India is significantly expanding its crude oil sourcing to Latin America, with Venezuela emerging as a major supplier, as geopolitical disruptions in the Middle East and the Strait of Hormuz compel the world's third-largest oil consumer to diversify its energy supplies.
India's outward foreign direct investment (FDI) plummeted by 47.9 per cent year-on-year to $3 billion in June 2026, according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), with declines across equity, debt, and guarantee commitments.
A bipartisan group of US senators has introduced a comprehensive bill imposing extensive sanctions on Russia, with India identified as one of five countries that could incur tariffs for its continued purchase of Russian oil.
Indian refiners have access to only limited Iranian volumes compared with Russian oil, and even the barrels on offer come with 'too many hassles'.
Following through announcements with enforcement of measures is key, as a run through recent Indian economic history shows, points out A K Bhattacharya.
India's fertiliser subsidy bill for the current financial year (FY27) is projected to increase by approximately 20% due to surging global prices, primarily driven by the West Asia crisis, a senior official confirmed. Despite this, retail prices for urea and di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) will remain unchanged, ensuring adequate supply for the kharif season.
Oil India has discovered natural gas reserves off the Andaman Islands, the state-owned firm said without putting an estimate of the size of the find. In a statement, OIL said "occurrence of natural gas" was reported in the second exploratory well Vijayapuram-2 drilled in the Offshore Andaman Block AN-OSHP-2018/1, which the company had won under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP).
Of the 1.32 trillion capex target for FY26, State-run oil firms have already spent 1.07 trillion in the first 10 months.
When asked about Bessent's announcement allowing certain Russian oil sales to India and whether the US is considering any other moves, including tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), Trump said, "If there were some, I would do it just to take a little of the pressure off."
Even as the benchmark and broader indices were down sharply on Monday due to escalating tensions in West Asia, the Nifty Defence index ended the session in the green.
Official records reveal that over one lakh mature trees have been felled in Assam since May 2016 for various development projects, raising concerns about ecological loss despite compensatory afforestation efforts.
Indian officials will visit the US to finalise the legal text for an interim trade agreement, expected to be signed in March, focusing on duty concessions and reciprocal tariffs.
India will restrict crude oil purchases from Russia as part of an agreement reached with the US in exchange for lower trade tariffs, sources said, adding imports will continue for now by refiners such as Nayara Energy, which have no other alternative source. US President Donald Trump announced overnight that the United States will cut the reciprocal tariff on imports of Indian goods to 18 per cent from 25 per cent under a broader bilateral understanding.
State-owned Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) is willing to dilute a 30-40 per cent stake in its upcoming greenfield refinery in Andhra Pradesh, with Gulf energy major Saudi Aramco and upstream player Oil India Ltd (OIL) likely to join as partners, a senior BPCL executive said.
The Kremlin has stated that India is free to purchase oil from any country, dismissing claims that India agreed to reduce Russian oil imports. Russia maintains that energy trade with India benefits both nations and contributes to international energy market stability.
'No one can or will bar India from pursuing its energy goals as it wishes.' 'The US FTA wording may sound more restrictive, but the underlying reality will not undermine India's sovereign energy decisions.'
In the wake of the FTA between India and the European Union, the United States has described the Europeans as 'very disappointing', saying they were unwilling to join Washington, DC in putting tariffs on New Delhi for its purchases of Russian oil because of this trade deal.
Assam has become the first state in India to directly venture into oil production, following the discovery of hydrocarbons at the Namrup-Borhat block.
A 500 per cent tariff would effectively shut out India's goods and services exports to the US.
Two days after Russian President Vladimir Putin concluded his visit to India, during which he assured that Moscow would remain a reliable energy supplier, the Kremlin on Monday said that India, as a sovereign nation, is free to buy oil from sources it deems beneficial. It expressed confidence that New Delhi will continue to prioritise its economic interests.
Inflation data, quarterly earnings and global trends will be the major driving factors for stock markets this week, analysts said. Moreover, the trading activity of foreign investors would also influence the equity market trends.
India, the world's third-largest oil consumer, spent 2.5 billion euro on buying crude oil from Russia in September, 14 per cent less than the previous month, a European think tank said. India remained the second-largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels in September behind China, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).
India said it is broad-basing and diversifying sourcing of petroleum product to meet market conditions.
US President Donald Trump warned India about potential tariffs for continuing to purchase oil from Russia, claiming he received assurances from Prime Minister Narendra Modi that India would halt such purchases.
United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday claimed that India will significantly reduce Russian oil imports by year-end, citing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's assurance.
The US is "pretty close" to reaching a "fair trade deal" with India, President Donald Trump has said, adding that he will lower the tariffs imposed on Indian goods at "some point".
The White House has claimed that India has begun 'scaling back' its oil purchases from Russia at the 'request' of President Donald Trump.
United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that the US is 'doing a trade deal with India' as the two sides continue to hold talks on the proposed trade pact.
United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured him that India would stop purchasing oil from Russia, describing it as "a big step" in efforts to increase global pressure on Moscow.
US President Donald Trump claimed India will stop buying oil from Russia, while also stating China will cut back substantially. He also discussed the conflict between India and Pakistan, reiterating his claim of helping settle the conflict.
The US sees an opportunity to expand its strategic relationship with Pakistan but assures that it will not come at the expense of its ties with India, according to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
'As far as the contentious issues such as agriculture are concerned, we are finding some common ground.'
US President Donald Trump claims India has significantly reduced and nearly stopped purchasing oil from Russia, citing de-escalation efforts. This follows previous tensions over tariffs and India's energy sourcing.
As US President Donald Trump claimed that India will significantly reduce Russian oil imports by year-end, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday hit back by criticising him for making announcements on behalf of New Delhi.
India, the world's third largest oil importing and consuming nation, is likely to save as much as Rs 1.8 lakh crore on import of crude oil and LNG if the trend of softening international energy rates continues, Icra said Wednesday. India, which meets over 85 per cent of its crude oil needs through imports, spent $242.4 billion on buying crude from overseas in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2025.
India has implemented a number of free trade agreements with developed nations and is in active dialogue for such pacts with nations including the US, Oman, and the EU, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said. India has implemented trade pacts with Australia, the UAE and EFTA bloc. It has also signed an agreement with the UK.
His assertion came after Trump claimed that his "friend" PM Modi has assured him that India would stop purchasing oil from Russia, a move he described as a big step toward increasing pressure on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
Using an expletive in his post on X, Navarro said, "Fact: India didn't buy Russian oil in large quantities before Russia invaded Ukraine. It's blood money and people are dying."
Ahead of trade talks between Indian and United States officials in Delhi, White House trade advisor Peter Navarro said India, which has the 'highest tariffs' of any major country, is 'coming to the table'.
'Both initiatives are welcome moves and we would commit ourselves with focused attention aligned with the national priorities, and pursue our exploration initiatives.'
