Diversifying energy procurement: India in response to Trump's oil trade claim
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New Delhi (PTI): India on Thursday said it is "broad-basing and diversifying" its sourcing of energy to meet market conditions, hours after US President Donald Trump claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured him that New Delhi will stop procuring Russian crude oil.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, responding to Trump's remarks, said it has been New Delhi's consistent priority to safeguard the interests of the Indian consumer in a volatile energy scenario.
He said India's import policies are guided entirely by national interest, adding India has been looking at expanding energy ties with the US as well.
"Ensuring stable energy prices and secured supplies have been the twin goals of our energy policy," he said.
"This includes broad-basing our energy sourcing and diversifying as appropriate to meet market conditions," Jaiswal added.
India's continuing purchase of petroleum products from Russia notwithstanding Western sanctions have become a major issue that resulted in severe downturn in ties between New Delhi and Washington.
In Washington, Trump told reporters that "he (Modi) has assured me there will be no oil purchases from Russia."
The US president said India may not be able to cut the procurement immediately but the process has started.
"It (process) has started. He can't do it immediately. It's a little bit of a process, but the process is going to be over soon," the US president said.
In his remarks, Jaiswal noted that India is holding talks with the Trump administration on boosting bilateral energy ties.
"Where the US is concerned, we have for many years sought to expand our energy procurement. This has steadily progressed in the last decade," he said.
"The current administration has shown interest in deepening energy cooperation with India. Discussions are ongoing," he added.
Explaining India's policy on energy procurement, Jaiswal said it is driven by national interest.
"India is a significant importer of oil and gas. It has been our consistent priority to safeguard the interests of the Indian consumer in a volatile energy scenario," he said. "Our import policies are guided entirely by this objective," he said.
In his remarks, Trump suggested that the US wants India to stop procurement of Russian crude only to put financial pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin so that ends the war in Ukraine.
"All we want from President Putin is to stop this, stop killing Ukrainians and stop killing Russians because he's killing a lot of Russians. It is a war he should have won in one week and now it is going into fourth year," he said.
Washington has been maintaining that India is helping Putin to finance the war through its purchase of Russian crude oil.
The relations between New Delhi and Washington have been reeling under severe stress after Trump doubled tariffs on Indian goods to a whopping 50 per cent, including a 25 per cent additional duties for India's purchase of Russian crude oil.
India described the US action as "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable"
Last week, US Ambassador-designate Sergio Gor met PM Modi in New Delhi.
Following the meeting, Gor said the US "values" its relationship with India,
Gor was in New Delhi amid continuing strains in the bilateral relations.
The Ambassador-designate also held talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri before meeting PM Modi.
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India achieves major milestone in wind energy; capacity now 56 gigawatts: PM Modi
New Delhi (PTI): India has achieved a major milestone in wind energy, with the country's wind energy generation capacity exceeding 56 gigawatts, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday.
In his monthly radio address 'Mann Ki Baat', Modi also said the country must save electricity and adopt clean energy.
“India recently achieved a major milestone in wind energy. India's wind energy generation capacity has now exceeded 56 gigawatts. In just the past year, nearly 6 gigawatts of new capacity have been added,” he said.
Underlining that solar and wind energy are essential for India's development, Modi said, “It is not just about the environment; it is about securing our future, and we all have a role to play in it.”
On April 22, Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy, Pralhad Joshi, said that India has recorded its best-ever year in wind energy capacity addition, with a historic 6.1 GW added during 2025-26.
India currently ranks fourth globally in wind energy, with more than 56.1 GW installed capacity and an additional 28 GW under implementation.
Emphasising the vast untapped potential of the sector, Joshi highlighted that India's wind energy potential at 150 metres hub height is estimated at nearly 1,164 GW.
He expressed confidence that with sustained efforts, the country will achieve 100 GW wind capacity by 2030 and 156 GW by 2036, contributing significantly to the net-zero target by 2070.
Joshi also underlined that wind energy plays a critical role in stabilising India's energy system, particularly due to its peak generation during evening and night hours, which aligns with high demand periods.
He noted that nearly 45 per cent of wind power generation occurs during peak demand hours, making it a vital complement to solar energy.
