Much has been made of the possible geopolitical motivations behind the decision to price the $5 billion Russian-Indian S-400 deal in roubles, and Moscow and Beijing are eyeing another rouble/yuan-based trade compact. However, Sputnik has discovered that there's also a purely economic reason for the three countries to move away from the dollar. [...]

The $5 billion+ deal between Moscow and New Delhi for five regiments of Russia's cutting-edge air defense system got an added bonus this week after it was revealed that the contract will be paid for in rubles. Taking a look at the deal's details, Sputnik discovered that it's really a double blow to the US military-industrial complex. [...]

Much has been made of the possible geopolitical motivations behind the decision to price the $5 billion Russian-Indian S-400 deal in roubles, and Moscow and Beijing are eyeing another rouble/yuan-based trade compact. However, Sputnik has discovered that there's also a purely economic reason for the three countries to move away from the dollar. [...]

The developments came after China sold $3 billion in US Treasury bonds amid the ongoing trade row with the US, making it the third such sale in the last 14 years. [...]

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is cutting down on its holding of US Treasuries, joining many other emerging economies which have been off loading their stock of US debt amid rising rates. The country’s share of US sovereign debt saw a gradual decline from $157 billion in March to $140 billion as of the end of August, according to the latest US Treasury report. [...]

On Thursday, US President Donald Trump promised that India will soon see his decision on punitive measures after New Delhi moved to purchase advanced S-400 air defense systems from Russia. [...]

Pakistan has successfully test-launched its nuclear-capable missile system just after its archenemy India refused peace talks with Islamabad and bought billions-worth of weapons from Russia. The missile system, which can fire both nuclear and conventional projectiles to a distance of 1,300km, was tested on Monday by the Army Strategic Forces Command (ASFC). [...]

This week, Russian President Vladimir Putin called Washington's sanctions policy a "colossal strategic mistake" which has only served to undermine the dollar's credibility as a global reserve currency. India's Central Bank and Ministry of Finance have been tasked with exploring the feasibility of rupee and barter-based trade agreements with crude oil producing nations such as Russia, Iran and [...]

Vladimir Putin heads to India for a two-day visit, during which he will meet PM Narendra Modi. All eyes will be on the $5-billion deal to purchase S-400s from Russia, which Delhi approved in defiance of a US threat of sanctions. The Russian leader is due to arrive in India on Thursday. [...]

MOSCOW/KUNMING China National Gold will invest about $420 million in the development of the Klyuchevskoye gold deposit in Russia; another $65 million will be invested by India's SUN Gold, the annual production volume is expected at about 6.5 metric tons of gold per year, the Russian Industry and Trade Ministry said. [...]

New Delhi wants to encourage Russian investments and has invited the country’s companies to explore business opportunities and strengthen bilateral economic ties, Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu has said. [...]

India has cleared the way for its biggest deal yet with Russia, with Delhi reportedly set to sign a deal to purchase $2.2 billion worth of Russian ships. It comes despite US sanctions aimed at deterring business with Moscow.  After revitalizing defense ties with the US earlier this month, India has now turned to Russia to acquire four new warships for its Navy, sources quoted by the Economic Time [...]

New Delhi is maintaining an independent foreign policy course with regard to Latin American countries, Indian political analysts told Sputnik. They stressed that Donald Trump's pressure on Cuba and Venezuela would unlikely affect India's ties with these countries and explained how New Delhi avoids a clash of interests with China in the region. [...]

While the US is openly wooing India, there are no signs that New Delhi is going to give up its longstanding defense collaboration with Russia. Speaking to Sputnik, Indian analysts emphasized the country's "strategic autonomy" as New Delhi's major priority and presumed that the US's apparent plan to bring India into NATO’s fold would fail. [...]

India has made it clear that it is going ahead with its plan to purchase the S-400 Triumph air defense missile systems from Russia and that it will not be deterred by the US' unilateral sanctions. India has also expressed itself similarly over the US sanctions on Iran by continuing to buy oil from the country. [...]

Russia hopes to finalize two major defense deals with India by year’s end, with first deliveries of the S-400 air defense system potentially taking place in 2020, a Russian defense official has said. India defied US demands to drop the S-400 deal in favor of US weaponry, selecting the defense system to protect its skies in June following an agreement on technical and economic specifications earl [...]

Moscow and Delhi are seeking to bypass US sanctions by using the rupee and the ruble in facilitating military deals, according to Indian daily, the Economic Times. The paper reports that US sanctions are hampering $2 billion in defense deals between Russia and India, as payments are getting stuck. [...]

Washington has warned New Delhi that procurement of Russian advanced military systems may jeopardize defense cooperation and technology sharing between the US and India, as well as “interoperability” between their armed forces. “There is a lot of concern in the US administration and Congress with the S-400,” House Armed Services Committee chairman Mac Thornberry told India’s Economic Tim [...]

India will reportedly pay for Iranian oil in rupees as the two countries seek to bypass US sanctions against Tehran, industry officials have told the Sputnik news agency. Under the deal, the payments for oil will be made through India’s state-run UCO Bank, which has no US exposure. The countries are also discussing the barter-like system to avoid US sanctions, Sputnik reports. [...]

DAVOS (Sputnik) - Reports on disagreements between Russia and India in the area of defense industry cooperation are based on speculation and the two states maintain strong ties in defense cooperation and are developing a partnership on transfers of technology, Mobashar Jawed Akbar, Indian minister of state for external affairs, told Sputnik. [...]

India's defense minister expressed that India is not interested in acquiring US F-16 fighter aircraft despite aggressive lobbying by Lockheed Martin. In what can be seen as a sharp denial to the US, India has dismissed a proposal made by Lockheed Martin Corp to build F-16 fighter jets in India. [...]

A few months ago, entrepreneur Charles Devenish contacted me to tell me about his plans to develop various mining enterprises across India. He spoke about the massive amounts of untapped mineral resources lying beneath India that is just lying there and has been for a long time. [...]