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India, Russia Sign Major Defense Deal
India and Russia on Thursday signed here a major defense deal for the purchase of 310 sophisticated Russian T-90 main battle tanks and their production under license in India.
The wide-ranging agreement, signed in the presence of visiting Russian Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov and Indian Defense Minister George Fernandes, also provides for manufacture in India of critical components of the T-90 tanks.
The deal was signed after a 90-minute one-to-one meeting between the Russian deputy prime minister and Fernandes, said the Press Trust of India (PTI).
After the signing ceremony Fernandes said the deal besides providing for 310 tanks would pave the way for manufacture of many more of these tanks in India. However, he refused to elaborate on how much the deal was worth.
The PTI quoted "highly-placed defense sources" as saying that the deal was estimated at between US$600 million and US$700 million.
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