New Delhi Silent as Trump Says US Will Monitor Its ‘Commitment’ to Stop Buying Russian Oil; Pakistan Will Now Play India in T20 World Cup; Assam BJP Depicts Himanta Biswa Sarma as Shooting Muslims
Plus: What should India do amid a push for space-based data centres?
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February 9, 2026
Anirudh S.K.
Now that the dust has settled from the weekend’s big announcements, here’s what we know: India and the US have so far only agreed on a ‘framework’ towards an ‘interim agreement on trade’ – i.e. the first tranche of their bilateral trade agreement – some details of which a joint statement released early Saturday revealed officially. Alongside, US President Donald Trump issued an executive order rolling back his ‘penalty’ 25% tariff for India’s purchases of Russian oil in light of what he said was the Modi government’s commitment to “stop directly or indirectly importing” Russian crude, in addition to buying American energy. Washington will monitor whether India stops buying Russian oil and, if it does not, may reimpose the ‘penalty’ levy.
New Delhi has not publicly said it will stop buying Russian oil, of which it became the second-biggest buyer (and seaborne cargoes of which it became the largest buyer) after Russia invaded Ukraine four years ago. Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal when asked about Russian oil on Saturday did not answer and directed reporters to the external affairs ministry. Foreign secretary Vikram Misri on Monday gave reporters a torrent of words but did not explicitly confirm whether the government had committed to stop buying Russian oil, saying instead that
“it is natural for the mix of sources to vary from time to time, depending on objective market conditions. Our approach is to maintain multiple sources of supply and diversify them as appropriate to ensure stability. Therefore, I would say that the more diversified we are in this area, the more secure we are.”
If India does stop buying Russian oil it would mark the third time it makes such a decision on its crude imports at Trump’s behest, Shanthie D’Souza points out, after it ceased purchasing Iranian and Venezuelan oil following the Trump administration’s tariffs in 2019. Such a move would also raise questions over New Delhi’s strategic autonomy, potentially strain relations with its long-term strategic partner in Moscow and risk raising fiscal pressures at home if it leads to buying more expensive oil from elsewhere.
Meanwhile, Nidhi Verma reports that IndianOil, Bharat Petroleum and Reliance – which have placed orders for Russian oil for delivery next month – are not accepting offers for loading the crude in March and April. IndianOil and Hindustan Petroleum have also ordered two million barrels combined of Venezuelan crude for delivery in April via Trafigura, Verma writes, as part of Indian refiners’ “effort … to help New Delhi seal a trade deal with Washington”.
The joint statement says New Delhi will “eliminate or reduce” tariffs on all American industrial goods and a “wide range” of food and agricultural products, among them distillers’ dried grains, soyabean oil, fruits, wines and spirits. It will also address non-tariff barriers for some US goods including food and agricultural products. Washington said it will reduce its ‘reciprocal’ tariff to 18% and remove levies on Indian generic medicines, gems and diamonds and aircraft parts (notably Indian pharma exports enjoyed zero tariffs before Trump came to power last year). Reuters reports that while additional supplies of distillers’ dried grains in India could help the poultry sector, ethanol producers could face lower domestic sales. It also notes that American soyabean oil would come under a quota.
India
