India will have to remain “practical” in sourcing crude oil and keep the country’s interests paramount as the US gains powers to impose tariffs of up to 100 per cent on major buyers of Russian energy, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday.
Speaking at a fireside chat with businessline Editor Raghuvir Srinivasan at the Changemaker Awards, the Finance Minister said India was already diversifying its energy basket but could not ignore crude availability, the requirements of its 1.4 billion people or the compatibility of different grades of crude with Indian refineries.
Her comments came days after US President Donald Trump signed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 into law. The law gives the US President the authority to impose tariffs of up to 100 per cent on goods from the five largest importers of Russian oil and gas. India and China are among the countries potentially covered, although the law does not automatically trigger the tariffs.
Asked whether India would continue buying Russian crude in the face of the US action, Sitharaman said energy security would be the government’s primary consideration.
“We will choose to source our energy requirement from every corner of the world and that which suits us, suits not for anything else but for the availability,” she said.
Pointing to disruptions in global oil supplies following attacks involving Saudi Arabia and other Gulf-linked refineries, she said India’s decision could not be viewed simply as a choice between Russian and non-Russian crude.
“India can get out of Russia and say alright, I’m buying oil from somewhere else. The moment you come out, the available pool which is limited is going to shoot up in price,” she said.
She also underlined the technical constraints faced by Indian refiners in switching between different grades of crude.
“Largely our refineries are suitable for the medium in terms of density and the soreness that is in terms of sulphur content. They can take that medium sour,” she said, adding that switching to crude that could not be processed by Indian refineries even with modifications would raise questions about the economic rationale of such a move.
“What good is that for and whose cause are we then serving?” she asked.
“We need to be practical to see the citizens and Indian requirement of energy. It poses a severe challenge no doubt, but I think we will have to keep India’s interest topmost,” she said.
Investor confidence
Asked by Srinivasan about the outlook for India’s economic growth and foreign investment, particularly after her recent visits to the US and Canada, Sitharaman said foreign investors remained confident about India despite the increasingly difficult global environment.
She cited India’s macroeconomic stability, fiscal prudence, inflation management and the size of its domestic market.
“There’s just no doubt in their minds given the global situation, a country which has its macroeconomic stability, a country which still values fiscal prudence and a country which largely has managed its inflation,” she said.
She said pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and private equity investors she had met were “quite confident” and “bullish on India”, while also flagging areas where further reforms were required.
“There are suggestions of course along with saying India we are confident, we are bullish on India, there are of course points on which India needs to do more reform. We’ll take all that on board,” she said.
On economic growth, Sitharaman said first-quarter performance had reinforced her confidence that growth would remain on track through the financial year despite external headwinds.
“The quarter one showed the way and I’m very confident we’ll continue in that pace this year despite all the odds,” she said.
She added that the Budget presented on February 1 had made provisions to deal with unpredictable developments and would help the economy sustain growth through the year.
Published on September 22, 2026
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