India keen to diversify crude oil sources: Goyal
India wants to diversify its sources of crude oil and coking coal and would “love” to source high-quality coking coal from the US, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Wednesday. He also said that the US can provide certain goods that India needs desperately for its economic growth. These goods can include Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) for Artificial Intelligence applications, equipment for data centres and high performance computing.
India, he said, can manufacture products that the US cannot compete in, while America can be a strong source of technology and capital. There is already $100 billion in aircraft demand from the US in the next five years and the country needs more to increase local capacity and bring down fares, Goyal said. “We want to diversify our oil sources. I want to diversify the source of coking coal for example. I am dependent on 2 or 3 geographies (for that) and prices keep fluctuating.
I would love to have American coking coal which is high quality coming to India,” he said at an event in Mumbai. Under an interim trade agreement with the US, India has expressed its intention to buy goods worth $500 billion in the next five years from America. The Indian team is visiting the US next week to finalise the legal text of the agreement, which is likely to be signed in March. “Doing a (trade) deal with America is good for India,” he said, adding it opens huge opportunities for Indian firms, particularly in labour-oriented goods and technology services.
Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump has removed the 25 per cent tariffs imposed on India for purchasing Russian oil, citing that the country has undertaken “significant steps” and New Delhi has committed to stop directly or indirectly importing oil from Moscow.
The minister also termed as ridiculous the stock market response to the likely impact of AI on Indian IT services companies. “I find it quite ridiculous because these are the companies who will be required for AI to flourish,” the minister said. Further talking about India’s free trade pacts, Goyal said in the last four years, nine agreements have been finalised.
“These nine agreements have been negotiated from the position of strength. Today India does not engage as a meek country, we are not apologetic about some of the problems that we have, we are negotiating for the future,” he added.
