India’s Oil Imports: Achilles’ Heel or Economic Javelin?

  • Initiative -
  • Type Instant Insight
  • Date 21 August 2019
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Abstract

Presenting India’s 2019 budget on July 5, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman sketched out the Modi government’s vision of becoming a $5 trillion economy by 2024, almost doubling the country’s current gross domestic product (GDP) of $2.73 trillion. To achieve this ambitious goal, India plans to liberalize foreign direct investment (FDI) rules and tap international bond markets to fund its budget deficit. The latter is a risky enterprise and ensures exchange rate policy becomes a future battleground. However, India’s economic growth has been slowing over the past two quarters, and the government has limited options to raise funds domestically, forcing it to look at external foreign currency borrowing. The government is betting that external borrowing combined with FDI inflows will lead to greater domestic investment and thus higher growth. 

Authors

Yagyavalk Bhatt

Yagyavalk Bhatt

Senior Research Associate Yagyavalk Bhatt is a senior research associate at KAPSARC, where he has worked since 2017. His work focuses on supply-… Yagyavalk Bhatt is a senior research associate at KAPSARC, where he has worked since 2017. His work focuses on supply- and demand-side policies in the transportation sector and associated energy demand. His work also focuses on energy transition policies in India and Saudi Arabia. He has authored and contributed to numerous research papers and studies related to the transportation and electricity sectors. Yagyavalk has a master’s degree in renewable energy management and engineering and a bachelor’s degree in electronics and communication.​

Expertise

  • Energy Sustainability
  • Energy Economics
  • India Clean Energy Transition
  • Climate Policies
  • Energy Policy Analysis and Renewable Energy

Publications See all Yagyavalk Bhatt’s publications

Paul Mollet

Paul Mollet

Research Fellow Paul was a research fellow in the Policy and Decision Sciences program. He is a former journalist and energy market… Paul was a research fellow in the Policy and Decision Sciences program. He is a former journalist and energy market analyst with over 25 years of experience in international energy markets. He opened the first Gulf Cooperation Council bureau for the oil price reporting agency S&P Global Platts in Dubai in 1989 and later launched the first regional office for Argus Media. Paul has attended numerous OPEC meetings and written extensively about the oil industry in publications such as Platts Oilgram News, Argus Global Markets, and the Petroleum Economist. He was also the senior advisor to the Secretary-General at the World Energy Council (WEC).    

Jitendra Roychoudhury

Jitendra Roychoudhury

Research Fellow Jitendra Roychoudhury is a Fellow II at King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. His ongoing… Jitendra Roychoudhury is a Fellow II at King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. His ongoing research portfolio at KAPSARC covers various economic, energy, and policy developments and the impact of policies on global commodity markets. Before joining KAPSARC, Jitendra was the director and chief consultant at HDR|Salva, India, where he worked with clients worldwide. Jitendra has a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Pune, India and a postgraduate diploma in business management from Welingkar’s Institute of Management, India.

Expertise

  • Freight
  • Transport
  • Geopolitics
  • Commodity Flows
  • Shipping
  • Hydrogen.

Publications See all Jitendra Roychoudhury’s publications

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