Four out of India’s seven largest refiners are now in the market for Russian crude as deep discounts push buyers to seek out non-sanctioned barrels, even as heavyweight Reliance Industries Ltd stays away.

State-run Indian Oil Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp have bought a total of around 10 cargoes of non-sanctioned Russian crude, including Urals, over the last few days, according to people involved in the purchases. Hindustan Petroleum Corp., meanwhile, has been looking for supply to be delivered in January, said the people, who could not be named as they are not authorized to speak publicly.  

Including Nayara Energy — which has continued to take Russian crude, even after being blacklisted by Europe — those four processors accounted for just over 60 per cent of India’s oil imports this year, according to analytics firm Kpler. The companies did not immediately respond to emailed queries.

Missing, however, is Reliance — until recently the single largest purchaser of Russian crude in India. The conglomerate is now avoiding crude even under its term contract with Rosneft PJSC, equivalent to 500,000 barrels per day, eager to avoid the risk of running afoul of US or European sanctions, the people said.

India has been engaged in a challenging balancing act for months, trying to maintain its access to cheap Russian oil and to project geopolitical independence, all without angering either Washington or Brussels. But while India’s imports of Moscow’s crude will drop into next year as expected — due to the blacklisting of both Rosneft and Lukoil PJSC — the trade is expected to persist at a lower level.

Russian crude is fetching around $40–$45 a barrel, according to traders in India.

India imported the equivalent of more than 2 million barrels of oil per day from Russia at the peak of this year’s purchases in June. That is expected to dip to 1.3 million in December, when the total is still helped by cargoes booked before the curbs come into place, and then below that in January. 

It is unclear whether those muted volumes will be enough to satisfy a Trump administration that has accused India of funding President Vladimir Putin’s war and demanded the two cut ties. A long-awaited trade deal between New Delhi and Washington has yet to be finalized.

Reliance, a vital swing buyer, is set to receive its last Urals cargo with the Aqua Titan, due to deliver to Jamnagar on Dec. 17, Kpler data show, with no more tankers expected beyond that. Since many vessels don’t signal their final destination before entering or exiting the Red Sea, however, it is possible that other cargoes could yet be in transit, said Sumit Ritolia, lead analyst refining and modeling at Kpler said. 

Should Reliance stay away, it would leave a significant amount of crude for Rosneft to sell elsewhere. 

“While other refiners can partially offset the decline, they are unlikely to fully replace the volumes Reliance was able to absorb at its peak,” Ritolia said. “At this stage, we see India’s imports of Russian crude in the region of 1-1.2 million barrels a day.

Smaller processors including Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd. and HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd. have also halted Russian purchases altogether.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com

Published on December 10, 2025

India’s tea exports during Jan-October period current year were up 6.47 per cent at 228.52 million kgs on favourable demand from key buyers such as the UAE and Iraq among others. The growth in tea exports is despite a decline in shipments from the southern parts of the country. Exports in the same period last year stood at 214.64 m kgs.

In value terms, the tea shipments stood at ₹6882.91 crore for the Jan-Oct period, an increase of 18 per cent over corresponding last year’s ₹5831.1 crore, as per the provisional estimates released by the Tea Board.

The unit price realisation saw an increase of 10.87 per cent at ₹301.20 per kg over corresponding previous year’s ₹271.67 per kg.

Volume shipments from North India were up 19.55 per cent at 153.22 m kgs during Jan-Oct over corresponding last year’s 128.16 m kgs. In value terms, the North Indian shipments were up by around 27 per cent at ₹4959.49 crore over corresponding last year’s ₹3907.81 crore.

However, the South Indian shipments were down by around 13 per cent at 75.30 million kgs during Jan-Oct this year over corresponding last year’s 86.48 m kg. Despite a dip in volumes, the shipment value was flat at ₹1923.42 crore.

During 2024, India’s tea shipments had touched 256.17 million kgs, an increase of 11 per cent over previous year’s 231.69 million kg. In value terms, the tea shipments were up 16.34 per cent at ₹7167.41 crore during 2024 over previous year’s ₹6160.86 crore.

India’s tea production during the current year has been impacted by adverse weather conditions in the key growing regions of both North and South India. During October 2025, the India’s tea production was down by 21 per cent at 161.93 m kg over corresponding previous year’s 205.77 m kgs.

Published on December 10, 2025

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that nearly ₹2,000 crore has already been returned so far to the rightful owners under the ‘Your Money, Your Right’ initiative, launched by the government in October 2025 to help citizens reclaim their forgotten financial assets.

In a social media post, the Prime Minister said the movement has been launched with the aim of ensuring that every citizen can reclaim what is rightfully theirs.

“Here is a chance to convert a forgotten financial asset into a new opportunity. Take part in the ‘Your Money, Your Right’ movement!” PM Modi said.

The Prime Minister highlighted that a significant amount of public money remains unclaimed across various financial institutions in the country.

Indian banks are holding ₹78,000 crore of unclaimed money, while insurance companies have nearly ₹14,000 crore lying unclaimed.

In addition, mutual fund companies have around ₹3,000 crore, and dividends worth ₹9,000 crore also remain unclaimed.

“These facts have startled a lot of people. After all, these assets represent the hard-earned savings and investments of countless families,” the Prime Minister said.

To make the reclaiming process simple and transparent, the government and regulatory bodies have created dedicated portals to help citizens track and claim their funds.

These include, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) – UDGAM Portal for unclaimed bank deposits and balances, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) – Bima Bharosa Portal for unclaimed insurance policy proceeds, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) – MITRA Portal for unclaimed amounts in mutual funds and the Ministry of Corporate Affairs – IEPFA Portal for unpaid dividends and unclaimed shares.

PM Modi shared that facilitation camps have been organised in 477 districts across both rural and urban regions of the country, with a focus on remote areas to ensure maximum coverage and accessibility.

Through coordinated efforts of the Government, regulatory bodies, banks and other financial institutions, nearly ₹2,000 crore has already been returned to citizens.

The Prime Minister appealed to people to assist in scaling up the movement. He urged citizens to check whether they or their family members have unclaimed deposits, insurance proceeds, dividends or investments. He encouraged the use of the dedicated portals and facilitation camps to claim what is rightfully theirs.

“Act now to claim what is yours and convert a forgotten financial asset into a new opportunity. Your money is yours. Let us make sure that it finds its way back to you. Together, let us build a transparent, financially empowered and inclusive India!” he said.

Published on December 10, 2025