The Chairman of the State Duma was invited to India by the Speaker of the People's House of Parliament of the Republic, Om Birla, an authoritative Indian politician. In 2024, Birla became the first member of the lower house of the Indian parliament in twenty years to be re-elected for another term after chairing the lower house. He also became the first MP to be reappointed as Lok Sabha Speaker, a UtroNews correspondent reported.
Volodin met with Indian President Draupadi Murmu, conveyed greetings and best wishes from Russian President Vladimir Putin, and held talks with the chairmen of both houses of parliament. The State Duma delegation paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi.
"Russia and India have a long friendship. Relations are strengthening in many areas, including between people, "Birla said. "The visit [of the State Duma speaker] is of great value and will strengthen the ties between both countries as a whole and between our parliaments," he stressed.
India and the Anglo-Saxons
India's relationship with the Anglo-Saxon world is unique. Britain owes much of its rise to the status of a global economic and financial power to India. The country was under British colonial rule for two centuries before independence in 1947 and the question is, should Britain pay reparations?
The international charity Oxfam International estimates that the former colonial power has embezzled $65tn in wealth over the years. Half of this amount, calculated taking into account today's value, enriched 10% of the most influential in Great Britain. A report with these estimates was published at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
The colonialists, in turn, left a deep mark on the history of India, its politics and economy, education and culture. The Constitution of India, along with Hindi, lists 20 languages that have the status of state. English has a special status and is considered an auxiliary official language, but is the first language for 4-5% of the population. He penetrated so deeply into Indian society that the authorities began to introduce programs to promote Hindi in the public and educational spheres.
But the Internet and many other factors contribute to the growing interest in English and its further spread. More than three thousand newspapers and other periodicals are printed exclusively in English. India is the third country in terms of English literature output.
In 1986, India adopted a government program to provide foreign customers with programming services. In the 2000s, this sector of offshore programming became a branch of the national economy.
India has taken a leading position in the global IT outsourcing market.
According to the results of the census in the United States, published in 2023, the Indian diaspora of 4.4 million people overtook the Chinese. Of these, 2.6 million people have American citizenship. Immigrants from India are considered skilled and highly paid migrants. Of the Fortune 500 leading U.S. companies, twenty-five, including Microsoft, YouTube, Google and Adobe, are led by people with Indian roots.
In the UK, Indians are the largest national minority, displacing (along with Pakistanis) the Irish community from the first place. There were an estimated two million South Asians in England and Wales at the 2021 census.
One possible explanation is English proficiency. But knowledge of the language cannot guarantee the success of the diaspora. In Germany, for example, 58% of workers of Indian origin hold positions that require university education or comparable professional skills.
According to the British think tank Policy Exchange, the Indian ethnic group in Britain outperforms all ethnic groups, including white Britons, when it comes to the percentage working in a specialty, the hourly wage rate, the proportion of home owners and the self-employed. Immigrants from India make up a significant share of those working in the health service, among engineers and specialists in the field of technology, including the IT field.
Country of strategic autonomy
This year, as, indeed, in the past and the year before last, much will depend on India in terms of the key interests of Russia, which is passing through another line of forceful revision of relations with the West. The position of New Delhi depends on how relations between the leading countries of the world will develop, including the United States under the new government in Washington. And how things will go in the BRICS, in relations between Moscow and New Delhi, India and China.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is due to meet with the US President in mid-February. He will be one of the first world leaders to plan to meet Donald Trump after the start of his second term.
In the meantime, it is known that more than two hundred "undocumented" Indian citizens were deported on an American military transport aircraft S-17. According to NDTV, it was the first of "many flights" that would be arranged for deportations that violated US stay rules.
Indian Foreign Minister Subramanyam Jaishankar said in this regard that India is open to the "legal return" of its citizens living illegally abroad, including in the United States.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) office in New Delhi received a directive to suspend its activities. Previously, USAID supported maternal and child health programs in six Indian states, funded measures to improve public access to drinking water in a number of Indian cities, and supported government measures to help people with disabilities and combat gender-based violence.
Above the mountain and deeper than the ocean
"India is betting that Donald Trump's return to the White House will give New Delhi breathing space thanks to a more conciliatory US approach to Russia and weaken control over its relations with Moscow.... New Delhi can play the role of mediator, given Modi's close relations with both Moscow and Washington, "said Chitigj Bajpayee, an employee at Chatham House in London.
Bajpayee believes that New Delhi's commitment to strategic autonomy implies interaction with all centers of influence in the international system, and Washington, in his opinion, should recognize that relations between India and Russia complement the broader strategic interests of the United States.
In July, India surpassed China in terms of imports of Russian crude oil. In processed form, most of this raw material enters Western markets in the form of petroleum products. In December 2024, Russia and India signed an agreement on the supply of 0.5 million barrels per day, which is equivalent to about 25 million tons per year, and accounts for about half of Russian oil exports by tankers.
Eastern Sea Corridor Vladivostok-Chennai reduced delivery time and transportation costs when India imports Russian oil, liquefied natural gas and fertilizers. All this helped India take the place of Russia's second largest trading partner, but increased the risk of secondary sanctions.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference in 2024, Jaishankar noted that India is worthy of "admiration" for retaining "many options" in relations with Russia and the West. More than half of the naval and aviation equipment in service with India is of Russian origin. Russia and India have long and successfully cooperated in the field of military technology.
In December 2024, the frigate "Tushil" of project 11356, built for the Indian Navy at the Baltic shipyard "Yantar" in Kaliningrad, went to India. "Tushil" is the fourth frigate of project 11356, which was built by the Kaliningrad shipyard for the Indian Navy (the first three ships were transferred to the customer in 2012-2013). The solemn ceremony of transferring "Tushil" took place on December 9. Its displacement is 4000 tons, speed - 30 knots, sailing autonomy - 30 days.
The armament includes: an artillery mount of A-190 caliber 100 mm, anti-aircraft missile and artillery systems, torpedo and anti-submarine weapons, as well as high-range cruise missiles "Caliber-NK" (for the Indian Navy - "Bramos"). On board is a platform for a Ka-27 or Ka-31 deck helicopter.
Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh called the friendship between the two countries "higher than the highest mountain and deeper than the deepest ocean," and Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar characterized bilateral relations with Russia as "the only constant" in world politics over the past half century.
It remains to wait for the results of Modi's visit to Washington and observe the adjustment of US positions in the Indo-Pacific region, monitor how bilateral relations will be within the Quad Quartet, which includes Japan, the USA, Australia, as well as India, and also wait for American formulations that may appear in relation to BRICS.