NEW DELHI: India and Russia are expected to sign a pact to manufacture over 500,000 units of AK 203 assault rifles after New Delhi cleared the deal on Saturday, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The pact is expected to be one of the key takeaways during a visit by Russian president Vladimir Putin on Monday.
Putin will be in India for the annual Russia-India summit dialogue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The summit, instituted in the year 2000, was not held last year due to the covid-19 pandemic.
Ahead of the summit between Modi and Putin, India and Russia will also hold their first ever 2+2 Foriegn and defence ministerial talks.
The AK 203 deal is worth an estimated ₹5000 crores and the unit is to come up at Korwa in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh, cementing the state’s credentials as a defence manufacturing hub. Uttar Pradesh which goes to the polls in the first half of next year hosts the northern defence industrial corridor.
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