According to the " Hindustan Times " report on November 1, Indian Oil and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri reiterated on Monday that India does not have moral doubts about purchasing oil from Russia.
In an interview with CNN (CNN), host Becky Anderson asked Prie if he felt "uneasy and guilty" about buying so much oil from Russia. Puri replied: "Absolutely no, no moral doubts, if anyone wants to take the ideological position... We are not buying things from X or Y, we are buying anything that can be bought. It's not me going to buy it, but oil companies are buying it."
Indian Oil and Gas Minister Puri Source: Indian media
When asked whether India benefits from the discounted price in Russia, Puri said, "Let me try to correct your point of view first. At the end of fiscal 2022, we purchased oil from Russia not 2%, but 0.2%. In addition, the amount we purchased is 1/4 of the amount purchased in Europe in the afternoon. So, let's understand very clearly what the problem is."
When asked by the host what the Western country decides to tighten the oil ban on Russia, what is India's backup plan? When Puri replied, "We have a lot of backup plans, and I don't agree with the way you look at the problem. We are having a useful discussion with the United States and Europe. We don't feel any pressure, the Modi government is not feeling the pressure. We are the fifth largest economy in the world, and we are a country that is transforming. When oil prices rise, there will be consequences, one of which is inflation and economic recession, and the other is that it will allow us to transition to green energy."
The Indian minister also clarified the claim that Russia is India's largest oil supplier. He said, "Russia is not India's largest oil supplier, and Russia only provides 0.2% (of India's oil purchases). Now, Russia is one of the top four or five oil suppliers. In fact, the largest supplier last month was Iraq . So, there is no misunderstanding anywhere."
Pri further pointed out that the Indian government has a moral responsibility for its citizens. “We have a moral responsibility to consumers, we have a population of 1.3 billion and we have to make sure they get energy supplies, whether it’s gasoline or diesel,” he said.
report mentioned that the United States and Europe are trying to force other countries to impose price caps on Russian oil starting from December this year. In response, the Indian minister said in an interview: "If EU thinks something, they will talk to us, and we will examine - what the proposal is now. What we are seeing is that Hungary can obtain oil through oil pipelines and can be exempted from the implementation of the so-called price cap... I want to see who the price cap is for."
Last month, Puri said after holding bilateral talks with US Energy Secretary Granholm that India has a moral responsibility to provide energy to its citizens and will continue to purchase oil from various places. He said at the time, "India will buy oil from all places for the simple reason, India's consumer population does not accept this kind of discussion... Has anyone told me to stop buying Russian oil? The answer is absolutely no." (Editor: HHJ)
