CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -India’s imports from Russia in November were lower than the volumes bought in October. Russia has for the second month in a row remained India’s top oil supplier in November, surpassing traditional sellers Iraq and Saudi Arabia, according to data from energy cargo tracker Vortexa.

Detailed explanation-2: -Russia has for the first time emerged as top oil supplier to India replacing Iraq. Russia has for the first time emerged as top oil supplier to India replacing Iraq as refiners last month snapped up oil from Moscow fearing a price cap from Dec.

Detailed explanation-3: -Russia now supplies almost 22% of India’s total crude imports, ahead of Iraq’s 20.5 per cent and Saudi Arabia’s 16 per cent. India’s appetite for Russian oil swelled ever since it started trading on discount as the West shunned it to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.

Detailed explanation-4: -Vortexa said that India imported 803,228 bpd of oil from Iraq in December and 718,357 bpd from Saudi Arabia. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) overtook the US to become India’s fourth largest supplier, selling 323,811 bpd oil in December 2022. The United States supplied 322,015 bpd, down from 405,525 bpd in November 2022.

Detailed explanation-5: -Russian oil accounted for about 23 per cent of India’s overall import of about 4 million bpd oil in November, the data showed.