India and Russia on Friday signed the big ticket item on their defence agenda, the S-400 Long Range Surface to Air Missile System. The $5.4 billion (Rs. 39,000 crore) contract has reaffirmed the "commitment to enhance military technical cooperation between India and Russia, which has a long history of mutual trust and mutual benefit," said the joint statement.

This comes under the shadow of America's Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) wherein India is yet to get a "waiver" from President Trump. The US embassy spokesperson in New Delhi said, "The waiver authority is not for a blanket waiver. It is transaction-specific. There are strict criteria for considering a waiver. Waivers of CAATSA section 231 will be considered on a transaction-by-transaction basis. We cannot prejudge any sanctions decisions."

Interestingly, one of the biggest agreements signed between India and Russia found no mention in the press statements of the two leaders. In fact, the contract was signed by Joint Secretary (Land Systems) and Director General ROE (Rosoboronexport), Russia at 11 in the morning, just before the bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Modi and President Putin had begun.

Government sources told India Today that the decision was taken in "national interest".

While America has still not announced its decision on this specific deal which India explained to US was a 'legacy item' and should be kept out of the ambit of sanctions. "This is a negotiation that precedes CAATSA by several years or dozens of months", said sources.

In 2015, ahead of Prime Minister Modi's visit to Moscow, Anil Ambani's Reliance Defence had signed a manufacturing and maintenance deal potentially worth USD 6 billion with Russia's Almaz-Antey, the subsidiary of Rosoboronexport and key manufacturer of the S-400 air defence system.

On December 24, 2015, Reliance Infrastructure Limited, in a press release captioned 'DAC approval for acquisition of S-400 air defence missile systems creates business opportunity of about $6 billion (rs.40,000 crore)' said, "India's Reliance Defence Limited and Russia's Leading Developer and Manufacturer of Air Defence Missile Systems 'AlmazAntey', have decided to work jointly on the entire range of AD Missile and Radar Systems that are required for Indian Defence Forces."

According to the release, the Chairman of 'Reliance Group' Mr Anil Ambani said, "Our proposed partnership will constitute an important milestone in the strategic relationship between the two countries".

The Vice Chairman of "AlmazAntey" Mr VF Medovnikov said that "Working with Reliance Defence will help us develop new directions for both Companies to address future requirements of the Indian Armed Forces".

India's big thrust with these huge defence partnerships is 'Make In India'.

"Both sides expressed satisfaction at the significant progress made on the ongoing projects of military technical cooperation and recognized the positive shift towards joint research and joint production of military technical equipment between the two countries. They highly evaluated the military industrial conference process as an important mechanism to promote the 'Make in India' policy of the government of India," said the joint statement.

PACTS SIGNED:

PM Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin have signed eight pacts.

The two countries signed a $5 billion S-400 air defence system deal for the surface to air missile defence system.

A crucial MoU was signed between ISRO and the Federal Space Agency of Russia on joint activities in the field of human spaceflight programme, Gaganyaan.

India and Russia are also committed to fight against terrorism and drug trafficking.

Pacts were also inked in the fields of nuke energy, railways. Both have signed a pact to develop six nuke power projects in India.

DECISIONS MADE:

India and Russia have also asked all nations to fully implement the Paris Agreement on climate change while committing to promote green development and lowcarbon economy. They asked developed nations to provide financial and technological support to developing economies.

Modi and Putin interacted with some young talents from Atal Innovation Mission and Russia's SIRIUS educational centre.

AIM and SIRIUSalso signed an MoU. Modi has also invited Russia to set up a dedicated defence industrial park in India.

Both are also looking at the possibility of building a gas pipeline from Russia to India.

WHAT IS S-400 AIR DEFENCE SYSTEM:

The S-400 Triumf air defence system can engage up to 36 targets at a time and simultaneously launch 72 missiles.

The long and medium range air defence missile system is designed to destroy air attacks, including stealth jet and any other aerial target.

The delivery of the missile systems, tipped to be over $5 billion, will start 24 months after signing the deal.

Acquiring the missile system will help repulse the air attacks by India's adversaries, especially Pakistan and China. The signing of the deal assumes significance as China, too, has signed a deal with Russia.

This is the most lethal arms system in the world and it provides four types of layered air defence.

The target detection range of is up to 600 km & its tactical ballistic missile destruction range varies from 5km to 60 km.

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