India’s crude oil import bill fell to a third in the first four months of the current fiscal after international oil rates nosedived on demand evaporating due to the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic and ensuing lockdowns, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Monday.
India spent USD 12.4 billion on importing 57.2 million tonnes of crude oil during April-July as opposed to USD 36.2 billion expenditure on import of 74.9 million tonnes in the same period a year back, he said in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.
The basket of crude oil India imports had averaged USD 64.31 per barrel in January 2020, which fell to USD 33.36 a barrel in March when the pandemic spread globally.
