Increase in India’s import dependence

Owing to factors like a fall in the domestic production of crude oil and natural gas by 6% and 1.5%, respectively, in the first half of the current fiscal year, India’s imports have risen of late. This is despite the fact that India’s oil demand growth too has slowed to 1.4% in the April-July period, compared to 3.5% in the same period last year. Thus, foreign oil contributed 84.5% to the country’s needs in six months to September, higher than 83.3% a year earlier. Similarly, imported gas made up for about 51.2% of local needs, higher than 48.7% in the first half of last fiscal year. This low production has been attributed to ageing fields and lack of major discovery.