'It is based on India's national interest': Russia on its energy ties with New Delhi
New Delhi (PTI): Russian crude oil remains the most cost effective option on the global market and Russia's energy ties with India are in tune with New Delhi's national interests, Russian ambassador Denis Alipov said on Thursday.
Alipov's remarks came hours after US President Donald Trump claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured him that New Delhi will stop procuring Russian crude oil.
"Russian energy remains the most cost-effective option on the global market, and Russia has consistently honoured its commitments while showing flexibility in developing alternative logistics and payment systems in the face of attempts to disrupt this cooperation," he said.
In his address at an event, Alipov also said that Russian crude oil accounts for around one-third of India's total hydrocarbon imports.
The Russian ambassador also described Russia as India's "most reliable energy partner" and said there is scope for enhancing the overall ties, including in areas of defence, trade, connectivity and technology.
Alipov said the India-Russia strategic partnership is a "stabilising force" in global affairs and a powerful driver of economic growth".
"This kind of relationship is in increasing demand worldwide as we collectively navigate an era of unprecedented geopolitical turbulence," he said.
Later, Alipov, while responding to a question on Trump's remarks and if India will continue to procure Russian crude oil, said: "this is a question for the Indian government (to answer)."
The Indian government is dealing with the matter having in mind the national interests of this country in the first place, he said.
"Our cooperation in the energy sector is very much in tune of those interests," he said.
In response to the US president's comments, India said it is "broad-basing and diversifying" its sourcing of energy to meet market conditions.
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 the 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," Jaiswal said.
"This includes broad-basing our energy sourcing and diversifying as appropriate to meet market conditions," he added.
India's continuing purchase of petroleum products from Russia notwithstanding Western sanctions has 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.
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Sensex, Nifty tumble as Budget proposes to raise Securities Transaction Tax to 0.05 pc on commodity
Mumbai (PTI): Stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty tumbled on Sunday afternoon trade after the Budget proposed to raise Securities Transaction Tax to 0.05 per cent on commodity futures from 0.02 per cent.
The government will tax buyback proceeds for all types of shareholders as capital gains, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Sunday.
After fluctuating in early trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex later bounced back but pared all gains amid the Budget presentation.
It later plunged 2,370.36 points, or 2.88 per cent, to slip below the 80,000-mark to 79,899.42 during the afternoon trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty tanked 748.9 points, or 2.95 per cent, to 24,571.75.
From the 30 Sensex firms, Bharat Electronics tanked 6.50 per cent. State Bank of India, HCL Tech, Tata Steel, Asian Paints, and Eternal were also among the laggards.
Sun Pharma, Sun Pharma, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Tata Consultancy Services were the gainers.
"The increase in Securities Transaction Tax (STT), especially in futures and options, is likely to act as a marginal negative for foreign portfolio investor (FPI) flows in the near term, particularly for high-frequency and derivative-focused global funds," Aakash Shah, Technical Research Analyst at Choice Equity Broking, said.
Foreign institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 2,251.37 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
Asian markets are closed on Sunday due to holidays. US markets ended lower on Friday.
On Friday, the Sensex declined 296.59 points, or 0.36 per cent, to settle at 82,269.78. The Nifty dropped 98.25 points, or 0.39 per cent, to end at 25,320.65.
