attacker and took control of the plane.

The Omani Foreign Ministry hasn’t commented on the incident. A severely wounded Machchhar managed to open the cockpit door even as he grappled with his co-pilot, and raised an alarm – an act that allowed the passengers to intervene.

“I started helping the pilot because he had lost a lot of blood and was in bad shape,” a dentist on board the flight, Shota Musaev, told CNN. “He was covered in cuts – his head, his hands – they were practically sliced open, almost severed in two.” Musaev treated the pilot and also helped the other passengers subdue the attacker.

“I think that if we had waited even a few more moments, we would have lost him,” Musaev said.

Modi called Machchhar a “hero” on Thursday. “His valor helped save hundreds of lives and avert a great tragedy,” the Indian prime minister posted on X.

📹 ICYMI: Flydubai Hero 🇮🇳 Captain Who Helped Foil Mid-Air Attack Spoke About Crew’s Role A Year Ago

In the interview, Capt. Smit Machchhar spoke about how passengers depend on crew in an emergency.

After reportedly being stabbed by his co-pilot, the Indian captain managed to… https://t.co/x3N09Baz20 pic.twitter.com/Ph3H40NA8E

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) October 1, 2026

Netanyahu praised Machchhar’s “extraordinary bravery.” He called the Indian captain a “true hero” and said his actions had helped in preventing “a catastrophic mid-air disaster,” and saved the 174 people on board the plane.

Musaev said he spoke with Machchhar while treating him and learned that the 39-year-old has two children and lives in Dubai. Machchhar has nearly 9,750 flying hours on Boeing 737 aircraft. He spent about 11 years with the Indian carrier SpiceJet, where he became a senior commander and line training captain responsible for training and checking other pilots, before joining Flydubai in 2022. His experience includes more than 6,400 hours as pilot-in-command at SpiceJet.

“None,” Machchhar told an interviewer last year when asked what he considered more important, a smooth landing or on-time arrival. “Safety,” he added in a prescient comment.

“As long as you’re walking out of the aircraft is what I want,” he added.

India has approved a $19 billion expansion of its green-energy grid to remove the transmission constraints that are holding back the country from fully utilizing its fast-growing solar and wind power generation capacity, especially during peak hours.  

The Green Energy Corridor Phase III (GEC-III) will enable the country’s green grid to carry up to 135 gigawatts (GW) of renewable power, and deploy 50 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of battery storage. It is targeted for completion by fiscal 2032-33.

GW is a measure of generation capacity, while GWh measures the total amount of energy produced or consumed over time.

Nearly 21GW, or about 9% of India’s installed renewable capacity, is currently connected through temporary grid arrangements while awaiting dedicated transmission infrastructure. This infrastructure gap restrains the transmission of around 12GW of power to users during periods of peak solar generation. 

Grid operators had to restrict 8,133GWh of solar electricity during the April-June period, when peak power demand reached a record 270GW, because of these transmission constraints and the need to maintain grid stability, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy told India’s parliament.

New Delhi currently has about 8.66GWh of installed large-scale battery storage, against a projected requirement of 236GWh by 2031-32, according to Power Ministry data.

India crossed 300GW of installed non-fossil power capacity in July, with these now accounting for more than 54% of the country’s installed generation capacity. New Delhi is targeting 500GW of non-fossil power by 2030.

Indian designers are moving beyond manufacturing and craft work for global brands and are increasingly presenting their own collections on the international stage, fashion designer Kanika Goyal told RT at the BRICS+ Fashion Summit in Moscow.

India has long been an important source of craftsmanship and production for the global fashion industry, with much of that work taking place behind the scenes. But a new generation of homegrown labels is increasingly creating the finished product and taking its own design identity overseas.

“We’ve always been on the back end of things and walking behind the scenes,” Goyal told RT, but said Indian designers are now emerging “in a much louder way,” drawing greater attention to where the craft and techniques behind their work originate. Emerging talent is increasingly “creating the final product” and “putting it on global stage,” she added, saying that “recognition really matters.”

The shift comes as India’s textile exports rose 16.1% year-on-year in August, with ready-made garment exports up 6.1%, according to the Ministry of Textiles.

The change goes beyond India. Designers from BRICS and other emerging markets are already building strong domestic businesses while reaching audiences outside their home countries. For Goyal, this is less a future Global South-led fashion revolution than a shift that is already underway.

Russia is among the markets Indian labels could explore more directly. Goyal’s brand previously supplied Russian stores through a Paris-based sales agency before 2022. Shipping, customs, and finding the right partners now influence how designers approach the market, but she sees greater business between the two countries as a possibility.

More than 4,500 Indian seafarers are aboard commercial vessels operating in the Persian Gulf amid repeated attacks on regional shipping, New Delhi has said. The Indian government is monitoring their safety after one sailor from the country was killed and another went missing this month.

Six India-flagged commercial ships and six foreign-flagged vessels carrying cargo to India are currently in the Gulf west of the Strait of Hormuz, with around 163 Indian seafarers aboard them. The more than 4,500 Indians are serving on other commercial vessels operating in the area, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Tuesday.

An Indian sailor was killed when the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged bulk carrier MV Cape Dao was attacked in the Gulf of Oman on September 23. Ten days earlier, an Indian crew member went missing after the Panama-flagged tanker El Gaia was struck while passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

At least 85 shipping incidents had been recorded in and around the Strait of Hormuz and the wider Middle East by September 24, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) confirmed, highlighting the growing risk to commercial vessels operating in the region.

India has tightened precautions in response. Shipowners and managers have been advised since July to avoid deploying Indian seafarers on voyages through the Strait of Hormuz until further orders. A 24-hour control room and real-time monitoring system are also tracking vessels and crews in coordination with the Indian Navy and other agencies.

The safety push has also moved to the diplomatic level. India and Liberia launched a new Group of Friends on Safety and Security of Shipping and Seafarers at the United Nations last week, bringing together around two dozen countries with major roles in shipping, vessel registration and supplying crews.

India has secured partial relief on Tuesday from an expanded 100% US tariff on certain patented pharmaceutical imports. Specified specialty medicines and their associated ingredients now qualify for zero-duty treatment, while generic drugs and their ingredients remain outside the tariff entirely for now.

The decision took effect on July 31 for companies included in an initial list and was extended on September 29 to other companies covered by Section 232 of the US Trade Expansion Act.

The move is significant for India as the US remains its biggest pharmaceutical export market. Indian drug shipments to the country were worth about $10 billion in the year ended March 2025, accounting for roughly 35% of the sector’s overseas sales, according to the government-backed Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India.

Much of that business is in generic medicines. India exported $24.15 billion of generics globally in FY25 and is the world’s largest generic exporter by volume, according to the council. Those products are not currently covered by the new US tariff.

India has also been included in a list of 20 countries and jurisdictions eligible for zero tariffs on some specialty medicines. The carve-out covers drugs used exclusively for rare diseases, nuclear medicine, plasma-derived therapies and fertility treatments, as well as cell and gene therapies, antibody-drug conjugates and animal-health products.

A lack of US “understanding or appreciation or empathy” for India’s concerns over cross-border terrorism is creating problems in ties between New Delhi and Washington, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has said.

Speaking at the Asia Society in New York on Tuesday, Jaishankar said few countries had faced the kind of terrorism India has endured from its neighbor as part of a “deliberate, conscious policy” over several decades. India-Pakistan ties remain tense after the April 2025 Pahalgam attack, which New Delhi blamed on Pakistan. It was followed by four days of military exchanges between the two countries. Islamabad denied involvement in the attack.

The remarks came days after Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif used his UN General Assembly address to raise the issue of Kashmir, criticize India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty and credit US President Donald Trump with helping end their 2025 conflict. Jaishankar responded the following day, without naming Pakistan directly, describing it as a “serial practitioner of terrorism” and saying India would exercise its right to defend itself.

The matter has previously strained India-US ties. New Delhi privately protested after Trump hosted Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, at the White House in June 2025, warning Washington that closer engagement with Pakistan sent the wrong signal on cross-border terrorism, three senior Indian officials told Reuters at the time. One official called cross-border terrorism a “red line” for India. Pakistan denies supporting militants who attack Indian targets.

Iran has completed laying track on the southern stretch of the Chabahar-Zahedan railway, closing a key gap in a route designed to connect the port of Chabahar on the Gulf of Oman to Zahedan near the Afghan border.

Iranian railway official Abbas Khatibi said last week that tracks had been laid for the crucial 480km stretch between Chabahar and Khash, and currently the priority is to complete the stations on the route, Tasnim news agency reported.

The Chabahar–Zahedan link stretches 630 km, or 735 km including branch lines. With the northern sections already linked to the existing rail network, the Iranian authorities are now preparing it for operation.

The Chabahar–Zahedan link is an extension of the larger International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC), backed by India, Iran and Russia. The project has been in the making for decades because of its huge infrastructure requirements and has also been slowed by Western sanctions on both Iran and Russia.

The milestone comes as the Middle East conflict has disrupted traditional transport and energy routes across the region. Chabahar has direct access to the Indian Ocean without requiring ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, a major chokepoint affected by the conflict.

Strategic Step: Iran Completes Chabahar-Zahedan Rail Link – Connecting Central Asia to Indian Ocean

The major infrastructure project looks set to become fully operational within 3-4 months with final safety checks for the route underway. (Economic Times)

The route connects… pic.twitter.com/pUKsSzJEJq

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) September 28, 2026

For India, the Chabahar-Zahedan link strengthens a trade route that reaches Afghanistan and Central Asia without transiting Pakistan. Cargo arriving by sea at Chabahar would be able to move inland through Iran’s rail and road network toward landlocked regional markets.

India’s role in Chabahar is complicated by US sanctions. A conditional waiver covering the project, in which India invested around $120 million, expired in April. New Delhi maintained it was discussing the issue with both Tehran and Washington, describing the regional conflict as a “complicating factor.” 

In July, the conflict touched Chabahar itself, when US forces struck a surveillance tower at the neighboring Shahid Kalantari terminal linked to the project. India said the terminal was not damaged.

India has directly appealed to US lawmakers over new sanctions that could expose major buyers of Russian crude to tariffs of up to 100% as New Delhi seeks to protect its energy security.  

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri discussed the recently enacted Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 (SRIA) with a bipartisan US Congressional delegation led by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast in New Delhi on Sunday. Energy security was also part of the talks.  

The law – which its original sponsor, the late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, called the “sanctions bill from hell” – gives Washington authority to impose tariffs of up to 100% on imports from countries that continue purchasing Russian energy.

It does not automatically impose those duties on Indian goods, with their application subject to conditions under the legislation and a decision by US President Donald Trump.

New Delhi had already raised the issue at ministerial level last week, when Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in New York. Jaishankar conveyed India’s economic and strategic concerns over the sanctions measure, while Rubio said Washington was “well-positioned to help regional partners address their energy security challenges.”  

New Delhi has repeatedly defended its purchases as necessary to ensure affordable and reliable energy for its 1.4 billion people. After Congress passed the legislation, India said it remained “firmly committed” to energy security through diversified sourcing and warned Washington about potential implications for bilateral ties and international energy markets.  

Washington has meanwhile been positioning itself as a larger energy supplier to India. US crude supplies to India averaged about 177,000 barrels per day (bpd) during January-August, making it the country’s sixth-largest supplier over the period. The US has also become India’s largest supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG), with Indian imports rising 172% year-on-year in April-July to 2.39 million tons.  

India has maintained that its energy purchases will continue to be guided by national requirements, market conditions, and supply availability, rather than dependence on any single source.

The US has put the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) back at the center of its Middle East strategy as shipping and energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz remain disrupted. US President Donald Trump told a meeting of Arab leaders on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York that attacks on commercial shipping showed the need to shift the Middle East’s energy infrastructure away from “Iranian checkpoints.” 

“That’s why my administration strongly supports the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor,” Trump said earlier this week, while calling for other ways of moving oil, including pipelines.

The corridor was jointly unveiled at the G20 summit in New Delhi in 2023 by the US, India, Saudi Arabia, UAE, EU, Italy, France, and Germany. The IMEC would combine maritime routes, railways and other infrastructure, alongside planned energy and digital links. It has two broad sections: an eastern leg connecting India to the Gulf, and a northern leg linking the Gulf to Europe.

Cargo would sail from India to the UAE, move by rail across Saudi Arabia and Jordan to Israel’s Mediterranean coast, and then travel by sea from Haifa toward European ports. However, the IMEC is not by itself a single oil pipeline designed to replace Hormuz, as Trump’s comments seemed to imply. It is a trade and connectivity network. 

What’s the IMEC’s geopolitical significance? 

When the IMEC was announced, it was seen as a challenger to another route, which has been in the making for decades – the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC). Conceived in 2000 by India, Iran, and Russia, the 7,200-km INSTC will move freight from Mumbai through Iranian ports such as Bandar Abbas and Chabahar, across Iran and Azerbaijan – or via Caspian Sea routes – into Russia and onward to Northern and Western Europe.

Its main advantage over other routes is speed: the INSTC is said to be between 20% and 67% faster than existing corridors, while also avoiding the Suez Canal and Bab al-Mandab. 

Since 2022, it has become one of Moscow’s highest-priority alternative logistics routes, as it allows Russia to maintain trade links with partners in South Asia.

The corridor’s development, however, has been slow, largely because Iran, and later Russia, came under unprecedented Western sanctions. Even so, work has continued. India has invested around $120 million in Iran’s Chabahar Port, widely seen as a strategic anchor of the INSTC.

However, work at Chabahar has also been stalled by unilateral US sanctions against Iran.

Washington gave New Delhi a sanctions waiver in 2018, allowing India to develop and use the port for Afghanistan’s reconstruction and regional trade. A second six-month waiver given in October expired in April, making it harder for India to continue to work on the port. 

Chabahar is more than 500 km away from the conflict around the Strait of Hormuz. However, it still came under attack from US forces, with airstrikes targeting Iran’s maritime infrastructure and surveillance facilities in July. New Delhi clarified at the time that the Indian-operated Shahid Beheshti terminal itself was not damaged.

For India, Chabahar – and INSTC – remain the best options to access the Central Asian, Russian, and European markets, even if Washington and Tehran end hostilities tomorrow and open up Hormuz. A lot of work has already been done and the impact from any regional instability or political uncertainty would be far less than in the case of IMEC.

Why Hormuz actors still matter and the full corridor cannot be built now

It is difficult to imagine that the IMEC, if and when it becomes a reality, would move trade fully away from Hormuz. Saudi and UAE ports in the Persian Gulf that are key hubs on the route would still be impacted by any tensions around the strait.

The IMEC’s viability depends on much more than physical infrastructure, such as ports and railway lines. Making the land connectivity part work requires deeper transport and political cooperation across the Middle East, and specifically Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Israel.

That is no longer easy to pull together after Israeli forces invaded Gaza. The widespread public anger in the Arab world makes it nearly impossible for the Gulf monarchies to agree to such collaboration with Israel, the war with regional rival Iran notwithstanding. Finance is another issue, with no firm overall funding commitments or construction timelines in place. The corridor remains a long-term proposal rather than an operational alternative to existing energy and trade routes.

India and its partners are still backing the project. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni reaffirmed their commitment to the IMEC in May and called for a first ministerial meeting on the corridor to take concrete steps toward its implementation this year.

Still, despite the urgency created by the Middle East conflict and Trump’s comments, a fully functioning IMEC is years away.

India should continue to buy Russian oil and retain control over its energy choices as the US raises the pressure on major buyers, strategic affairs scholar Happymon Jacob told RT.

A recently-passed sanctions bill gives US President Donald Trump the power to impose tariffs of up to 100% on countries, including India, for purchasing Russian energy. New Delhi has maintained that its energy decisions are driven by national requirements and market conditions.

Russian oil should not be removed from the global market and India has no reason to stop buying it, Jacob told RT India in the latest episode of the ‘India, Russia, and the World’ podcast. He is the Delhi-based founder of the Council for Strategic and Defense Research think tank.

“I don’t think the world should take Russian oil off the table. I don’t think India should stop buying Russian oil,” he said. “You cannot let the Americans control your energy tap.”

India needs to keep a broad basket of energy options that include Russia, the Middle East, the US, and South America, along with renewable sources, Jacob said, adding that removing one of these options would reduce India’s flexibility at a time when energy supplies are exposed to geopolitical disruptions.

Russia is now India’s top supplier of crude oil, with September shipments tracking at around 1.9 million barrels per day, preliminary data from Kpler shows.

Six Ukrainian nationals accused of providing drone warfare training to armed groups in Myanmar were freed on bail in India after the country’s counterterrorism agency failed to file terror charges within the mandatory 180 days of their arrest.

The immigration charges against the Ukrainians – Viktor Kaminskyi, Petro Hurba, Taras Slyviak, Ivan Sukmanovskyi, Marian Stefankiv, and Maksim Honcharuk – were also settled before the Foreigners Regional Registration Office. However, they will have to remain in Delhi while the investigation is ongoing.

The six, arrested by India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) in March along with American national Matthew Aaron VanDyke, had allegedly trained members of Myanmar-based ethnic armed groups, including the Chin National Front and Kachin Independence Army, in drone warfare, operations, assembly, and jamming technology.

However, the agency’s initial chargesheet filed on September 8 accused the seven foreigners of only relatively mild illegal entry and visa violations under the Immigration and Foreigners Act – and no charge was brought under India’s primary anti-terror law, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

The same Delhi court had last week given bail to VanDyke for the same reasons.

The seven were described as “mercenaries” and were alleged to have participated in combat operations and in a drone attack on a Burmese passenger plane. UAVs and related equipment detained by Indian customs authorities were later seized during the probe.

Indian investigators arrested them after alleging they had entered the country on tourist visas, traveled through the northeastern state of Mizoram without mandatory permits, and crossed into neighboring Myanmar illegally.

An Indian seafarer was killed when a commercial ship was attacked off the coast of Oman on Wednesday.

The Antigua and Barbuda-flagged bulk carrier MV Cape Dao was reportedly hit by two torpedoes, killing crew member Suraj Yadav from Deoria in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

All the other crew members, including 19 other Indian nationals, have been rescued. An Omani warship helped with the rescue operations, reports said.

The attack caused damage near the engine room and accommodation area, the Forward Seamen’s Union of India (FSUI) posted on X. Some reports said the ship, which was sailing from the port of Mina Saqr in the United Arab Emirates to India, was struck by projectiles. No group or country has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.

Another Indian seafarer killed.
Wiper Suraj Yadav of Deoria, Uttar Pradesh, is dead after MV Cape Dao was attacked today while sailing toward India.
28 crew on board, 20 of them Indian.
Two torpedoes: • Port side C-deck (accommodation) • Port side hull (engine room)
Assurances… pic.twitter.com/AvrD2p1Cwd

— FSUI (@FSUIINDIA) September 23, 2026

The Indian Foreign Ministry condemned the attack and said “the targeting of commercial shipping, seafarers and civilian infrastructure in the region must end.”

The Indian Embassy in Oman is closely monitoring the situation and coordinating with Omani authorities to facilitate the early repatriation of the rescued seafarers.

At least ten Indian nationals have died so far in attacks on commercial shipping in the Middle East since the start of hostilities there.

India is the second largest supplier of seafarers, with more than 300,000 Indians working in the shipping industry globally. New Delhi has repeatedly condemned such attacks and issued advisories for its nationals on ships transiting the Gulf and Black Sea conflict zones amid the rising attacks on commercial shipping.

Russian crude supplies helped cushion India from an oil-supply shock after the conflict in the Middle East disrupted energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz, showing Moscow’s reliability as an energy partner, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko has said.

Rudenko’s statement comes amid renewed scrutiny on India’s Russian oil purchases, and after Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky called for choking off Russia’s oil trade under a new US sanctions law.

Indian refiners turned heavily to Russian crude after the US-Israeli attacks on Iran disrupted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which used to handle roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies.

The scale of the shift was most visible in March, when India’s Russian crude imports nearly doubled from the previous month to 2.25 million barrels per day (bpd) and accounted for half of its oil purchases.

Gulf shipments to India simultaneously plunged 61% to 1.18 million bpd. Existing arrangements between Moscow and New Delhi helped “significantly mitigate” the consequences of disruptions to global energy trade, Rudenko told Russian news outlet NEWS.ru on Wednesday.

It showed Moscow could meet demand from its partners even in difficult geopolitical conditions, he added.

Good to meet @SecRubio of the US #UNHighLevelWeek

Reiterated India’s interests and concerns with regard to SRIA. Also discussed the Gulf and Ukraine situations.

🇮🇳 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/163YRVlMZG

— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) September 23, 2026

Meanwhile, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar, who is in New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly meeting, raised New Delhi’s concerns about the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday.

The law gives US President Donald Trump the authority to impose up to 100% tariffs on the top buyers of Russian oil and gas. India’s Russian oil purchases have eased from record summer levels as other supplies recovered, but Moscow remains India’s largest crude supplier.