Russia India: India earned so much profit by buying cheaper crude from Russia, know
There was a big uproar when India continued buying crude oil from Russia even amidst the Russia-Ukraine war. However, the Indian government continued to import cheap crude oil from Russia despite all the criticism. Now the results of this step are coming out which may surprise you.
Buying crude oil from Russia was beneficial for India
India’s strategy to continue buying cheap oil from Russia despite Western pressure has been successful. There has been a saving of about $ 7.9 billion in the country’s oil import bill in the first 11 months of the financial year 2022-23. This also helped the country in reducing its current account deficit. The government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is committed to maintaining ties with Russia despite Western sanctions against Moscow.
According to the information, India imported more Russian oil in April this year compared to a month earlier. However, less was imported from Iraq and Saudi Arabia. The data showed that imports increased by 13-17 percent during April. Russia was India’s largest oil supplier in April, followed by Iraq and Saudi Arabia. The data also shows that its oil imports from Iraq have declined by 20-23 percent.
Its effect is also being seen on the prices in the global market.
Since India is the third largest importer of crude oil in the world, this huge purchase of Russian oil has helped in keeping the prices at a better level in the global market, which has also benefited other countries.
Huge savings in oil import bill due to discount on Russian oil – ICRA
Data collected by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry shows that the share of crude petroleum imported from Russia has increased from 2 per cent in FY2022 to 36 per cent in 11 months of FY2024. During this period, imports from West Asian countries (Saudi Arabia), United Arab Emirates and Kuwait decreased from earlier 34 percent to 23 percent.