India’s dependence on imported crude oil has surged to over 88% in the first 11 months of the current financial year (FY25), driven by growing fuel demand and stagnant domestic production. The import dependency is expected to breach last year’s all-time high of 87.8% by the end of FY25, posing economic challenges related to oil price volatility, trade deficits, and inflation.

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• India’s oil import dependency reached 88.2% in April-February FY25, up from 87.7% in the same period of FY24.
• Full-year import dependency for FY25 is expected to exceed last year’s high of 87.8%.
• Oil demand is rising due to growing industries, increased vehicle sales, aviation sector expansion, and higher consumption of petrochemicals.
• Domestic crude oil production fell slightly from 26.9 million tonnes to 26.2 million tonnes.
• India’s total petroleum consumption in April-February FY25 was 218.3 million tonnes, up 2.6% YoY.
• The country’s crude oil import bill for April-February FY25 stood at $124.7 billion, up 3% from the previous year.
• India is projected to consume 252.93 million tonnes of petroleum products in FY26, an increase of 4.7%.
• The government is promoting alternative fuels, biofuels, and electric mobility to reduce import reliance but faces challenges due to rising demand.
• India remains one of the world’s top oil importers and exporters of petroleum products, with a refining capacity of nearly 257 million tonnes per annum.
• Growing demand makes India a key player in global oil consumption, with future projections indicating continued growth in demand.