India will continue to buy Russian oil as the call for such purchases depends on what suits our interests best, said Union Finance Minister

Published by RawNews1st

India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the country will continue buying Russian oil, signaling its intent to defy US President Donald Trump’s persistent demands to halt the purchases

In an interview with Network 18, Sitharaman said that the call to purchase oil from Russia or any other source depends on what suits the country’s interests best.

“We will continue [to buy Russian oil]. It’s been made clear. We will take a call on what suits us best. Whether its Russian oil or anything else, it’s our decision which suits our needs,” said Sitharaman.

The remarks have come as Trump and his senior officials have continued their tirade against India’s purchase of oil from Russia, calling the Russian war on Ukraine as “Modi’s war” and accused India of driving the Russian war machinery.

What Nirmala Sitharaman said

Nirmala Sitharaman today announced the GST Council’s decision to eliminate the 12 per cent and 28 per cent GST slabs. Most of the items in these two slabs will be put into the 5 per cent and 16 per cent slabs, she added.

The Finance Minister further said that the “tariff turmoil” didn’t influence the GST reform. She said the Group of Ministers had been working on rate rationalising for several months.

“The tariff turmoil is not a matter that influenced the GST reform. Because we’ve been at it now for more than one and a half years. A group of ministers was working on rate rationalisation. Another group of ministers, a bit later, was working on insurance and related matters. And compensation cess was a reality – it is going to end the moment you pay back the loan.

None of this has anything to do with the tariffs,” she said at a press conference after the GST Council meeting