Govt exploring all ways to buy crude oil at affordable rates, says Finance Ministry

"In the spirit of Atmanirbhar Bharat, that places national economic and security interests above any other consideration, Government is exploring all viable options, including import diversification, to procure crude at an affordable price," the finance ministry wrote in its Monthly Economic Review report for March.

"Affordability is desired as even the present level of international crude price, should it persist for a long time, may come in the way of India achieving a real economic growth rate north of 8 percent in FY23," the report added.

She noted that the the rise in imports in March because of a 20 percent month-on-month increase in crude oil prices "does not portend well for the economy in the year ahead".

"To ensure security of crude supplies and to mitigate the risk of dependence on crude oil from single region, India has been focusing on diversifying its petroleum basket across various geographical locations viz. Middle East, Africa, North America, South America etc," the finance ministry said in the report.

Cheaper crude oil from Russia and energy sources beyond traditional hydrocarbons were part of the strategy to mitigate the adverse effects of high prices, it added.