The Indian State-controlled lender Bank Of Baroda has reported that imports of Russian oil to India, world’s third largest importer of oil, increased ten times in 2022. However, India, Asia’s third largest economy, saved around $5bn after it increased its purchase. This is in stark contrast to the Western countries which have stopped imports from Russia after it started invading Ukraine.
Russia exports energy to China and India at discounted rates. From 2% in 2021, Russian oil import to India has increased to 20%, the Indian bank reported. Because of these oil purchases from Russia throughout last financial year, India saved nearly $89 per ton of crude, according to the figures.
Apart from the trade, on the political and diplomatic front, India has rejected appeals by the Western countries to stop Russian imports. India has also never criticized Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In its defence India has been saying that it relies heavily on energy imports and as poverty pushed millions of people further down on economic scale, it cannot afford to pay higher prices.
India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in an interview in 2022 that since Russia’s war with Ukraine began, Europe’s energy imports from Russia have been six times more than India. He said, “Europe has managed to reduce its imports while doing it in a manner that is comfortable. If it is a matter of principle why did Europe not cut on the first day?”
As per some analysts, Russia will continue to provide cheap oil to Asian countries such as India and China, which are the biggest importers of energy.
