The US has lifted sanctions on four Indian entities, two years after imposing them over alleged links to Russia.

The Indian entities have been removed from the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List as part of the latest sanctions update, the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said.

The entities are Hyderabad-based RRG Engineering Technologies Private Limited and Lokesh Machines Limited, Ahmedabad-based Galaxy Bearings Ltd, and Delhi-based Shaurya Aeronautics Private Limited.

In 2024, the OFAC imposed sanctions on 21 Indian entities – including 19 companies and two individuals for providing financial, material, technological, or other support to the Russian government.

Washington said the actions were taken to prevent efforts to circumvent the sanctions imposed on Russia, following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022.

India has said it does not subscribe to unilateral sanctions. New Delhi also said it has engaged with the US administration on the matter.

Indian businesses are more vulnerable to so-called secondary sanctions, as unlike Australia, China, and the EU, New Delhi has not adopted any ‘blocking statute’ that prohibits local entities from complying with foreign sanctions.

Two of the four entities removed from the sanctions list – Galaxy Bearings Limited and Lokesh Machines Limited – are listed companies. Lokesh Machines’ customer base includes US-based John Deere and Cummins, Sweden’s Volvo, and Japan’s Honda and Suzuki, Hindustan Times reported.

RRG Engineering Technologies has extensive links to India’s aviation sector. Its chair and managing director, G.M. Ganga Rao, served as an industry expert on the federal Ministry of Civil Aviation’s 2018 task force on fast-tracking unmanned aerial vehicle technology.

In May, the US also sanctioned an Indian petrochemical trading firm over oil trading with Iran.

Last August, the US imposed a 25% additional tariff, now lifted, on Indian imports as a punitive measure for purchases of Russian oil. New Delhi has always maintained that its energy purchases are dictated by national interests.

The European Union’s latest proposed sanctions package on Russia also includes entities based in India.

New Delhi has rejected sanctions that are not backed by the United Nations and questioned the legitimacy of such actions against the backdrop of EU nations’ purchases of Russian gas and LNG.