President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev’s December visit to India also gave renewed impetus to prospective space programs. Roskosmos has agreed with its colleagues in Delhi to launch an Indian astronaut into orbit as well as to take part in the Indian spaceship design. An Indian will fly into space in 2013, and India can only develop its own manned spacecraft by two years later. Therefore, astronautics on the vast territory of Eurasia, based on programs of Russia, China and Kazakhstan, members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, from now on will be also supplemented with developments of India, which has a status of observer country of the SCO.

Certainly, Indian space exploration did not begin yesterday and is associated with Russian and world astronautics history. India became the seventh country in the world (after the USSR, the USA, France, Japan and UK), which in summer of 1980 placed in orbit the first satellite using its own carrier rocket SLV-3 (СЛВ-3). It has resulted from successful work for realization of the Indian government’s 10 years program of space exploration and use. It must be noted that an outstanding feature of Indian approach to space activities is transparency of intentions and, as a consequence, willingness to cooperate with everybody who is ready for dialogue. In practice the result is that Indians succeeded in cooperating efficiently with leading space countries – both with the USSR (later with Russia), and the USA. Both countries had actively helped Delhi in the areas relevant to their own leadership. Let us say, Russians consulted India on launch vehicles and supplied it with up-to-date assemblies, designed on the basis of cryogenic technologies, offered Indian astronauts an opportunity to learn science of manned missions on their space complexes.

Americans in return laid down the foundations of Indian satellite systems. For example, as far back as in the middle 70-s of the last century NASA leased its ATS-6 (АТС-6) communication satellite for a year to the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to enable it to conduct experiments on direct rural TV broadcasting in the country. In the USA the first operational communication satellite was produced, working in behalf of India.

Americans also helped India to develop its own earth remote sensing instruments, what was urgent need for the state, which was actively engaged in farming and cattle breeding in regions difficult to access. As a result India is exploiting today a constellation of six satellites of earth remote sensing.

Today's Russian-Indian space partnership is built on work in such important areas as space navigation, exploration of the Moon and manned programs. In the course of the President of Russia Vladimir Putin’s official visit to India (January 2008) a special Agreement on long term cooperation in joint development and use of the Russian Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) was signed.

"India’s initial contribution will be launching of separate navigation satellites carrier rockets instead of leaving the system "because of age" or for other reasons. Furthermore, India will take part in development of the system’s earth segment. It does not concern so far Indian specialists’ participation in spacecrafts construction," as is told in the Scientific Production Association for Applied Mechanics in Krasnoyarsk, where the Uragan navigation satellites are produced (today called GLONASS).

Also Indian colleagues have something to share in the field of user equipment. They have stored high technologies and achieved marketing success, what will be of use during production, replication and realization of navigation satellite system receivers. Today it is one of the biggest issues for Russia: it does construct and launch satellites, but does not always manage to use them efficiently.

For the Indian party benefit from participation in Russian satellite navigation system development, apart from many other components, is also that it will be dependent no more on the similar American system, which Washington can disconnect from any state at its sole discretion. India’s full-scale joining the GLONASS will also be an important political victory of Moscow. Previously Indians had considered a possibility of participation in the European satellite navigation program Galileo, but in all probability, conditions did not suit them. The European system promises to come out very expensive and even so not better technically than the Russian one. Therewith, on a global basis the GLONASS will begin to operate before the Galileo.

In the field of manned space exploration India relies upon the Russian experience. For the time being the only Indian astronaut went into space, which in 1984 had visited the Soviet station Salut-7. In March 2008, according to the ISRO’s Department of Advanced Technology, India applied to Roskosmos with request to organize a flight of its astronaut onboard the Soyuz spacecraft within the scope of India’s preparation to its own manned spacecraft launch. According to the Department head, professor Sastri, the Russian party "took a positive view of this offer", what was confirmed in the course of December summit.

The Moon subject will not be left without consideration. Last autumn India sent independently to the Moon its own spacecraft Chandrayan-1, which is carrying out detailed mapping of the earth satellite from a low circumlunar orbit. This launch, pursuant to the ISRO plans, is the first part of the comprehensive national program of the Moon exploration.

Indian moon program continuation is associated with Russia. In 2007 an intergovernmental agreement on joint expedition to the Moon in 2011 – 2012 was signed. According to plans, a spacecraft consisting of two modules will be sent to the Moon. The first one will stayed in lunar orbit, and the second one after soft landing will deliver a moonprobe onto the earth satellite’s surface for data collection about the Moon’s mineral resources.

Having completed the planned comprehensive analysis of lunar surface, India will accumulate invaluable scientific matter, what will enable the country to claim one of the key roles in development of an international program of deployment of manned research lunar stations.

In the middle 1990-s India was declared a Russia’s strategic partner, and it is logical. Our countries have so many common interests, both in global policy and in the field of international security. In the economic sphere India is a dynamic country, goods and services receptive market, one of the innovative intellectual centers of the 21th century. It is also a safe partner for Russia in atomic energy projects, the great oceans investigation, hydrocarbon resources development and, certainly, space exploration.