Russian firms are stepping up their entry into India’s capital markets, with the number of Russia-linked Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) rising sharply from just three in 2023 to 23 today. At least five more Russian entities are currently in the process of securing FPI licences, according to a global custodian familiar with the filings. India’s consistently strong market performance continues to draw new foreign money—but for Russian investors, the strategic motivations run deeper. Western sanctions following the Ukraine war have made even routine capital movement challenging for Russia-linked entities, with several European jurisdictions freezing assets owned by sanctioned nationals. Against this backdrop, India is being viewed as a stable, politically secure, and accessible market. “India and Russia have had deep diplomatic ties for decades. For Russian funds, that makes India a predictable and safer jurisdiction at a time when deploying money in the West has become extremely difficult,” the custodian said.