The KGB was extensively involved in the Indian government, especially while Indira Gandhi was Prime Minister. The KGB's India office was described as "a model of KGB Infiltration of a Third-word government." by Oleg Kalugin, head of KGB counter-intelligence. Indira Gandhi's government was somewhat left leaning, and comfortable working openly with the Communist Party of India (CPI). In addition to ideological agents, the KGB made extensive use of bribery, which was generally rampant in India at the time. Indian political parties, military, intelligence and counter-intelligence became completely transparent to the KGB. The KGB also ran extensive propaganda and disinformation campaigns aimed at the Indian public and political leaders, although typically it overestimated the effectiveness of these. One theme of the KGB publicity campaigns was conspiracy theories centered on the CIA, including assassination plans for Indira Gandhi which were convincing to her.

In 1977 the KGB was shocked by the Indian election in which Indira Gandhi lost power. The KGB (and CPI) reacted by shifting it's propaganda efforts to blame Indira's branch of the Congress party for the defeat. When Mrs. Gandhi returned to power following the 1981 election, her relationship with the Soviet Union and CPI was much more distant.

The general objective of the KGB was to keep Indian friendship as a regional counter-balance to China (after the Sino-Soviet split) and Pakistan.

Source: Andrew and Mitrokhin, The World Was Going Our Way: The KGB and the Battle for the Third World