Why in News?

• Russia is likely to offer India its conventional submarines at the summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin at Vladivostok.

Highlights:

• Modi is to visit Vladivostok to attend the Eastern Economic Forum as well as the annual bilateral summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
• This is the 20th summit between the leaders of the two countries since the year 2000 when the mechanism was institutionalized.
• The meeting between Modi and Putin will be their third this year—previously they met on the margins of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meet in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek and the G20 meet in Osaka.
• The two countries are looking to get Indian investment into Russia’s Far East that borders China, a region rich in mineral resources.

Strengthening Defence:

• The submarines will be offered on the government-to-government route under the Navy’s Project-75I at the summit.
• This is expected to save a lot of time in the procurement process.
• The Navy is looking to buy six advanced conventional diesel-electric submarines under Project 75I that, after several delays, has made progress in the past several months.
• The procurement is under the Strategic Partnership (SP) model, and is the second project to be processed through this route after the Navy’s tender for utility helicopters.
• The Russian submarine will likely be based on the Amur 1650 conventional submarine, modified to suit Indian Requirements.