#Moscow suspects #Delhi of admitting #USNavy in #Russian #nuke sub; India denies

India reportedly allowed US Navy to visit Russian  nuclear-powdered attack submarine INS ‘Chakra’.The incident threatens to jeopardize talks on the lease of a second nuclear submarine, and on other projects in the field of military cooperation between the two countries.Russia’s Kommersant daily has reported it on Wednesday.

#Moscow suspects #Delhi of admitting #USNavy in #Russian #nuke sub; India denies pic.twitter.com/FYoBHrgXqY

— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) November 11, 2017

Another Russian news portal, NEWS.ru, has debunked the account of the Kommersant and states that French lobbyists have an ulterior role in spreading misinformation to further their own chances of selling a nuclear-powered attack submarine to India. NEWS.ru quotes a source stating “there is complete confidence that the throw-in is organised by the lobbyists of France, and it’s pretty high quality.” According to this source, “In addition to the contract for the construction of non-nuclear boats such the Scorpene [now being inducted by the Indian Navy,] the French have a great desire to enter the Indian nuclear fleet.”
France, the article states, is also aggressively trying to participate in India’s programme to construct a second home-grown aircraft carrier. The first indigenous carrier, INS Vikrant is being built in Kochi using technology from a host of countries including Russia.

According to ToI newspaper though there was no official statement, sources said there was "no question" of letting US officials or "anyone else" near INS Chakra, the Akula-II class submarine inducted by the Indian Navy in April 2012, in violation of the terms of agreement inked with Russia. "This is a disinformation campaign being carried out by some vested interests," said a source.

The Chakra, an Akula-2 class submarine, widely considered among the world’s most sophisticated, has been leased by India for 10 years but all ownership rights reside with Russia.

The unusual tiger-goat friendship in #Russian zoo

At the Primorsky Safari Park, a wildlife reserve in Russia's Far East,the unlikely friendship between the Siberian tiger Amur and the goat Timur, which was supposed to become Amur's prey, caught the imagination of the public and made the headlines of the Russian media.

#Edward Snowden meets #Arundhati Roy and #John Cusack at #Moscow's Ritz–Carlton

.@johncusack , Edward @Snowden are @freedomofpress board members https://t.co/katj2Dh5FQ pic.twitter.com/i6W4DBaFOq

— heykim (@heykim) November 28, 2015

India's Arundhati Roy, the author of the Booker prize winning novel 'The God Of Small Things' met Edward Snowden, former employee and whistleblower of American National Security Agency (NSA) and Daniel Ellsberg, whistleblower of the Pentagon.Hollywood actor John Cusack was also present there.The meeting happened at Moscow's Ritz–Carlton hotel in the first week of November.

#Tabu,#Ayushmann Khurrana attend Indian Film Festival #Russia (IFFR)

 

#Tabu,#Ayushmann Khurrana attend Indian Film Festival Russia (IFFR) pic.twitter.com/L6yMQahJka

— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) September 8, 2015

The fourth day of Indian Film Festival of Russia (IFFR) 2015 ended last night with glamour and celebrating theme of “100 years of Indian Cinema” through a spectacular fashion show and honouring the best of Indian cinema Down Under.The four day film festival started from 3rd September and ended on 6th September with an aim of bridging the gap between the two entertainment industries in the world - Russia and India.Indian Film Festival Russia (IFFR) is devoted to a greater appreciation of Indian cinema and culture by showcasing films, supporting emerging filmmakers, recognizing the leadership of entertainment industry performers, business executives, and promoting the diverse perspectives of the Indian diaspora.

Round Table on Indo-Russian Nuclear Energy coperation at IIT #Bombay

Together with IIT Bombay Russian Nuclear Agency Rosatom arranged a Round table in order to discuss high priority questions of Indian nuclear industry development in cooperation with Russia. Russian professor from National Research Nuclear University MEPhI in Moscow along with India nuclear experts took the floor with a speech on Russian know-how on Fast Neutron Reactors as well as innovative Russian nuclear technologies for Indian nuclear energy development.
Currently Russia is developing design solutions for BN-1200 project which will include proven technical features of BN_600 and BN-800. Besides, the innovative reactor design has a significantly simplified system overload, emergency heat removal from the reactor vessel built in the autonomous heat exchangers and others.

#Ukraine returned Indian students can complete their medical studies in India

Indian students are returning to their respective hometowns due to political situation in Ukraine.In the war torn country the Indian embassy had issued advisory for students to leave Ukraine. As a result  Indian students started returning to their respective hometowns in ziffy. Now,  Government has issued a statement in the parliament, stating that it is aware of the problems being faced by Indian students pursuing medical education in Ukraine on account of Crimea becoming part of Russia and the security situation in Eastern Ukraine.

As informed by MCI, students who are about to graduate from Crimea are entitled to appear in the screening test, as in case of any other student graduating from a foreign medical institution. With respect to continuation of their studies in alternate institutions, no decision has yet been taken.

The Health Minister, Shri J P Nadda stated this in a written reply in the Lok Sabha here today

2 new energy blocks for Kudankulam; #India-#Russia sign joint-agreement

Russia, India sign agreement on construction of 2 new energy blocks for Kudankulam nuclear power plant pic.twitter.com/S9DXr23xzG
— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) December 11, 2014

Russia and India has signed  a strategic document on nuclear energy cooperation.“Nuclear energy cooperation is one of the pillars of our strategic partnership. We concluded two inter-governmental agreements in this field in 2008 and in 2010,” Putin said in an interview with  news agency PTI .“Our resources enable us to build up to 25 power plants in India. According to experts, however, even these units may not meet the needs of a dynamically developing economy like India,” Putin said.

Russia, India agree to build at least 12 nuclear energy blocks within 20 years
— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) December 11, 2014

#Russia's Tech Startup incubation hub wants #Indian participation

Skolkovo, once touted by as a budding version of Silicon Valley that would help Russia's transition from its oil-and-gas based economy to a diversified, technologically driven economy is currently looking for Indian investment in its tech incubation hub.

#Russia's Tech Startup incubation hub wants #Indian participation pic.twitter.com/2T60ExWx7s
— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) September 25, 2014

So for, Skolkovo has managed to attract 1000 companies in last 3 years and has created around 15,000 jobs. According to one board one member of the management committee of Skolkovo, this year alone it has received $600 million of investment. Companies like Boeing, Cisco, Microsoft has made investments in this R&D hub for product development. According to Igor Bogachev, Vice-President, Executive Director, Information Technology Cluster, Skolkovo Foundation they are talking to Gail, Wipro, Geometric for fresh investments in this tech incubation hub .Skolkovo technology hub is facing some impact from sanctions imposed by the USA over Russia recently. But Russian officials denied any such impact flatly.
According to news reports New York-based Bessemer Venture Partners which allocated $20 million to Skolkovo projects in early 2012 to spend over the next two years has spent none of it. Brian Feinstein, partner at Bessemer, said that the firm hasn't found the right opportunity in Russia but will continue to evaluate its investments in Russia.

Ukraine, Russia reach ceasefire agreement

Ukraine, Russia reach ceasefire agreement pic.twitter.com/oJgf7miKTP
— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) September 3, 2014

Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko said on his website on Wednesday that he has agreed with Russian President Vladimir Putin on a "permanent ceasefire" with rebels in eastern Ukraine Donbas region.
Presidents Putin and Poroshenko have agreed on a permanent ceasefire in the Donbass area of east Ukraine, the Ukrainian leader’s press office reports following a phone conversation between the two.
Dmitry Peskov at the Russian president’s press office said the two leaders “have largely agreed” on the measures to be taken for a swift end to the violence.

BREAKING UPDATE: Putin, Poroshenko didn't agree on ceasefire as Russia isn't a side in the conflict – Kremlin http://t.co/MNGgXX2EQO
— RT (@RT_com) September 3, 2014

The confrontation between the anti-government forces and the Ukrainian military, lasting over four months, has claimed the lives of around 2,500 people, according to UN estimates.
Some Pro-Russian skeptics of the ceasefire feel that, this ceasefire is just to stop advancements of anti-Kiev forces, and to buy time until NATO forces help Ukrainian army to fight back.

BREAKING: Putin has not agreed to reported Ukraine truce because Russia is not party to the conflict -- Kremlin. http://t.co/sqjF7WW5k7
— CNN International (@cnni) September 3, 2014

#Russia-#India working on Rouble-Rupee settlements, bypassing Dollar

Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank of Russia discussed cooperation with Reserve Bank of India Executive Director Shrikant Padmanabhan on using respective national currencies in payment settlements.

India agreed to create a task group to work out a mechanism for using national currencies in settlements. And so another major bilateral arrangement is set up that completely bypasses the dollar.

First Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation KV Yudaeva and Executive Director of the Reserve Bank of India G. Padmanabhan at the twentieth meeting of the Subgroup on banking and financial issues of the Russian-Indian intergovernmental commission on trade-economic, scientific-technical and cultural cooperation discussed the current state and prospects of cooperation between banks.

The meeting was attended by representatives of central banks, ministries and agencies, credit organizations in Russia and India.

During the meeting dealt with the problems faced by the branches and subsidiaries of banks in the two countries and ways of addressing these problems.

As a priority area discussed the use of national currencies in mutual settlements. Given the urgency of the issue and the interest of commercial structures of the two countries, the meeting decided to establish a working group to develop a mechanism for the use of national currencies in mutual settlements. It will consist of representatives of banks and, if necessary, the ministries and departments of the two countries to coordinate its activities will be central banks of Russia and India.

No missiles launched near #MH17 flight path says #Russia

Russia's defense ministry says it did not detect any missiles launched near Malaysian jetliner flight path #Reuters
— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) July 21, 2014

 

Russian Defense Ministry says Ukrainian warplane flew within 3-5 km of Malaysian passenger jet, asks for explanation from Kiev.
— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) July 21, 2014

Russian Defense Ministry says did not detect any missiles launched near #MH17 flight path, asks U.S. to share satellite images
— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) July 21, 2014

Defense ministry says Russia did not deliver any SA-11 Buk missile systems to separatists in Eastern Ukraine "or any other weapons"
— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) July 21, 2014

India at 21st World Petroleum Congress in Moscow

Union Minister of State (I/C) of Petroleum and Natural Gas Sh. Dharmendra Pradhan, at the opening plenary session of the 21st World Petroleum Congress at Moscow today, has stressed the Indian world-view of energy. He said that Energy is one amongst five elements that are sacred to the Indian way of life and thus by definition needs to be sustainable and inclusive. The Minister invoked the philosophy of Vasudev Kutumbakam to exhort world leaders to ensure that no one is left behind in the journey of growth and progress. He emphasised that the energy policy must serve broader economic growth and its benefits should not exclude the poor and the vulnerable. Sh. Pradhan outlined the importance of innovation, partnerships, simplification of the regulatory regimes, rule of law, promotion of renewable energy in achieving our goals of energy security in line with the priorities of the new government led by the Prime Minister Sh. Narendra Modi.

Mr Pradhan said that our efforts must focus on promoting fiscal and regulatory regimes that are stable and equitable to both investors and owners of natural resources. He called for enhancing technology collaboration across the value chain since we have to delve deeper and explore in more difficult areas for oil and gas, including shale gas and tight oil.

The Minister said that his visit to Moscow has given him an opportunity to renew the deep and multifaceted ties between the two countries. He said that Russia has always been a longstanding, time-tested friend and a strategic partner and energy is an essential element of our relationship, and we look forward to working further in this sphere.

The Hon'ble Minister later inaugurated the India Pavilion at the WPC Exhibition.

#ONGC Videsh signed exploration deal with Russia’s Rosneft

Igor Sechin, President and Chairman of the Management Board, Rosneft and Dinesh Kumar Sarraf, Chairman of the Board of Directors, ONGC Videsh Ltd and Chairman & Managing Director, ONGC signed a Memorandum of Understanding at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, in the presence of Mr. Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation. The Memorandum paves the way for the companies’ cooperation in subsurface surveys, exploration and appraisal activities and hydrocarbons production in Russia’s offshore Arctic.
The parties will jointly consider forming a consortium led by Rosneft and involving other partners.
About ONGC:
ONGC Videsh is a wholly owned subsidiary of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC), the National Oil Company of India. It is India’s largest oil and gas exploration and production company outside India. At present, ONGC Videsh has activities in 33 projects spread across 16 countries. ONGC Videsh and Rosneft are partners in the Sakhalin-I oil and gas project in the Russian Federation.
ONGC is India’s largest government-run corporation and produces about 70% of India’s crude oil and natural gas. The corporation is the biggest public sector commercial organization in India with current market capitalization of about USD 60 billion. The Indian government holds a 68.94% stake in ONGC.

President of #Russia Vladimir Putin congratulated #India's PM elect Shri Narendra Modi

Vladimir Putin congratulated Narendra Modi on the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) victory in India’s general election.

In his message of congratulations, the President gave a high assessment of the traditionally friendly ties between Russia and India. These ties have a foundation in the Declaration on Strategic Partnership, which was signed while the BJP was in power and set a development course for bilateral relations for years to come.

Congratulations to @narendramodi on the Bharatiya Janata Party’s win in India’s general election http://t.co/5UgEalu6be
— President of Russia (@KremlinRussia_E) May 19, 2014

Fruitful cooperation over recent years has produced impressive results that confirm the Declaration’s historical significance. Mr Putin noted that the two countries have carried out big, mutually advantageous projects in the economic, military technical cooperation, science, cultural and humanitarian sectors.

The President said he is confident that the two countries can work together to build on and multiply these achievements.

India and Russia ink diamond trading pact

India, the world’s largest diamond-processing nation and Russia, the world’s largest rough diamond producer, have taken a significant step towards greater direct diamond trade between the two countries. India’s Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) and state-owned Russian diamond mining firm Alrosa signed a memorandum of understanding to share trade and statistical data on the diamond trade between the two countries.

The MoU, inked by GJEPC Chairman Vipul Shah and Alrosa President Fyodor Andreev, is more evidence of warming trade relations between the two countries.

Russia produced 34.9 million carats of rough diamonds in 2012.India imported 163.11 million carats of rough worth $16.34 billion and exported 36.46 million carats of polished diamonds worth $20.23 billion during the calendar year 2013. Total Indian provisional exports of gems and jewellery during calendar year 2013 stood at $36.04 billion.

ALROSA and GJEPC agreed to exchange information pertaining to the development of the co-operation between Indian and Russian diamond sectors, including overviews of the diamond market situation, the Indian and Russian trade figures, information on Indian diamond market research.

Speaking at the Event, Mr. Vipul Shah, Chairman GJEPC said, “India has long sought long-term contracts between Alrosa and the Indian cutting and polishing industry. With this association, both trade bodies look forward to cooperation and exchange information in the framework of implementation of Kimberley Process Certification Scheme and jointly seek to maintain separate sales of natural and synthetic diamonds and diamond jewellery. This is just the beginning and we look forward to strengthened trade relations between India and Russia.”
Last February, Indian Commerce Minister Anand Sharma brought up the subject with visiting Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin. Sharma suggested that the state-owned Minerals & Metals Trading Corporation (MMTC) be made a nodal Indian agency with a long-term contract with Alrosa.

An Alrosa study team visiting India recently stated that that most of the rough diamonds produced in Russia are cut and polished in India. However, direct imports of rough diamonds from Russia to India are modest, with the fiscal 2013 figure standing at some $767 million.

Fyodor Andreev, the President of ALROSA said, “India is one of the major participants of the world diamond market. The amount of ALROSA rough diamonds sales to Indian companies has been steadily growing for the last 5 years and resulted into $700 mln of sales in 2013. Customers from India successfully work with ALROSA on the basis of competitive bidding and long-term contracts. The partnership between ALROSA and GJEPC will improve our cooperation with Indian diamond market.”
Alrosa accounts for close on 25 percent of the world output, while the Indian diamond processing industry accounts for some 60 percent by value of global polished diamond output. An estimated 14 out of 15 polished diamonds studded in jewellery globally are cut and polished in India.  An Indian think tank recently stated that more direct supplies of rough diamonds to India could easily boost the current figure to between $4 and $5 billion.

The Indian diamond industry has long said that the indirect routing of rough diamonds into India simply adds to cost and increases the complexity of sourcing steady raw material supplies. Direct imports would bring benefits to both Alrosa as well as the Indian cutting industry, Indian diamond dealers say.

Streamlining overall trade procedures could also see increased Indian exports of polished diamonds to Russia. Indian dealers already have a significant presence at the Moscow Diamond Bourse and relations between the diamond dealing communities of both nations are warm and close. Russian buyers have been a steady presence in India and particularly at the India International Jewellery Show (IIJS), one of the four largest gem and jewellery trade shows in the world.

Procedural matters are all that stand between the two countries and sharply increased trade in polished diamonds between the two countries. The engagement between the Commerce Ministries of both nations in sorting out these procedural matters has diamond industry watchers hopeful of a major increase in trade in coming years.

Arbor Networks Successfully Protects 2014 Sochi Olympics Web Properties

Arbor Networks, Inc., a leading provider of DDoS and advanced threat protection solutions for enterprise and service provider networks, announced today that they provided 7x24 Enhanced Event-Based Technical and Threat Mitigation Support for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic web properties for Rostelecom, Russia’s largest service provider.

“This is the third Olympic Games that Arbor has played a role in ensuring the availability of its Web properties. This was a significant undertaking that went extremely well because of our excellent working relationship with Rostelecom and their teams,” said Arbor Networks President Matthew Moynahan. “This was a true team effort on both sides, and great validation of the importance of having multi-layered DDoS protection.”

“There was a huge amount of work done by Arbor consulting engineers and developers during preparation phase of the Event, and as a result we were able to implement new features to mitigate advanced DDoS attacks and to increase our mitigation capacity twice,” said Rostelecom’s Head of Network Security Muslim Medzhlumov. “Due to the collaboration we have with Arbor, we were able to deliver continuous services to all of our customers during the Sochi Olympic Games.”

Multi-Layered DDoS Protection
Rostelecom was able to protect Sochi Olympic web properties with best-practices DDoS defense in a single integrated solution that delivers mitigation from the data center to the cloud. Arbor’s products and services help protect against the full spectrum of DDoS attacks, including volumetric, application-layer, state-exhaustion (e.g. targeting firewall/IPS), blended and multi-vector attacks.

Arbor’s Security Engineering & Response Team (ASERT) was proactively monitoring botnets and malware families via ATLAS®, a globally scoped threat intelligence service developed in conjunction with nearly 300 service provider customers who share anonymous traffic data with Arbor. ATLAS gives Arbor security researchers unique insight into 80TB/sec of global Internet traffic, helping them to identify threats and develop protections before they impact customer networks. Additionally, Arbor’s Technical Assistance Center (ATAC) and Arbor CloudSM Security Operations Center provided 7x24 around the clock enhanced remote threat and technical support for Rostelecom.

World Leader in DDoS Mitigation
Arbor Networks’ customers include many of the world's service providers and largest enterprise networks in use today. According to a December 2013 report from Infonetics Research titled, DDoS Prevention Appliance Market Outlook, Arbor Networks was cited as top supplier of DDoS prevention solutions overall as well as in the Carrier, Enterprise and Mobile market segments.

About Rostelecom
Rostelecom (www.rostelecom.ru) (RTS, MICEX: RTKM) is a nationwide telecommunications enterprise and the largest universal communications operator in Russia, serving more than 100 million subscribers in 80 regions. Rostelecom offers cutting-edge fixed and mobile telephony, broadband access, pay television and cloud solutions to consumers and businesses.

About Arbor Networks
Arbor Networks, Inc. helps secure the world’s largest enterprise and service provider networks from DDoS attacks and advanced threats. Arbor is the world’s leading provider of DDoS protection in the enterprise, carrier and mobile market segments, according to Infonetics Research. Arbor’s advanced threat solutions deliver comprehensive network visibility through a combination of packet capture and NetFlow technology, enabling the rapid detection and mitigation of malware and malicious insiders. Arbor also delivers market-leading analytics for dynamic incident response, historical analysis, visualization and forensics. Arbor strives to be a “force multiplier,” making network and security teams the experts. Our goal is to provide a richer picture into networks and more security context - so customers can solve problems faster and help reduce the risk to their business.

"I am intended to fight for freedom of Ukraine" Ousted Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych

#Yanukovich "i am intended to fight for freedom of Ukraine" pic.twitter.com/xWEOAlq2Qq
— Paulina Leonovich (@Polly_evro) February 28, 2014

Ousted Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych to hold press conference in Southern Russia in 60 mins

IN 60 MINUTES: #Ukraine's Viktor Yanukovich to hold press conference in Southern Russia http://t.co/qI05DwUNeM pic.twitter.com/uDRjB0DXfy
— RT (@RT_com) February 28, 2014

Ranbaxy completes 20 years in Russia

India’s largest pharmaceutical company, Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited (Ranbaxy) today announced that the company has completed 20 successful years in Russia.

The company established its operations in the Russian market in 1993 with the launch of its key brand, Cifran. Since then, Ranbaxy has grown to become a No. 1 player with a market share of 15.4% in the represented market segment in Russia (IMS, May 2013).

With a well-established distribution network and skilled field force, Ranbaxy today has operations in 56 regions in Russia and has built strong equity with its customers. The company has a portfolio of products covering anti-infective, cold, pain management, cardiovascular, diabetology, central nervous system, urology and dermatology segments. So far, the company has registered 51 drugs in the Russian Federation and commercialised 72 SKU’s. Ranbaxy’s leading brands in Russia includes Ketanov, Coldact, Faringosept, Cifran, Pylobact and Fenules. Last year, the company’s popular brand, Faringosept was selected as the People’s brand of choice. Another well know brand, Cifran OD was ranked by IMS as the best antibiotic launch in 2004.

On the occasion, Arun Sawhney, CEO & MD, Ranbaxy said, “Ranbaxy was one of the first pharmaceutical companies from India to set up operations in Russia. We have been providing high quality, affordable generic medicines to the citizens of Russia for the last two decades, thereby supporting the Government to bring down healthcare costs. We remain committed to the Russian market and will continue to operate from the paradigm of Quality and Patients First”.

Aman Khanna, Country Head of Russia, Ranbaxy, said,  “Over the years, Ranbaxy has established itself a preferred generic pharmaceutical company in Russia. In the coming years, we look at further expanding our product portfolio to include value added and innovator products from our parent company, Daiichi Sankyo. We are working closely in partnership with regional Governments in line with the Russia Pharma, 2020 Healthcare Plan,”

Earlier in 2011, Ranbaxy and the Government of Yaroslavl signed a Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation in the field of healthcare and medical science, which was a major milestone. As part of the program, most clinical pharmacologists and senior medical students of Yaroslavl region have been trained in Pharmacovigilance.

The Russian pharmaceutical market is estimated at around US $ 20 billion (IMS, May 2013) growing at a CAGR of around 11%. The retail/out of pocket market contributes around 66% to the total market. The Federal Government in Russia is committed towards the improvement of the pharma industry with the launch of Russian Pharma 2020 strategy under which the government is encouraging pharma players to carry out heavy local investment in infrastructure, quality improvement programmes, clinical trials hubs and training for health care professionals.