Decision taken on strategic level to balance buying oil from different countries: Ex-foreign secy Shringla

The amount of Russian oil imports had not reduced because of the government’s intervention, but rather because the difference in price of Russian oil compared to other sources had reduced and the impact of sanctions on Russia increased, the Rajya Sabha MP said India had taken a strategic decision to buy oil from different countries, reducing dependence on any one region, former foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Tuesday Shringla, a retired IFS officer and currentRajya SabhaMP, was speaking in the Upper House during the discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address His speech comes a day after United States PresidentDonald Trumpaounced the India-US trade deal and said India had agreed to stop buying Russian oil He said India had agreed to buy more oil from the US and perhaps, Venezuela Speaking about the import of Russian oil, Shringla said: “We have been buying 30-40% of our oil from Russia for the past four years We have observed that for the past three months, it has been going down” He said the amount of Russian oil imports had not reduced because of the government’s intervention, but rather because the difference in price of Russian oil compared to other sources had reduced and the impact of sanctions on Russia increased “Our companies and refineries take the decision looking at the price, suitability and quality of oil We were buying oil worth $6 billion from Venezuela before 2020 Now, if this oil is available in the international market, then it’s good,” he said Explaining further, he said 80% of India’s oil was imported “We should balance this on a strategic level so that we are not largely dependent on one region like the Gulf or Russia or others because if there is any conflict or situations or blockage in one region, the supply chain will stop The decision was taken at the strategic level that we will balance our buying; so, there will be buying from the US, Brazil, Guyana and other nations,” he saidReferring to thereduction of the US tariffs on India from 50% to 18%, he said exporters, small-scale industries, workers and farmers would get access to a high-value market He said the 18% tariff was lower than the rate for competitors like South Africa, China, Brazil, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Indonesia and Malaysia “Right now, our bilateral trade with the US is $212 billion By the end of this year, I believe it will reach $300 billion…We took our time to negotiate this deal, despite the pressure on the government from the side of Opposition parties, domestic industry and from abroad But, the government did not budge because our priority and Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi’s policy is India first We needed time to keep the agriculture and dairy sector secure,” he said Stay updated with the latest -Click here to follow us on Instagram Reigning 10m air pistol World Champion Samrat Rana, current 25m rapid fire pistol silver medallist Anish Bhanwala, Paris Olympic double medallist Manu Bhaker — a crack Indian shooting team will kickstart the Asian Shooting Championships at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range from Wednesday with an intense year of domestic and international competitions in the offing