Govt denies report of new $2-billion India-Russia nuclear submarine lease

The Centre has refuted a Bloomberg report claiming a fresh $2-billion nuclear submarine lease, clarifying that the submarine referenced is part of a 2019 contract

The Union government on Thursday denied a report that claimed India and Russia had reached a deal to lease a $2-billion nuclear-powered submarine.

 

In a fact-check post on X, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) said no new deal had been signed between the two countries. It added that the submarine lease referred to in the story, which was published by Bloomberg, is based on a contract signed almost six years ago, in 2019. The PIB fact-check added that delivery of the submarine is scheduled for 2028.

   

The Bloomberg report, which appeared earlier on Thursday hours ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin's two-day summit visit in Delhi, had said that India was preparing to finalise a $2-billion lease for a nuclear-powered attack submarine. 

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Putin is scheduled to land in the Indian capital around 6:35 pm and will attend the 23rd India–Russia Annual Summit. This will be his first official trip to India since the Ukraine conflict began in February 2022.

 

What did Bloomberg report on the submarine lease talks?

According to the Bloomberg report, talks between the two sides over the submarine lease had slowed over pricing issues. Bloomberg had also quoted sources as saying that Indian officials visited a Russian shipyard in November, helping both sides reach a final understanding.

 

Putin's visit also comes at a time when India is negotiating a trade deal with the US to reduce steep 50 per cent tariff rates imposed by President Donald Trump. The duties were part of Washington’s effort to push India to curb purchases of Russian oil to increase pressure on Moscow over the Ukraine war. 

   

 

How is India expanding its undersea capabilities?

India has developed nuclear-capable submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), giving it a nuclear triad — which is the ability to deploy atomic weapons from land, air and sea — according to a Nuclear Threat Initiative report.

 

Nuclear-powered submarines offer major advantages over diesel-electric ones. They can stay submerged longer, travel farther, remain quieter and are harder to track. India currently operates 17 diesel submarines and has also been building its own nuclear-powered vessels for strategic deterrence, Bloomberg reported.