00:00Gaurav Savan continues to be with us.
00:02Gaurav, President Putin arrived in the wee hours early morning, around 1.30 a.m.,
00:08and then he, of course, is here for the Inoprom,
00:12which is the business forum talks between India and Russia,
00:16and then he will be where you are in 10 minutes from now.
00:20What all is likely to happen today as far as the Russian delegation is concerned?
00:27What's on their agenda?
00:29So this is a very important visit and meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi
00:35and the Russian President Vladimir Putin.
00:36They've met very recently at Brishkek.
00:39Now they're meeting here at BRICS, and then they'll be meeting once again
00:42when President Putin comes for the bilateral.
00:46And imagine if they're meeting thrice in just a couple of months.
00:49It just goes on to show how close the relationship is.
00:53The two heads of state and government have met over 18 times.
00:57And, you know, they have a very warm personal relationship,
01:01a very warm personal chemistry.
01:03And that's held both countries in great stead.
01:07Remember, right now, Russia is one of the biggest suppliers of energy to India
01:11that not only helps India, but also helps India export some of that energy,
01:17get good foreign exchange.
01:18It's good for our economy.
01:20It's good for Russian economy.
01:21There's defense cooperation that is huge.
01:24Of course, there's a big debate in India whether we need, you know,
01:26the Su-57s, a couple of squandons of Su-57s as a stop cap.
01:31And, you know, Sandeep and I have discussed this very extensively.
01:34Or for the timing, should we just look at making do with the S-400 systems,
01:39get additional S-400s, go in for more drones,
01:42use the same fighter planes and build our own Amcar,
01:46but have fighter jet engine technology,
01:48whether we take that fighter jet engine technology from France
01:52or from Rolls-Royce in the UK or from Russia, which is on offer.
01:57So there is a lot of cooperation, including on high-end technology,
02:00cutting-edge technology and innovation between India and Russia.
02:03That's under conversation here.
02:06Yes.
02:06And, Gaurav, you know, Bharat Mandapam,
02:09the venue actually looks all ready.
02:12And we have seen similar celebratory images
02:17when the AI summit was happening.
02:19This is a celebration and a moment of India.
02:21Let's accept this.
02:23India successfully hosted G20
02:25and is now successfully hosting BRICS.
02:29When you look at the ambience around you,
02:31the vibe around you,
02:33if I may ask in the Gen Z term,
02:35what is the vibe around you?
02:38So, you know, it is very positive.
02:41It is very gung-ho.
02:42It is very upbeat because people who are here
02:45are those who are working towards making that Sashak Bharat
02:49and they're displaying the best that they have put together,
02:53whether it's in science and technology.
02:54And we just spoke to some of those young scientists of IIT Madras
02:59and those who graduated from IIT Madras.
03:01Instead of going and working somewhere,
03:03they formed a consortium of sorts
03:05and they're now building satellites.
03:07They're taking patents and they're exporting satellites.
03:10That's the area where they're trying to move forward in.
03:13Or people who are in defense technology
03:15and cutting-edge defense technology.
03:17Remember, we are a country that's been through decades of technology denial
03:20and it's actually been something that we've covered on Ground Zero.
03:241998 Pokhra nuclear tests and technology denial,
03:27something that impacted NCA light combat aircraft adversely,
03:31something that had the entire, you know,
03:33Sea Harrier and Sea King fleet that was grounded.
03:36Then we saw the Kargil war and technology denial that cost us lives
03:39because we didn't get the American ANTPQ-37 radars.
03:42Through that, we've seen how the country has moved forward over decades
03:46and where we stand now, where we are going at 7.8%.
03:51You know, it's not just us who are saying that.
03:54The IMF is saying that.
03:55Jeffries is saying that.
03:56The world is looking at how we are growing
03:58and how can we go even further and faster
04:01if we want to reach, you know, the $20 trillion economy mark by 2047,
04:06the $30 trillion, you know, vision and a $20 trillion, you know, benchmark.
04:12So there is a lot of belief that if we continue to steer the course,
04:16we will get there, Maria.
04:18Yes, indeed, India will get there.
Comments