India's dependence on Russian crude oil increased significantly in April 2026, with Moscow emerging as the dominant supplier as rising global energy prices and supply disruptions linked to the West Asia conflict reshaped the country's import basket.

Fresh trade data indicate that both the volume and value of Russian oil shipments to India climbed sharply during the month, reinforcing Russia's position as New Delhi's largest crude supplier.

According to an analysis published by The Hindu, Russia accounted for 37.7% of India's crude oil import bill in April, the highest share recorded in nearly a year. In terms of physical shipments, Russian crude made up 34.3% of the country's total oil imports during the month.

Figures available on the Ministry of Commerce's foreign trade statistics portal show that India imported Russian crude worth $5.79 billion in April, compared with $3.25 billion in March. In rupee terms, purchases increased from Rs 30,138 crore to Rs 54,179 crore over the same period.

The value of Russian crude imports in April was the highest monthly level recorded since at least January 2025, according to the commerce ministry data.

The Hindu reported that India's total crude oil imports rose to 195.3 lakh tonnes in April from 158.5 lakh tonnes in March, when supplies had been affected by developments in West Asia.

While import volumes expanded by 23% month-on-month, the country's crude import expenditure jumped by more than 61% to $15.4 billion due to higher international oil prices.

Russian shipments accounted for a substantial portion of that increase. Within the overall import basket, purchases from Russia climbed to nearly 67 lakh tonnes in April, marking a 27% rise compared with March, the newspaper reported.

At the same time, the cost of Russian crude for Indian refiners increased considerably. According to The Hindu, India paid Russia an average of $864.9 per tonne for crude oil in April, compared with an average of $787.1 per tonne for all crude imports. The resulting premium of $77.8 per tonne was substantially higher than the $14.8 per tonne premium recorded in March.

The newspaper calculated that the premium paid for Russian oil increased by about 425% between March and April.

Trade data further show a steady increase in Russia's contribution to India's oil import bill over recent months. Its share rose from 21.4% in January and 26.4% in February to 30.6% in March before touching 37.7% in April.

Meanwhile, crude imports from the United States continued to lose ground. Citing commerce ministry figures, The Hindu reported that American crude represented only 2.9% of India's oil import bill and 3.8% of import volumes in April, both the lowest levels seen in eight months.