India's imports from Russia doubled to USD 20.45 billion during the April-July period of this fiscal due to increasing inbound shipments of crude oil and fertiliser from that country, according to the commerce ministry data.
India's imports of crude oil from Russia touched a new high of 1.64 million barrels per day in March and is now double of the purchases from Iraq - the nation's traditional top oil supplier.
Tackling criticism over India buying Russian oil amid the Ukraine war, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday put out a strong statement justifying the move.
The RBI's move to raise key lending rate is part of synchronised action by central banks globally and had come as a surprise only because it was done between two monetary policy reviews, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said
India is doubling down on Russian crude oil purchases despite warnings from the US, snapping up every major grade from the OPEC+ producer as its war in Ukraine nears a third month.