Deliveries of Russian oil to India are projected to decrease to around 600,000 barrels per day next month. (AI image)

" fifu-data-src="https://i0.wp.com/static.toiimg.com/thumb/msid-125807112,imgsize-89784,width-400,resizemode-4/crude-oil.jpg?ssl=1" alt="Trump sanctions impact: India’s crude oil imports from Russia set to hit 4-year low; but how long will the drop last?" />

Deliveries of Russian oil to India are projected to decrease to around 600,000 barrels per day next month. (AI image)

 

Donald Trump’s sanctions on Russian crude majors may have the effect of India’s oil imports from Russia dropping to a four-year low in January 2026. The Trump administration has been piling pressure on India to stop procuring crude oil from the country.

Of the 50% tariffs that the US has imposed on India, 25% are for its crude oil imports from Russia, which the Trump government claims indirectly helps fund the war against Ukraine. While the 50% tariffs don’t seem to have impacted India’s imports of Russian crude,

The sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil announced in October have forced Indian refiners to look for alternative sources, though the option to purchase non-sanctioned Russian oil remains open.

India’s crude oil imports from Russia are set to drop.

While the crude oil imports are set to drop, the important question is, for how long will this be the case? According to a Bloomberg report, Russia is cranking up its own charm offensive, and alternative channels of procurement may emerge.

India’s Russian crude imports are set to fall in January.

Deliveries of Russian oil to India are projected to decrease to around 600,000 barrels per day next month, individuals involved in the transactions told Bloomberg. They may reach the lowest point since early 2022, when the Russia-Ukraine war began. Nevertheless, these oil import projections remain higher than pre-conflict levels.

What’s next? Will India completely stop Russian crude imports?

In the past, India has benefitted substantially from global restrictions on Russian crude sales, emerging as the main purchaser of Russian seaborne crude amidst price reductions due to sanctions.

Indian imports peaked at approximately 2.1 million barrels daily in June, making up about 45% of total crude imports. Refiners and traders suggest volumes could go up as non-sanctioned suppliers enter the market and new trading intermediaries emerge.

Additionally, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Delhi this week to discuss trade relations, offering assurances of “uninterrupted shipments of fuel”.

Russia Quickly Became India’s Biggest Crude Supplier

India’s negotiations for a US trade agreement have progressed slowly, reducing the pressure to align with Washington’s positions, the Bloomberg report said. US President Donald Trump recently indicated a potential reduction in punitive tariffs on India. Elisabeth Braw, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, told Bloomberg, “While US sanctions create obstacles,

They cannot completely halt the trade. She noted that purchasing decisions are based on product suitability and pricing, rather than ideological alignment with Russia, and hence would likely continue. Restrictions on India’s imports of Russian oil have intensified since July, starting with the European Union sanctions imposed on Nayara Energy Ltd.

which has Rosneft backing. This marked the EU’s first such measure. The Trump administration subsequently shifted from its previous acceptance of purchases under a Group of Seven price cap, openly criticising the trade and implementing a 50% tariff to enhance its exports and apply pressure on Putin.

The implementation of the levy and subsequent sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil have not completely halted oil flows, despite significantly impacting trade. Concerns about potential future disruptions led to increased November imports of 1.8 million barrels daily, as transactions were expedited. Also read: Message for Trump?

Putin says Russia ready to continue ‘uninterrupted shipments of fuel’ to India; pitches reliable supply of oil According to Sumit Ritolia, lead analyst for refining and modeling at Kpler, December volumes are expected to range between 1 and 1.2 million barrels per day, reflecting the surge in bookings by refiners prior to the sanctions’

implementation. Although the government has not provided official directives regarding Russian crude, state refiners have adopted a cautious approach towards sanctions. Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd, and HPCL-Mittal Energy have stopped purchases entirely, whilst Indian Oil Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp are accepting only restricted, non-sanctioned quantities.

the report said. The extended timeline for Trump to finalise the agreement creates additional opportunities to evaluate the economic and political implications of reducing discounted oil purchases. “If the deal drags on, then more and more people will find ways or more pathways will be made, to enable such non-sanctioned barrels to still be bought legitimately by the Indian purchasers,” said June Goh.

senior oil market analyst at Sparta Commodities. Indian refiners have shifted to costlier Middle Eastern crude oil varieties to compensate for Russian supplies. They’ve increased their US oil purchases whilst checking sources in Guyana and Brazil to offset the shortfall. The sudden change led to higher shipping costs and vessel scarcity. Meanwhile, Russia faces financial pressure, with their crude selling at merely $40-$45 per barrel after discounts.

industry sources report. A decline is expected in January, raising concerns about whether China, the other significant purchaser, can absorb the excess supply. Future trends will be influenced by various factors, including Trump’s flexibility on tariffs, alongside the swift development of alternative arrangements as supply networks are restructured and price reductions become more

substantial. Over the past few weeks, several new entities have emerged in port documentation as suppliers of Russian crude to Vadinar, including Eastimplex Stream FZE, Grewale Hub FZE and Tyndale Solutions FZE. “Indian refiners may also gradually find ways to shift towards non-sanctioned Russian entities,

‘National crush’ Girija Oak has once again captured the internet’s attention with her stunning saree collection while currently winning praise for her performance in the web show Perfect Family. A photograph of the actress wearing a blue saree paired with a sleek white blouse recently went viral, and fans are applauding her gracefulness.

traditional style. In a conversation with Hauterrfly, Girija opened up about her love for sarees and revealed that she owns more than 400 pieces.

‘It is a hand-painted chiffon saree.’

Girija showcased some of her most cherished sarees, including heirlooms passed down from her mother and grandmothers. She shared that she has sourced sarees from across India, often purchasing directly from weavers or through people who buy exclusively from artisans.

She began the tour with her grandmother’s vintage saree from the 1960s–70s, saying, “It is a hand-painted chiffon saree.” The creamy-coloured piece exuded old-world elegance.

‘This saree is worth a few kidneys.’

Girija then revealed the most expensive saree in her wardrobe — a Banarasi Jamawar from Raw Mango. Calling it her prized possession, she said, “This is my favourite saree. This saree is truly exquisite. This saree is worth a few kidneys.

The price of this saree is between one lakh and more. I only have one Raw Mango saree; I can’t afford more sarees from them. But it is a very pretty colour.” Discussing sarees as long-term investments, Girija added, “If you keep them maintained nicely, their life is forever. A saree can fit any size; it is very versatile.” Girija went on to present several other pieces from her collection—leheriya sarees, block-printed designs, kalamkari drapes, and a classic Maharashtrian Paithani.

Among the highlights was a pure georgette leheriya saree that arrived in a compact box. “This is a pure georgette leheriya saree that came in a tiny box. I bought it from Gujarat,” she explained. She also showed a saree that she had block-printed herself and admitted that it was a challenging process.

“It is uneven because I have blockprinted it myself, but it is special.” Another standout was a quirky Audrey Hepburn–print saree, which immediately drew attention for its unique visual charm.

Girija Oak’s journey in Marathi and Hindi cinema

Girija Oak, active since 2004, has built a solid career across Marathi and Hindi entertainment. She earned widespread acclaim for her performance in the short film Quarter (2020), directed by Navjyot Bandiwadekar.

She has also appeared in Bollywood films such as Aamir Khan’s Taare Zameen Par (2007) and Krishna D K’s Shor in the City (2010). Recently, she featured in Shah Rukh Khan’s blockbuster Jawan (2023) and the 2025 Netflix film Inspector Zende alongside Manoj Bajpayee.

The airline recorded the largest number of flight cancellations by an Indian carrier in the nation's aviation history. (ANI photo)

" fifu-data-src="https://i3.wp.com/static.toiimg.com/thumb/msid-125807833,imgsize-59072,width-400,resizemode-4/indigo.jpg?ssl=1" alt="IndiGo cancellations: How to track flight & refund status online; step-by-step guide" />

The airline recorded the largest number of flight cancellations by an Indian carrier in the nation’s aviation history. (ANI photo)

IndiGo flight cancellations latest news: IndiGo has said that it expects to operate more than 1500 flights by day’s end on Saturday, having restored over 95% of network connectivity by serving 135 out of 138 operational destinations.

IndiGo typically operates 2300 flights daily. IndiGo has said that its personnel are working to normalise operations, minimise flight delays, and assist passengers during this challenging period. IndiGo operated merely 700 flights on Friday, indicating 1,600 flight cancellations.

IndiGo’s CEO Pieter Elbers acknowledged the extensive cancellations, confirming “over 1,000 flights” were cancelled on Friday.

IndiGo recorded the highest number of flight cancellations by an Indian carrier in the nation’s aviation history. Additionally, IndiGo’s on-time performance plummeted to 3.7 per cent on Friday due to operational disruptions caused by the implementation of new pilot duty and rest period regulations, according to the Civil Aviation Ministry website.

Starting November 1, the second phase of these regulations redefined night hours from 12am to 6am, altered from the previous 12am to 5am, and reduced permitted night landings from six to two. These changes affect all domestic airlines in India. The Gurugram-based carrier IndiGo, partly owned by Rahul Bhatia, has obtained temporary relief from DGCA.

allowing them to revert to the previous night duty definition of 12am to 5am and permitting pilots to perform six night landings. “ Addressing the recent disruptions in our network, we had cancelled a significant number of flights and operated a little above 700 flights yesterday, connecting 113 destinations.

The main objective was to reboot the network, systems, and rosters so that we could start afresh today with more flights and improved stability, and there are some early signs of improvement. Despite acknowledging the challenges ahead, we remain dedicated to restoring our customers’ trust. We apologise once again,” the airline said in a statement today.

How to Track IndiGo Flight Status?

If you are planning to fly on an IndiGo flight over the coming days, it is important to check the flight status before heading to the airport.

Here is a step-by-step guide to check IndiGo flight status: 1. Go to goindigo.in/check-flight-status.html 2. Enter your PNR details and travel date, click on ‘Search Flight’ to get the latest flight status

How to Track IndiGo Refund Status?

The airline issued a statement confirming that it is handling all passenger refund requests with urgency. Here is a step-by-step guide on how you can track your refund status on the IndiGo website: 1. Go to goindigo.in/refund.html

2. Enter PNR details—insert your PNR or booking reference number and your email ID or last name. 3. Click to view the “Refund Summary.”.

This will show you the current status of your refund — whether it’s still processing, completed, etc. According to the civil aviation ministry’s directive, all refunds for cancelled or disrupted flights must be processed by 8 pm on Sunday.

The ministry has said, “Airlines have also been instructed not to levy any rescheduling charges for passengers whose travel plans were affected by cancellations.” The ministry has directed IndiGo to establish dedicated units for passenger assistance and refund processing.

statement noted, “These cells have been tasked to contact affected passengers proactively and ensure that refunds and alternative travel arrangements are processed without the need for multiple follow-ups.

The system of automatic refunds will remain active until operations stabilise completely.” Additionally, the ministry has mandated that the airline must locate and return any misplaced luggage resulting from flight cancellations or delays to passengers within 48 hours.

Airfares capped

The aviation ministry has issued a two-page directive implementing fare restrictions due to capacity limitations and unjustified price increases across various routes. The civil aviation ministry’s order clarifies that business class and UDAN flights are exempt from these fare restrictions. The directive lacks specificity regarding the application of these limits to economy class tickets exclusively or their extension to premium economy seats as well.

The prescribed fare structure sets maximum limits of Rs 7,500 for flights covering distances up to 500 km, Rs 12,000 for 500–1,000 km, Rs 15,000 for 1,000–1,500 km, and Rs 18,000 for flights exceeding 1,500 km.

For illustration, on the Delhi-Mumbai route, spanning over 1,300 kilometres, economy- class fares cannot exceed Rs 18,000. The minister’s statement indicates these restrictions will remain effective until conditions normalise. These caps exclude additional costs such as the User Development Fee (UDF), Passenger Service Fee (PSF), and air ticket taxes.

‘Dhurandhar’, directed by Aditya Dhar and starring Ranveer Singh, has finally debuted on the big screen today. After months of waiting, fans wasted no time rushing to theatres to catch the first day’s show and tweeting all about it. Amid all the hype and drama surrounding the film, trade reports state that the film may just open to an average response at the box office. However, this was just by taking into consideration the film’s advance bookings, which are estimated to be between Rs 15-20 crore net. Now, as per the latest reports online, the film seems to be picking up its pace at the box office, with trade reports showing a spike in numbers. As per Sacnilk, the early shows have already collected around Rs 66 lakh, with numbers expected to rise further during the day. As per the latest reports, the film has sold over 2.55 lakh tickets across 14,549 shows in 2D format, playing at the national theatre chains. The IMAX 2D formats playing at top theatre chains in the country have reported a collection of Rs 45.22 lakh for around 123 shows. The current data estimates that the film’s total advance collections now stand at an estimated Rs 9.23 crore from the sale of 2.62 lakh tickets sold across 14K shows in the country. It must be noted that these numbers are without blocked seats.

Taking into account the blocked seats, the total advance booking collection has risen to an estimated Rs 14 crore. State-wise, Maharashtra continues to lead with the highest collection of Rs 3.02 crore in advance earnings with blocked seats.

Delhi follows closely with Rs 2.98 crore. Karnataka and Gujarat follow with collections of Rs 1.41 crore and Rs 1.01 crore, respectively. Uttar Pradesh rounds up the top five with an advance collection of Rs 79.39 lakh. Trade projections suggest that ‘Dhurandhar’ is likely to open in the Rs 15 crore to Rs 20 crore range on Friday.

With a reported budget of Rs 250 crore, ‘Dhurandhar’, a large-scale action entertainer, will face significant challenges before achieving box office success. To attain these numbers, the film would rely heavily on word-of-mouth to drive weekend growth and keep the footfall consistent all through the working week.

Without a holiday to support it, the film will rely heavily on positive buzz and quality content to sustain its success at the box office. The current trend puts the film on par with the Dhanush and Kriti Sanon romantic drama, ‘Tere Ishk Mein’, which opened to similar numbers at the box office last week. However,

The film will have only 2 weeks to enjoy its run at the box office before it faces added competition at the ticket windows with the release of the Hollywood film ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’. The James Cameron film is already tracking a blockbuster opening in the country, considering that it is a part of a franchise release and already commands a huge fan base.

Market experts anticipate a period of sideways movement. (AI image)

Stock market today: Nifty50 and BSE Sensex, the Indian equity benchmark indices, opened flat in trade ahead of the RBI policy. While Nifty50 was above 26,000, BSE Sensex was around 85,250. At 9:18 AM, Nifty50 was trading at 26,037.90, up 4 points or 0.016%. BSE Sensex was at 85,243.19, down 22 points or 0.026%. Nifty managed a slight uptick on Thursday, breaking a four-day declining streak.

Though the upside remained limited due to continued foreign investor outflows and the rupee touching historic lows, Experts anticipate a period of sideways movement. Dr VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, says, “Today the market focus will be on the monetary policy.

More important than the rate action, which is very tricky in the context of low inflation, high growth and a depreciating rupee, the market will be keen to know what the governor says about the emerging macro trends.

RBI’s action on the liquidity front will be keenly watched. If there is a rate cut, that will be the last cut in this rate-cutting cycle. A rate cut in the present context will be negative for banks since it will impact their NIM and ability to mobilise deposits. On the contrary, a rate cut will be positive for rate-sensitive products like autos and real estate. If there is no rate cut, banking stocks will rally.

The Rupee’s sharp recovery yesterday, rising to 89.97 from a low of 90.42, signals some level of stability in the currency market. The RBI governor’s views on the rupee today will significantly influence the near-term direction of the currency.”

US stocks finished largely flat on Thursday as investors assessed labour market reports and additional economic indicators, whilst market sentiment remained buoyed by expectations of a Federal Reserve rate reduction next week. Regional Asian shares declined in early deals following an uninspiring US session that impacted technology shares and bonds, as attention shifted to upcoming US inflation figures on Friday. WTI oil prices approached weekly gains of nearly 2% during early Friday trading.

The rise was supported by anticipated Federal Reserve interest rate reductions, heightening US-Venezuela tensions and halting peace negotiations in Moscow. Gold prices maintained stability on Friday, with increasing US Treasury yields counteracting benefits from a weakening dollar. Markets awaited US inflation data later in the day to understand the Federal Reserve’s policy direction before next week’s meeting.

Foreign portfolio investors sold shares worth Rs 1,944 crore net on Thursday. Meanwhile, DIIs were net purchasers at Rs 3,661 crore. (Disclaimer: Recommendations and views on the stock market, other asset classes or personal finance management tips given by experts are their own. These opinions do not represent the views of The Times of India )

Cloudflare is down again, temporarily impacting hundreds of websites, including Canva, Zoom and Claude, among various others, which were unreachable on Friday (December 5).

Cloudflare CTO Dane Knecht confirmed the technical problems, saying that the company is working on a fix and the websites should soon be coming back online. He also shared the “root cause” of what led to the worldwide outage. The internet infrastructure provider deployed corrective measures.

Root Cause: Disabling logging features

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Knecht said, “We are aware of the issue impacting the availability of Cloudflare’s network. This was not an attack; the root cause was the disabling of certain logging features to help mitigate the issue.

this week’s React CVE.” “Will share full details in a blog post today. “Sites should be back online now, but I understand the frustration this causes and the work being done,” he added. He previously posted that the company is “closely tracking the React RSC vulnerability.” If you deploy on Cloudflare Workers, you are protected.

The Workers security model prevents this exploit at the runtime layer. For users that rely on WAF to protect self-hosted applications, more variants of this exploit are already surfacing and we are evaluating each one. As always, the best way to stay protected is to upgrade to the patched versions of React and Next.js as soon as possible.”

he added. Later, the company rolled out “additional mitigations” to protect more customers. Meanwhile, the company posted on its status page that a fix has been resolved, the services are back online, and the team is monitoring the situation. “Cloudflare services are currently operating normally.

We are no longer observing elevated errors or latency across the network. Our engineering teams continue to closely monitor the platform and perform a deeper investigation into the earlier disruption, but no configuration changes are being made at this time,” the company said (at the time of writing). “

At this point, it is considered safe to re-enable any Cloudflare services that were temporarily disabled during the incident. We will provide a final update once our investigation is complete,” the company added.

Second Cloudflare outage in a month

The current episode is the second such outage in a month’s time. Previously, on November 18, Cloudflare went down for hours, impacting major websites worldwide. At that time,

The CTO said, “A latent bug in a service underpinning our bot mitigation capability started to crash after a routine configuration change we made.

That cascaded into a broad degradation to our network and other services. This was not an attack.” Knecht stressed that the extent of the issue and the time required for resolution were “unacceptable”.

One of the biggest Chinese companies, Hikvision, is taking America’s Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to court. Chinese surveillance equipment manufacturer Hikvision announced that its US subsidiary has filed a legal challenge against a new FCC rule, escalating the ongoing dispute between Washington and Chinese technology companies over national security concerns. Hikvision stated it has filed a petition seeking judicial review of the FCC’s recent decision.

The company argues that the commission exceeded its statutory authority and “seeks to retroactively curtail lawful authorisations without a sufficient legal or evidentiary basis.” Hikvision, best known for its video surveillance and security camera systems, also sells network transmission equipment and accessories.

The legal action targets recent regulatory moves that allow US government agencies to tighten restrictions on telecommunications equipment manufactured by Chinese companies deemed to pose security risks.

“Our legal action seeks to protect our established market rights and the lawful interests of our customers and partners and to support a stable, transparent and predictable regulatory environment for all law-abiding businesses,” Hikvision said in a statement.

Dispute over “Covered List”

The dispute centres on the FCC’s “Covered List”, a designation for companies considered a threat to U.S. national security. The list effectively bars the FCC from authorising the import or sale of new equipment from named firms.

Hikvision, along with other major Chinese entities such as Huawei, ZTE, China Mobile, and China Telecom, has previously been placed on this list. This filing follows a series of regulatory crackdowns. In February, a U.S. appeals court rejected a separate bid by Hikvision to lift a 2022 FCC ban on approvals for its new video surveillance and telecommunications equipment. The regulatory pressure has extended beyond legal filings to the retail market. In October,

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr announced that major American retail websites had removed several million listings for prohibited Chinese electronics. These items, which included home security cameras and smartwatches from Hikvision, Huawei, ZTE, and Dahua Technology, were removed for being on the Covered List or lacking agency authorisation.

The lawsuit coincides with the ongoing expansion of American government restrictions on Chinese tech infrastructure. On October 15, the FCC announced it was moving to revoke the operating authorization of HKT.

a leading Hong Kong telecom carrier and subsidiary of PCCW, citing national security concerns. Additionally, the FCC has recently moved to withdraw recognition from equipment test labs owned or controlled by Chinese entities, further tightening the compliance bottleneck for Chinese manufacturers attempting to enter or remain in the US market.