India’s purchase of the Russian Triumf S-400 missile defence system makes India vulnerable to sanctions under CAATSA.Lu, however, said that it would be difficult for India to continue to buy Russian equipment because of the financial sanction imposed by the US and its allies on that country restricting its ability to receive payments.India has already cancelled its orders for Russian MiG 29 jets, helicopters and anti-tank weapons, he said.”Since 2011, India has reduced its arms imports from Russia by 53 per cent and increased its defence purchases from the United States and other partners, as well as increasing its own domestic production capability.”Over the last 22 years, US defence sales to India have grown to over $20 billion, and India is considering purchasing six additional P-8I maritime surveillance aircraft for $2.1 billion,” Lu added.Family planning and abortion rights are a major item on the Democratic Party agenda and Shaheen appeared to be belabouring under stereotypes of India when she asked Lu about “access to family planning” in India asserting that “it’s struggled to make modern contraception available countrywide to families”.Lu did not have a ready answer for her and said he would get back to her.Unlike in the US where abortions are still a matter of political polarisation and states are imposing restrictions on it, it is legal throughout India and is not a major political issue, while the total fertility rate — the average number of children born to a woman — has fallen to two, which is below the replacement rate of 2.2, portending a population implosion.”We need to be a little careful about being too preachy these days,” the panel’s chair, Democrat Chris Murphy noted earlier while asking about improving the health of India’s “big, thriving but still young democracy”.”We’ve got a lot of work to do here at home to strengthen American democracy.”
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