Russian news agency Novostsi quoted defence ministry sources here as having said that an agreement on the setting up of the Kudankulam nuclear power station with two reactors is likely to get the green signal during the summit. Russia will extend a two billion dollar credit to India for the project, which will be built on a turn-key basis.

Moscow has also expressed its readiness to train Indian specialists to enable them to man such nuclear power stations .

The summit is also expected to resolve the vexed question of debt payment between Russia and India, which was one of the subjects of discussion at the session of the Indo-Russian commission for economic and trade cooperation held in Moscow recently .

At the session, it was agreedby the two sides that India will pay half of its debts in the form of commodities, which will include foodstuffs, medicines, cars and other equipment. Russia's mode of payment of its debts to India will be decided at the Delhi summit, sources said.

The Russian defence ministry sources said Russia was also planning to sell to India its surface to air missiles, SAM-300, which will be used for training Indian Defence personnel .

As part of its defence cooperation with India, Russia has decided to convert its hitherto top secret defence plant at the Siberian city of Krasnoyersk into an Indo-Russian joint venture for turning out silicon chips.

According to a report in the daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta, the plant will produce chips for indian defence and civilian sectors . These integrated chips are used to make solar batteries and semi-conductors .

The report said the project ranks among the first indo-russian joint ventures set up in high technology.

The delhi summit is also expected to approve theindo-russian joint commission's recommendations on trade expansion . Though this year's trade turnover between the two countries will see some marginal fall over previous years, both the sides hope to raise the figure substantially in the next few years .

Observers here note that the trade turnover between india and russia during 1998 was expected to be 1.5 billion dollars only. Till the collapse of the soviet union in 1991, the annual volume of trade between the two countries amounted to five billion dollars.