India has rejected a report by The New York Times that alleged Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) supplied sensitive technology to a Russian arms agency, news agency ANI reported on Monday. The Ministry of External Affairs reportedly stated that the Indian entity (HAL) mentioned in the New York Times report has adhered to all international obligations on strategic trade controls and end-user commitments.
“The said report is factually incorrect and misleading. It has tried to frame issues and distort facts to suit a political narrative,” news agency ANI quoted the MEA as saying.
The government also urged media outlets to keep “due diligence” in mind while publishing such reports. “India’s robust legal and regulatory framework on strategic trade continues to guide overseas commercial ventures by its companies. We expect reputed media outlets to undertake basic due diligence while publishing such reports, which obviously was overlooked in the instant case,” sources were quoted by news agency ANI.
The New York Times report had said that a company part of the British aerospace manufacturer, H.R. Smith Group, from 2023 to 2024, shipped restricted equipment to an Indian firm, which it described as the “biggest trading partner of the Russian arms agency, Rosoboronexport”.
However, the same report by NYT says that there’s no record that proved that the British aerospace manufacturer’s products reached Russia. It, however, said that after it received the parts from the manufacturer, they were sent to Russia “with the same identifying product codes”.
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