New Delhi. Amidst the ongoing turmoil in global politics and energy markets after the Russia-Ukraine war, India has once again given a clear signal that it will not compromise with its national interests. Despite US President Donald Trump’s warning of imposing heavy tariffs on countries buying oil from Russia, India’s stance does not seem to have changed. This is the reason why India’s import of Russian crude oil remains strong.
India’s stance did not change despite tariffs
Donald Trump had recently taken a tough stance on countries doing business with Russia and had talked about imposing a total tariff of 50 percent on India. Out of this, 25 percent tariff was imposed only because India is buying crude oil from Russia. Apart from this, Trump has also expressed the possibility of imposing tariffs up to 500 percent in the future. However, energy market experts believe that despite these threats, India will continue importing oil from Russia.
Russian oil imports will remain strong in January also
According to global data and analytics company Kpler, India can import about 1.3 million barrels of crude oil per day from Russia in January. Nayara Energy, associated with government company Indian Oil Corporation and Rosneft, has increased the purchase of Russian oil in January. While private sector giant Reliance Industries has not purchased oil from Russia this time, it has not had much impact on total imports.
If tariff is implemented, method will change, not supply.
According to Sumit Ritolia, lead research analyst at Kpler, if the 500 percent US tariff on Russian oil is actually implemented, then the purchasing pattern for India will definitely change, but the supply will not end suddenly. He said that this will change the strategy regarding risk and new avenues of transactions will be adopted. It is estimated that India’s Russian crude oil imports could remain between 1.1 to 1.3 million barrels per day till January 2026.
There has been a decline in December, but it is temporary
India’s Russian crude oil imports fell to about 1.2 million barrels per day in December 2025, from 1.84 million barrels in November. This decline was seen after the US imposed new sanctions on big Russian oil companies like Rosneft and Lukoil. According to experts, this decline was not permanent, but was the result of temporary adjustment in purchases. Russian oil still remains cheap for India and suitable for its refineries.
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