India, Russia To Clear Outstanding Rouble For Local Defence Purchase: Report

Amidst the ongoing Ukraine war and the US-led economic sanctions against Russia, India and Russia are yet to make final progress in clearing outstanding rouble payments for New Delhi's defence purchases from Moscow, according to a media report.

The report suggests as the current financial year ends in the absence of a solution to this problem, the capital city kicked off a local buying spree for its defence needs.

It further adds a significant chunk of unspent defence funds consists of the rouble payments worth Rs 28,000 crore (USD 3.39 billion) for weapons procured from Russia, a financial headroom utilising local defence purchases by New Delhi. 

The officials familiar with the matter state, a confirmation regarding a number of defence acquisitions is set to pass by the end of this month. 

Meanwhile, the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force have already submitted their various buying and acquisition needs to the defence ministry in the past.

For the Indian Army, this includes the electronic warfare system meant for mountains and a dedicated communication satellite among others. The Indian Air Force asked for medium and high-power radars, six Dornier-228 aircraft and 70 HTT-40 basic trainer aircraft among others. 

Subsequently, the Indian Navy entails the buying and acquisition needs consisting of fleet support ships, next-generation offshore patrol vessels (NGOPVs), next-generation missile vessels and next-generation maritime mobile coastal batteries (NGMMCBs) with BrahMos missiles.