NEW DEHLI: India’s imports of Russian oil rose tenfold last year, according to Bank of Baroda, an Indian state-controlled lender.
The figures show Asia’s third-largest economy saved around $5bn (£4bn) as it ramped up crude purchases from Moscow.
Western countries have been cutting their energy imports from Russia after it invaded Ukraine.
Russia has been selling energy at a discount to countries like China and India, the world’s third-largest oil importer.
In 2021 Russian oil accounted for just 2% of India’s annual crude imports. That figure now stands at almost 20%, Bank of Baroda said.
During the last financial year, India’s oil purchases from Russia saved around $89 per tonne of crude.
Despite pressure from the US and Europe, India has refused to adhere to Western sanctions on Russian imports. New Delhi has also not explicitly condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
India has defended its oil purchases, saying that as a country reliant on energy imports and with millions living in poverty, it was not in a position to pay higher prices.
Since the Ukraine war began, Europe has imported six times more energy from Russia than India, the country’s External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar, said in a TV interview last year.
“Europe has managed to reduce its imports while doing it comfortably,” he said. Jaishankar added: “If it is a matter of principle, why did Europe not cut on the first day?”
With no end to the conflict, some analysts expect Russia to continue offering cheap oil to Asia’s most prominent energy importers.
“We expect Russian crude intake to remain limited to these two countries [India and China], sustaining the steep discounts,” Vandana Hari, from energy analysis firm Vanda Insights, told the BBC.
She added that India’s oil refiners would continue to maximise their profit margins for as long as possible but would “go back to their usual crude diet” if the sanctions were lifted.
