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India says that its oil import from Russia is to meet national needs and not for profit.
For the past 3 years, India has been getting crude oil from Russia at a discount of $ 5 to 30 per barrel. 65% of this discount benefits with private companies like Reliance and Naira to government companies like Indian Oil and Bharat Petroleum. At the same time, the government got 35% benefit. Nothing came from the common man.
Recently, US President Donald Trump has imposed 50% tariff on India. He has explained the reason for this to purchase oil from Russia. Trump says that Indian refinery companies process it and sell it to Europe and other countries. India does not care about how many people are being killed in Ukraine due to Russia’s attack.
Here in question answers, they are explaining this matter in easy language …
Question 1: Why is the common man not getting the benefit of cheap oil?
answer: Even though oil prices are de-vested on paper, retail prices are under the control of the government and oil companies. The government needs a stable income from tax and oil companies justify their margins by citing the loss of old LPG subsidy. The result is that the benefit of cheap oil is going to companies and government treasures and not in the pockets of common people.
A large part of the price of petrol and diesel goes into tax. The central government collects excise duty of Rs 13 per liter on petrol and Rs 10 per liter on diesel. In addition, the state governments impose Value-Adead Tax (VAT). Overall, 46% of the price of petrol and 42% of the diesel price are tax.
The central government earns Rs 2.7 lakh crore from this tax every year and the state governments earns Rs 2 lakh crore. In April 2025, the Center earned an additional Rs 32,000 crore with an increase in excise duty by Rs 2 per liter. This tax is a stable and reliable income source for the government. Instead of giving the benefit of cheap oil to customers, the government is keeping this money in its treasury so that other expenses can be met.
Question 2: How much profit did oil companies get from cheap oil?
answer: In FY 2020, India imported only 1.7% of its needs from Russia. The stake has increased to 35.1% in FY 2025. The benefit of buying cheap oil from Russia is also shown on the profits of oil companies.
- The total profit of Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum in 2022-23 was ₹ 3,400 crore.
- In 2023-24, the profit of these three government companies increased by 25 times. The three together earned Rs 86,000 crore.
- In 2024-2025, the profits of these companies decreased to Rs 33,602 crore, but it is more than a profit of 2022-23.
There itself Talking about private refineries, there are mainly two big private companies in India. Reliance Industries and Naira Energy both process the most crude oil. Reliance won a refining margin of $ 12.5 per barrel and Naira $ 15.2. That is, bought, processed and made more profits on every barrel by selling it in expensive.
Reliance-Naira’s 45% stake in Russian crude oil: According to data and analytics company Kepler, India imported 23.1 million barrels from Russia in the first half of 2025 (till 24 June). Reliance and Naira had 45% stake in it. In 2022, Reliance stakes 8% and Naira was 7%.
Reliance bought about 30% of the total oil from Russia: A Reliance spokesperson said that about 30% of the crude oil purchased by Reliance comes from Russia. But it is wrong to give only the reason for profits on the discount on Russian crude oil. The Russian-Ukraine has been the same before and even after the exemption received due to war. The earnings that Europe have earned by selling products is a small part of our total production.
Sold in America-Europe by processing Russian oil: By importing Russian crude oil and reflected in high value products like petrol, diesel and ATF. After this they were exported to countries like Europe, America, UAE, Singapore. In the first half of 2025, the two companies exported 60 million tonnes of refined products, of which 1.5 million tonnes were sold to the European Union. It cost $ 15 billion.
The Jamnagar refinery of Reliance Industries is the world’s largest single-location oil refining complex. It is located in Jamnagar, Gujarat and can process 12.4 lakh barrels of crude oil every day.
Question 3: How did buying cheap oil start from Russia?
Answer: Europe banned Russian oil after the Russia-Ukraine War began in February 2022. After this, Russia turned its oil towards Asia. India imported only 0.2% of Russian oil in 2021, but by 2023 it reached 2.15 million barrels per day. In 2025, Russia became India’s largest oil supplier, supplying 1.67 million barrels per day on an average. This is about 37% of India’s total need.
Question 4: Why does India not stop buying oil from Russia?
answer: India has many direct benefits of buying oil from Russia …
- Cheap oil from other countries: Russia is still giving India cheaper oil than other countries. In 2023-2024, India saved more than Rs 1 lakh crore due to cheap oil from Russia. However, the discount which was up to $ 30 per barrel earlier is now up to $ 3-6 per barrel.
- Long-term contracts: India’s private companies have long -term contracts with Russia. For example, in December 2024, Reliance contracts with Russia to purchase 5 lakh barrels of oil every day for 10 years. It is not possible to break such agreements overnight.
- Impact on global prices: India’s Russian oil imports help to keep global oil prices stable. If India stops buying oil from Russia, global supply may decrease, which can increase prices. Oil prices reached $ 137 per barrel in March 2022 after the war with Ukraine.
India imports cheaper crude oil from Russia, which it refines and converts into products such as petrol, diesel and jet fuel. These products are exported to international markets, especially Europe, banning oil imports directly from Russia. India says that this business is completely transparent and nothing is illegal in it.
There is no restriction on oil imports from Russia, only one price cap is applicable, which was launched by the then US President Joe Biden’s administration in 2022. The purpose of this price range was to limit Russia’s oil income, but Russian oil was not completely restricted to keep the global energy market stable. India argued that by purchasing oil from Russia, global oil prices remain under control.
If the oil of big oil producer like Russia is removed from the market, then international oil prices can touch the sky. India’s Foreign Minister Dr. S Jaishankar criticized Europe’s double attitude at a press conference at Washington DC in 2022. He had said, “The oil we buy is less than the oil purchased by Europe in one afternoon.
Question 5: India has options to buy oil from which countries besides Russia?
answer: India imports more than 80% of its oil needs. Most of the oils buy from countries like Iraq, Saudi Arabia and America besides Russia. If you want to close oil imports from Russia, then it will have to increase its import from these countries …
- Iraq: Russia is the second largest oil supplier in India, which provides about 21% of our imports.
- Saudi Arabia: The third major supplier, which supplies 15% of our needs (about 7 lakh barrels per day).
- America: In January-June 2025, India imported 2.71 lakh barrels of oil daily from the US, which has doubled from the previous. In July 2025, the US stake in India’s oil imports reached 7%.
- South African Country: Nigeria and other South African countries also supply oil to India and government refineries are turning to these countries.
- Other countries: Muruban crude from Abu Dhabi (UAE) is a big option for India. In addition, India has also started oil imports from Gayana Brazil, and other Latin American countries. However, buying oil from them is usually expensive than Russian oil.
Question 6: What did India say on 50% tariff imposed by Trump due to Russian tariff?
answer: India has described this additional tariff as “inappropriate, unexpected and impractical”. India’s Foreign Ministry in a statement highlighted the double parameters of Western countries, especially the US and the European Union (EU). India reported that the US itself imports products such as uranium hexaphloride, palladium, fertilizer and chemicals from Russia.
At the same time, the European Union had a 67.5 billion euro trade with Russia in 2024, including imports of 16.5 million tonnes of liquidized natural gas (LNG). This is more than the previous record of 15.2 million tonnes of 2022. In addition, Europe also imports fertilizer, mining products, chemicals, iron-steel, machinery and transport equipment from Russia.
India says that the western countries are doing business with Russia themselves. India also clarified that its oil import from Russia is to meet national needs and not for profit. India started Russian oil imports in February 2022 after the Russia-Ukraine War began, as Europe started buying oil from India’s traditional oil suppliers (Gulf countries). India used cheap Russian oil to ensure affordable energy for its 1.4 billion population.
India is not the only country that buys crude oil from Russia. In 2024, China imported $ 62.6 billion oil from Russia. At the same time, India’s oil imports from Russia during this period were only $ 52.7 billion. Despite this, Donald Trump has given 90 days for the trade deal not imposing additional tariffs on China.
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US President Trump said on Friday that there are reports that India will not buy oil from Russia for long. However, he said that he was not aware of the correct of these reports. But if this happens then it will be a good thing. Let’s see what happens.
Earlier, Reuters reports claimed that India almost stopped buying oil from Russia due to American pressure and increase in price. After this, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs held a press conference on Friday evening. However, it was not clarified in how much truth is there in this claim.
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