The partnership between India and Russia in information technology (IT), artificial intelligence (AI), and cybersecurity represents a strategic convergence driven by shared imperatives for digital sovereignty and resilience against Western-dominated technological ecosystems
Monday, December 1, 2025
The partnership between India and Russia in information technology (IT), artificial intelligence (AI), and cybersecurity represents a strategic convergence driven by shared imperatives for digital sovereignty and resilience against Western-dominated technological ecosystems. As of November 2025, bilateral engagements have accelerated, with discussions at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) 2025 highlighting untapped potential in combining Russia's expertise in hardware-level cybersecurity and mathematical foundations with India's scalable software engineering and implementation capabilities Russia-India cooperation in IT, AI spheres could be boon for Global South - expert. This collaboration emerges against a backdrop of Russia facing extensive unilateral sanctions since 2022, prompting diversification of partnerships, while India seeks to reduce reliance on Western vendors amid global supply chain vulnerabilities. Bilateral trade reached a record USD 68.7 billion in FY 2024-25, far exceeding the earlier target of USD 30 billion by 2025, though heavily skewed toward energy imports, underscoring the need for high-tech sectors to balance economic ties India-Russia relations.
The purpose of this analysis lies in examining how India and Russia are positioning their cooperation to foster autonomous digital infrastructures, including interoperable payment systems, joint AI ethics frameworks, and cybersecurity protocols, as a model for the Global South. This topic gains urgency in a multipolar world where data flows and technological standards increasingly influence geopolitical leverage, with both nations emphasizing mutual trust over isolationism. Official statements from SPIEF 2025 underscore Russia's strengths in cybersecurity and India's in IT services, with Russian firms like Sberbank establishing bases in Bengaluru to leverage local talent Russian companies see India as base for setting up IT teams - Indian minister. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) in India and counterparts in Russia have prioritized areas such as biotechnology, AI, quantum technologies, and cyber-physical systems under ongoing roadmaps for science and technology cooperation.
Methodologically, this assessment triangulates data from official bilateral declarations, intergovernmental commission outcomes, and public statements at forums like SPIEF 2025, cross-referenced with trade figures from the Department of Commerce (India) and Russian trade representatives. Key frameworks include the India-Russia Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC), which identifies IT and cybersecurity as priority sectors, and the roadmap for science, technology, and innovation cooperation emphasizing joint projects in AI and digital security. Variance analysis reveals geographical disparities: Russia focuses on hardware and threat intelligence due to sanctions-induced isolation, while India leverages its vast developer base for scalable solutions, as evidenced by over 1,700 global capability centers employing 1.9 million professionals.
Key findings indicate substantive progress in exploratory phases rather than formalized mega-projects. At SPIEF 2025, India's Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw noted multiple collaboration areas in IT, with cybersecurity highlighted for Russia's strengths, including Russian companies viewing India as a hub for IT teams Russian companies see India as base for setting up IT teams - Indian minister. Trade representatives in October 2025 identified potential in information technology and cybersecurity alongside pharmaceuticals and energy Indian companies taking greater interest in cooperation with Russia - trade mission. In payment systems, discussions within BRICS frameworks explore interoperability between Russia's MIR and India's UPI/RuPay, though no bilateral mechanism has been operationalized by November 2025. On AI, exchanges under the inter-ministerial roadmap include biotechnology, AI, and quantum technologies, with working groups implementing joint initiatives India, Russia explore coop in biotech, AI & quantum tech & oceanography. Cybersecurity cooperation builds on historical agreements, with renewed emphasis on practical exchanges post-sanctions.
Conclusions reveal that while rhetorical commitment to digital sovereignty is strong-evident in proposals for joint centers and ethical AI standards-implementation remains incremental, constrained by regulatory divergences and the absence of binding treaties specific to these domains. Implications extend to the Global South, where India-Russia coordination could precedent diversified ecosystems, reducing dominance by a few Western corporations in data governance and security tools. Practical contributions include enhanced resilience in cross-border trade via potential payment linkages and shared threat intelligence, though causal links to broader multipolarity require sustained investment.
Theoretical advancements lie in modeling balanced sovereignty, where cooperation prioritizes trust-based diversification over autarky. As bilateral trade targets shift to USD 100 billion by 2030, integrating digital pillars will determine whether this partnership evolves into a benchmark for non-Western technological alignment or remains supplementary to traditional sectors.