India, Dec. 4 -- The forthcoming visit of President Vladimir Putin marks a pivotal opportunity to redefine the India-Russia partnership beyond its long-standing hydrocarbons and defence anchors. While these pillars will remain relevant, they no longer capture the strategic or economic imperatives shaping the next decade. Both countries are investing heavily in digital public infrastructure, cyber-resilience, artificial intelligence and high-technology R&D. India's emerging IndiaAI Mission, with its focus on compute capacity and AI safety frameworks, and Russia's deep research base, demonstrate that both states already possess significant building blocks.

At a moment when access to compute, secure chips and AI model governance is increasi...