According to data from the oil ministry's Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell (PPAC), India's import bill nearly doubled to 119 billion dollars in the financial year 2022. During the previous financial year, India had spent 62.2 billion dollars on oil imports.
Amid the Russia-Ukraine war, energy prices had shot up globally. In March, when crude-oil prices saw the highest surge in 14 years, was when India spent 13.7 billion dollars in a month alone. In the same month last year, the country had spent 8.4 billion dollars.
According to PPAC, India imported 212.2 million tonnes of crude oil in 2021-22, a significant increase from 196.5 million tonnes in the previous year.
Meanwhile, India consumed 202.7 million tonnes of petroleum products in the 2022 financial year, up from 194.3 million tonnes in the previous year. Similarly, the country spent 11.9 billion dollars on imported 32 billion cubic meters of LNG in 2021-22, up from $7.9 billion spent on importing 33 bcm of gas in the previous year.
India's import dependence had increased due to a steady decline in domestic output.
(Sources: PTI)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)