On Friday (28th March), the New York Times published an article targeting the Indian public sector aerospace and defence company Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
The American newspaper dubbed HAL as a ‘major supplier of Moscow’s blacklisted state weapons agency.’ It insinuated that HAL shipped equipment sourced from a British manufacturer H.R. Smith Group, to the Russian arms agency ‘Rosoboronexport’.
This is despite clarification from H.R. Smith Group that the concerned equipment is not meant for military use.
“The records do not prove that H.R. Smith’s products ended up in Russia. But they show that, in some instances, the Indian company received equipment from H.R. Smith and, within days, sent parts to Russia with the same identifying product codes,” alleged the New York Times.
“The Indian stateowned company, Hindustan Aeronautics, is identifiable in public records as a supplier to the Russian military but is not under financial sanctions,” it further claimed.
The American newspaper further attempted to guilt-trip India for not being overtly hostile to Russia, making aspersions about its supposed complicity in fuelling the ongoing conflict with Ukraine.
The New York Times further claimed made H.R. Smith Group sent 118 shipments of ‘restricted technology’ to HAL for $2 million between 2023 and 2024.
It alleged that Hindustan Aeronautics Limited sold 13 shipments of parts (similar to the one procured from H.R. Smith Group) to Rosoboronexport for $14 million during the same period.
Indian govt slams The New York Times
Sources within the Indian government have rubbished the claims made by the New York Times as ‘factually incorrect’ and ‘misleading.’
“It (The New York Times) has tried to frame issues and distort facts to suit a political narrative,” they stated.
India Trashes New York Times Report. Sources say that the said "report is factually incorrect and misleading. It has tried to frame issues and distort facts to suit a political narrative.' pic.twitter.com/UsNQ3AzC8k
— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) March 31, 2025
“Indian entity has scrupulously followed all its international obligations on strategic trade controls & end-user commitments. India’s robust legal and regulatory framework on strategic trade,” they emphasised.
Sources: We expect reputed media outlets to undertake basic due diligence while publishing such reports, which obviously was overlooked in the instant case.
— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) March 31, 2025
The government sources concluded, “We expect reputed media outlets to undertake basic due diligence while publishing such reports, which obviously was overlooked in the instant case.”
This is not the first time when The New York Times has resorted to anti-India propaganda. OpIndia has repeatedly exposed their lies. Our extensive coverage can be read here.
