Russia-India Business Dialogue at SPIEF 2026: Energy, IT & Science, Education, Transport in Focus

At the grand convergence of statesmen, industrialists, and visionaries that is the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, the Indo Russia ‘Innopraktika’ Technology Hub (IRITH) made its presence felt with quiet authority. Mr. Debjit Chakraborty, CEO and Executive Director of IRITH, took the floor at the Russia–India Business Dialogue, a testament to the Hub's deepening influence at the intersection of Indian ambition and Russian ingenuity.

The Business Dialogue, moderated by Sergey Cheremin, Minister, Government of Moscow; Head of the Department for External Economic and International Relations of Moscow, examined the current state and forward direction of bilateral relations, set against the backdrop of the joint economic cooperation programme ratified at the December 2025 summit, a roadmap that extends to 2030 and spans energy, transport, information technology, science, and education. The session brought together ambassadors, ministers, and senior industry figures including H.E. Denis Alipov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of India, H.E. Vinay Kumar, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of India to the Russian Federation, Alexey Chekunkov, Minister of the Russian Federation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic, Nara Lokesh, Minister of Information Technology, Electronics and Communications, Government of Andhra Pradesh, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Founder, The Art of Living Foundation, to name a few, to ask pointed questions: how Russian and Indian companies can deepen their involvement in joint projects, what steps are needed to accelerate implementation, and how cooperation through BRICS and the International North–South Transport Corridor can be made more effective.

Joining the session online, H.E. Denis Alipov, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Republic of India, addressed the structural mechanics underpinning the bilateral trade ambition.

H.E. Vinay Kumar, Ambassador of the Republic of India to the Russian Federation, brought the discussion firmly to ground level, centering his remarks on practical implementation and the imperative of co-creating production chains.

Mr. Debjit Chakraborty presented the organisation’s mandate and ongoing work in strategic technological collaboration between India and Russia. He outlined IRITH’s five-pillar mission: strengthen bilateral innovation; accelerate R&D, industrial growth, and technology transfer; enable academic exchange & student programs; support startups & enterprise collaboration; promote knowledge sharing for the Global South and BRICS nations, before walking through its active project portfolio spanning several deep tech verticals, including sovereign technology infrastructure, AI & cybersecurity sandboxes, AI-powered edtech, UAV certifications, hydrogen energy, and health-tech.