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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that India has committed to stop buying Russian oil, days after New Delhi reiterated that “national interests” will be the “guiding factor” for India’s energy procurement.
US President Donald Trump, while announcing a trade deal with New Delhi early in February, claimed India had agreed to not procure crude oil from Russia. Since then, the US has claimed multiple times that India will stop buying oil from Russia, PTI reported.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, Rubio said, “In our conversations with India, we’ve gotten their commitment to stop buying additional Russian oil.” Rubio was responding to a question on the Russia-Ukraine war and the sanctions imposed on Moscow, according to PTI.
After announcing the deal, in an executive order, Trump rolled back an additional 25 per cent tariffs on India that he imposed in August last for India’s procurement of crude oil from Russia. Earlier, India had said that it would maintain multiple sources for crude oil purchases and diversify them to ensure stability in the supply chain, with national interests remaining the “guiding factor” for the procurement, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said this week.
India-US trade deal
The US and India recently announced that they have reached a framework for an interim trade agreement, under which America will reduce tariffs on India to 18 per cent, according to a joint statement issued by the White House. Both have announced that they have reached a framework for an Interim Agreement regarding reciprocal and mutually beneficial trade (Interim Agreement).
The framework reaffirms the countries’ commitment to the broader US-India Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) negotiations, launched by US President Donald J. Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 13, 2025, which will include additional market access commitments and support more resilient supply chains.
The Ministry of Commerce & Industry has shared the joint statement. The Interim Agreement between the United States and India will represent a historic milestone in our countries’ partnership, demonstrating a common commitment to reciprocal and balanced trade based on mutual interests and concrete outcomes.
FPI turns net buyers after 3 months of heavy selling
Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) made a strong comeback in early February, investing Rs 19,675 crore in Indian equities in the first half of the month, buoyed by the US-India trade deal and easing global macroeconomic concerns.
The inflows comes after three consecutive months of heavy selling. FPIs pulled out Rs 35,962 crore in January 2026, Rs 22,611 crore in December 2025 and Rs 3,765 crore in November, showed the data available at depositories.
Overall, FPIs withdrew a net Rs 1.66 lakh crore from Indian equities in 2025, one of the steepest phases of foreign outflows, triggered by currency volatility, global trade tensions, tariff worries and stretched market valuations. Moreover, FPI's pulled out a total of Rs 16,287 crore in 2026. (With Agency Inputs)
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