Piyush Goyal
After the recent trade agreement with America, India has made it clear that it will adopt the strategy of taking supplies from different countries to meet its energy needs. In view of the changing global situation, the government is considering energy security as a top priority. Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said this in Parliament.
This statement has come at a time when America has reduced the tariff on Indian products from 50 percent to 18 percent. In return, there has been talk of India stopping the purchase of Russian oil, although the government did not take the name of any country and said that oil import will be stopped completely.
Energy needs of 1.4 billion people a priority
Speaking in Parliament, Piyush Goyal said that securing the energy needs of 1.4 billion Indians is the first responsibility of the government. He said that in the current global situation, diversifying energy sources is part of this strategy. However, he also clarified that India has not compromised with the interests of its sensitive sectors, especially the agriculture and dairy sectors, in this agreement.
Russia’s response: Nothing new in this
Russia has also reacted to this stand of India. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that the idea of India diversifying its sources of oil supply is nothing new. He said that India has been buying oil and petroleum products from many countries apart from Russia in the past also.
No official instructions to refineries yet
According to reports, India’s oil refineries have not yet received any formal order from the government to immediately stop the purchase of Russian oil. Refineries will need some time to complete the procurement already underway. This means that at present the situation is likely to change gradually.
Impact visible on market and politics also
After the India-America deal, there was a relief boom in the Asian stock markets. However, Indian stock markets closed with marginal gains on Wednesday, as the decline in IT stocks reduced the enthusiasm to some extent. The opposition Congress party has raised questions on this agreement. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has asked whether India has given any concession under American pressure and whether the talk of zero tariff on American products is true. Overall, this deal seems to have an impact on India’s energy policy, trade relations and domestic politics.