Russia’s trade with India is growing rapidly and bilateral payments are proceeding smoothly without any interruption. Anatoly Popov, Deputy CEO of Sberbank, Russia’s largest lender, has said this. Popov said on Tuesday that up to 70% of all exports by Russia to India are paid for by Sberbank. According to Reuters news, Russia’s trade with India almost doubled to $65 billion in the year 2023. India became a major importer of Russian oil after sanctions imposed by Western countries in the year 2022 due to the conflict in Ukraine.
Sberbank also has branches in India
According to the news, Popov said that in the year 2022, there has been a significant increase in the interest of Russian businesses in the Indian market, as this market serves as an alternative. Sberbank’s branch in India has offices in Delhi and Mumbai, as well as an IT hub in Bangalore. The number of employees in its Indian offices has grown by 150% this year. They said in April that they are looking to hire 300 IT personnel for the hub in Bangalore.
Western sanctions no bar
Sberbank is subject to Western sanctions and therefore cannot transact in US dollars and euros or use the SWIFT system for international transfers. However, Popov said the bank has not faced any problems in India. Sberbank is a full participant in all Indian payment and inter-bank systems. There are no restrictions on its operations, Popov said. India has not joined any anti-Russian sanctions and maintains friendly relations with Russia, a fellow member of the BRICS group of emerging economies.
Transactions in rubles and rupees
Sberbank said transactions in rubles and rupees are running smoothly, with 90% of them taking only a few hours to complete. This is in contrast to other trading partners such as China. Popov stressed that growing Indian exports to Russia have helped solve the problem of rupee surpluses held by Russian companies, which hampered bilateral trade in 2023, as rupees were used to pay for imports from India. Popov stressed that to achieve balanced trade, India still needs to increase its exports to Russia by 10 times.