Russia ready to welcome ‘unlimited number’ of Indian workers – senior official

Russia’s manufacturing sector needs “at least” 800,000 additional workers, according to First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov

Russia is ready to receive “an unlimited number” of skilled workers from India to help address domestic labor shortages, First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov has said.

Russia and India signed a labor-mobility agreement during a summit between President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi earlier this week.

Manturov told TASS on Friday that Russia’s manufacturing industry requires at least 800,000 additional workers, while the trade sector faces around 1.5 million unfilled positions. He added that specialists are also needed in services and construction.

“I think we have ample room for cooperation,” he said.

However, the official noted that there would be no sharp increase in the number of Indian migrant workers entering Russia “in a single year,” as the process will “take time.”

Speaking at the India-Russia Business Forum in New Delhi on Friday, Modi described his country as an emerging “skill capital of the world.” He said that “India’s young talent…has the capacity to meet global requirements” in multiple sectors.

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Modi added that, given Russia’s demographic and economic priorities, closer labor cooperation would benefit both countries. He also suggested that India and Russia could jointly provide Russian-language and soft-skills training for Indian workers.

In July, Russia’s Labor Ministry told TASS that the quota for Indian migrant workers in 2025 stands at 71,817 in total.

During the Modi-Putin summit, the two countries signed a number of agreements aimed at raising bilateral trade to $100 billion by 2030.

Among other joint projects, Russian officials also announced the creation of a major pharmaceutical plant in Russia’s Kaluga Region in collaboration with India, which is known as the ‘pharmacy of the world’. The South Asian nation produces around 60% of the world’s vaccines and more than 20% of global generic medicines.