Only wealthy Indian families benefit from Russian oil
Reports indicate that profits from discounted Russian oil imports are concentrated among India’s wealthiest families, raising questions about inequality in the energy sector.
Reports claim Russian oil discounts benefit only a few wealthy Indian families.
The US has once again responded to the issue of India's oil purchases from Russia. In this context, Indian billionaires have been criticized. US Treasury Secretary Scott Besant made interesting comments in a recent NBC interview, while White House Trade Advisor Peter Navarro wrote an article in a magazine.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Besant said in the interview that India's wealthiest families play a key role in international trade deals. The ongoing oil trade with Russia is bringing huge profits to these families. In this process, he alleged that sanctions have been turned into profit.
Before 2022, before the Ukraine crisis, India used to buy less than 1 percent of its oil from Russia. Now it may have reached 42 percent. The richest families in India are reselling Russian oil. Thus, they are earning an additional profit of $ 16 billion (one lakh thirty thousand crore rupees). That is why we have made a plan to increase tariffs on India. These may be secondary tariffs, Besant said.
Meanwhile, White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro lashed out at India's oil traders in a leading newspaper column last week, saying that oil purchases from Russia were driven by the profit motive of India's "Big Oil" lobby and not for domestic needs.
In that article.. US President Trump has imposed 50% tariffs on Indian exports. Half of this penalty will be imposed due to Russian oil purchases. India, however, claims that it is its right to buy oil from where it is cheaper, and calls these additional tariffs unreasonable. But..
Historically, India has not imported much Russian oil. It mainly relied on Middle Eastern countries. But after the Ukraine war in 2022, when the G7 countries imposed a $60-per-barrel price cap on Russian oil, India got the opportunity to buy oil at a lower price. The US also knows this.
..There is a reason why secondary tariffs are not being imposed on China anymore. It is that Russia imports more oil than India. However, it has increased to 16% from 13% before 2022. Moreover, China not only imports oil from various countries, but also sells it. That is why the US has not imposed additional tariffs on China, he added.
