Russia slams US, says pressure on India unjustified | Hook News Wrap

Russia has slammed the United States for putting pressure on India over its procurement of Russian crude oil. Russian Deputy Chief of Mission in Delhi, Roman Babushkin, on Wednesday called the US pressure "unjustified". He also expressed confidence that India-Russia energy cooperation would continue notwithstanding the external pressure.

Speaking to the media, Babushkin called the situation ‘challenging’ for India, but added that Russia had "trust" in ties with New Delhi. The Russian diplomat added that the Western punitive measures against Russia were hitting those imposing them.

White House’s tariff justification

The White House has justified US President Donald Trump’s move to double tariffs on Indian goods to 50%. Remember, Trump has imposed an additional penalty of 25% on Indian goods for purchasing Russian crude oil, effective August 27.

In a press briefing, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the US President had put tremendous public pressure to bring the Russia-Ukraine war to a close. She claimed that Trump had taken actions, such as sanctions on India, to stop the Ukraine conflict.

Indian companies buy Russian oil

Despite the US pressure, India’s state-owned oil companies have returned to buying Russian crude oil after a brief pause. According to a Bloomberg report, India’s state-run refiners, Indian Oil and Bharat Petroleum, had paused their Russian oil purchases after the US announced the additional tariff.

However, traders familiar with these developments say these companies are once again buying more from Russia. One of the key reasons behind these purchases could be the increased discount on Russian crude versus Brent.

Apple expands India production

Tech giant Apple has expanded iPhone production in India. According to Bloomberg, the company is producing all four iPhone 17 models in India ahead of their debut next month.

This marks the first time that all new variations will ship from the South Asian country from the outset. The expansion is seen as part of Apple’s strategy to lessen its reliance on China for US-bound models.

NDA VP candidate’s nomination

NDA candidate CP Radhakrishnan on Wednesday filed his nomination papers for the vice-presidential election. Radhakrishnan, whose election is a certainty, was accompanied by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah and other NDA leaders.

The vice-presidential election was necessitated by the sudden resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar, who quit office with over two years left in his tenure.

Market up for third straight session

Indian equities continued to gain for the third straight session. The Sensex was up almost half a per cent at around 82,000. The Nifty surged past 25,000 with a similar uptick.

IT giants Infosys and TCS were among the top gainers of the day. Indian IT stocks gained ahead of the US Fed rate decision, as a rate cut is expected to boost US demand, resulting in higher IT spends.