WASHINGTON, April 16: Washington will not extend sanctions waivers allowing countries to purchase Russian and Iranian energy, US treasury secretary Scott Bessent announced on Wednesday. India was a key beneficiary of the sanctions waivers, which attracted significant criticism by US politicians for enriching loosening financial pressure on Moscow and Tehran.

“We will not be renewing the general license on Russian oil and we will not be renewing the general license on Iranian oil. That was oil that was on the water prior to March 11. So all that has been used,” said Bessent at a press conference.

On March 12, the US Treasury announced that a temporary, 30-day waiver had been issued allowing Indian refiners to purchase Russian energy that had already been loaded onto tankers.

“To enable oil to keep flowing into the global market, the Treasury Department is issuing a temporary 30-day waiver to allow Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil. This deliberately short-term measure will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government as it only authorizes transactions involving oil already stranded at sea,” said Bessent in a statement announcing the waiver.

Washington justified the waiver as a necessary measure to stabilise global energy prices, especially crude oil which surged above $100 a barrel due to the outbreak of the US-Iran conflict in late February.

Washington later announced another 30-day license allowing countries to purchase Iranian oil. While the Russian oil waiver expired on April 11, the Iranian oil waiver will expire on April 19.

The US Treasury’s decision came despite numerous reports that officials from Asian nations, including India, were pushing Washington to extend the sanctions waivers.

India was a key beneficiary of the sanctions waivers. According to reports citing government officials, India placed orders for roughly 30 million barrels of oil from Russia after the sanctions waiver was put into effect.

Indian refiners like Reliance had previously wound down their purchases from Russian suppliers like Rosneft and Lukoil due to US sanctions against these energy majors.

However, the sanctions waivers attracted significant criticism, particularly from the opposition Democratic party.

“No way the Russia sanctions waiver should be extended. Trump’s waiver has handed Russia an extra $150 billion a day to fuel its murderous war machine killing & kidnapping Ukrainian kids—while it aids Iran with intelligence to target our troops,” said US Senator Richard Blumenthal in a post on X on April 10.

Three more Democratic senators - including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer - also called for the Trump administration to reverse the “dangerous” sanctions waiver policy.

“In addition to flouting notification requirements to Congress under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act before relaxing sanctions on the Kremlin, Secretary Bessent characterized the license as a temporary and ‘short term’ measure that would not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government," the senators said in a joint statement.

"But Russia’s decision to cancel its planned budget cuts demonstrates that, as we warned, Russia is directly benefiting from the administration’s sanctions relief. It is incumbent on the Trump Administration to reverse this dangerous policy, ensure that Russia does not reap any additional benefit and prevent the United States from further boosting Putin’s war machine,” they added.

India Deepens Critical Minerals Push with New Reforms

By Ricky Chopra

Ricky Chopra NEW DELHI: India is accelerating its efforts to secure critical mineral supply chains amid rising geopolitical uncertainty and continued global dependence on China, but structural challenges in production and processing remain significant hurdles. Critical minerals—particularly rare earth elements such as lanthanides, scandium, and yttrium—are essential for clean energy technologies, electric vehicles, and advanced electronics. While India has made major policy strides, its current production accounts for less than 1% of global output, underscoring the gap between ambition and capacity....more

China surpasses US as India's largest trading partner in FY26; trade gap swells to $112 billion

NEW DELHI, April 15: China has overtaken the US to emerge as India's largest trading partner in 2025-26, with bilateral trade reaching USD 151.1 billion, while the country's trade deficit with Beijing widened to USD 112.16 billion during the period, government data showed.

The US was India's largest trading partner for four consecutive years till 2024-25.

India's exports to China rose 36.66 per cent to USD 19.47 billion during the last fiscal year, while imports increased 16 per cent to USD 131.63 billion. The trade deficit swelled to an all-time high of USD 112.6 billion in 2025-26 as against USD 99.2 billion in 2024-25.

On the other hand, the country's outbound shipments to the US grew marginally 0.92 per cent to USD 87.3 billion during the last fiscal year, while imports increased 15.95 per cent to USD 52.9 billion. The trade surplus declined to USD 34.4 billion in 2025-26 from USD 40.89 billion in 2024-25.

According to commerce ministry data, China was India's top trading partner from 2013-14 till 2017-18 and also in 2020-21. Before China, the UAE was the country's largest trading partner. The US has been the largest partner since 2021-22.

The major trading partners with which India recorded negative exports growth in 2025-26 include the Netherlands, the UK, Singapore, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Australia, France, South Africa, and Malaysia.

However, exports to the UAE, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Nepal, Brazil, Spain, Belgium, and Vietnam registered positive growth last fiscal year.

The major trading partners with which India recorded negative imports growth in 2025-26 include Russia, Iraq, Indonesia, Australia, Qatar, and Taiwan.

However, imports from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Singapore, Japan, Korea, Germany, Thailand, and Malaysia registered positive growth in the last fiscal year.

India waives customs duty on key petrochemicals amid US–Iran conflict

NEW DELHI, April 2: The finance ministry has announced a full customs duty exemption on a wide range of critical petrochemical products to shield the domestic industry amid the raging US-Iran war. The exemptions will stay in place till June 30, 2026, the ministry said in a statement.

The move comes amid a war which has disrupted global supply chains, tightened shipping routes, and pushed up input costs for energy-linked industries worldwide.

According to the Finance Ministry, the exemption is a temporary, targeted intervention to ensure uninterrupted availability of key petrochemical inputs and to contain inflationary pressures across sectors.

The West Asia crisis - fuelled by rising tensions between the United States and Iran, threats to critical shipping lanes like the Strait of Hormuz, and sporadic strikes on energy infrastructure - has already begun impacting global trade flows. India, which relies heavily on imported petrochemical feedstock, is particularly vulnerable to such disruptions.

The ministry said the move will support industries such as plastics, packaging, textiles, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and automotive manufacturing, while also easing the burden on consumers.

GST collections surge 8.8% to cross Rs 2 lakh cr in March, register 8.3% growth in FY 2026

NEW DELHI, April 1: The total gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections grew 8.8 per cent to over two lakh crore rupees in March this year as compared to the same month last year. The total gross GST revenue in March 2025 was over one lakh 83 thousand crore rupees.

According to the Finance Ministry, the Central GST collection in March this year stood at 40 thousand 549 crore rupees and State GST is at 53 thousand 268 crore rupees. The Integrated IGST collection amounts to over one lakh crore rupees.

Meanwhile, Gross GST revenues rose to 22 lakh crore rupees in the financial year 2025-26, an 8.3 per cent increase over 20 lakh crore rupees recorded last year.