With the Government tightening the screws on issuing business visas to foreign nationals after the controversy involving Chinese workers, highly-skilled engineers, scientists and experts in defence and the nuclear field from Russia are facing the heat.

What has complicated matters in case of Russian experts on business visas is their work in sectors of strategic importance — mainly defence and nuclear energy. Though there is no official word about the numbers, sources said there are about 700 Russians who have been impacted by the visa-streamlining move.

The Koodankulam nuclear power project in Tamil Nadu, with about 150 Russian experts, has one of the biggest contingents of Russian engineers and scientists. Several other experts are involved in the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited's project on Sukhoi 30MKI apart from projects on developing the T-90 tanks.

Moscow, in recent weeks has taken up this matter with New Delhi through diplomatic channels with the issue expected to figure quite prominently in the meeting between External Affairs Minister S M Krishna and Russian Deputy PM Sergei Sobyananin — a trusted Putin hand who is quite powerful in the Russian set-up currently — in Moscow this week. Krishna and Sobyanin will be meeting for the 15th Indo-Russian Joint Commission conference on Wednesday, which is expected to review the key aspects of the relationship described as "time-tested" by the External Affairs Ministry.

There will be another opportunity for a meeting between Krishna and his Russian counterpart, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on October 27 on the sidelines of the trilateral meeting of Russia-India-China in Bangalore.

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