2-fold jump in India’s imports from Russia

New Delhi India’s imports from Russia doubled to $20.45 billion during the April-July period of this fiscal due to increasing inbound shipments of crude oil and fertiliser from that country, according to the commerce ministry data.

With this, Russia has become India’s second largest import source during the first four months of this fiscal. The imports were $10.42 billion during April-July 2022. From a market share of less than 1 per cent in India’s import basket before the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russia’s share of India’s oil imports rose to over 40 per cent. India, the world’s third-largest crude importer after China and the United States, has been buying Russian oil that was available at a discount after some in the West shunned it as a means of punishing Moscow for the invasion of Ukraine.