Ever since the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent barrage of sanctions on Moscow by the West, trade between India and Russia has depended on routing transactions through smaller Russian banks which are as yet untouched by sanctions.
If transactions with Moscow are made possible through the Rupee-Ruble mechanism, many Indian companies could explore the Russian market for trading new commodities
It could help clear the $500 million in payments to Indian exporters, but in the long-run it may cause some pain
Economic and diplomatic considerations have to be weighed carefully before New Delhi can take a call on trade with Russia in local currencies
Apart from geopolitical compulsions, India needs to make sure that revamping trade flows to Russia doesn’t do more harm than good to the export and banking sectors, senior officials said.