India reduce crude oil imports from Iran

India plans to cut Iranian oil imports by 11% amid growing international pressure on Iran over its nuclear development. In a written response to the Parliament, Indian Deputy Oil Minister RPN Singh said that India will import about 15 million tons of crude oil from Iran in the year through next March. That's down about 2 million tons from the last fiscal year. "In order to reduce its dependence on any particular region of the world, India has been consciously trying to diversify its sources of crude oil imports to strengthen the country's energy security," said Deputy oil minister RPN Singh. India has disclosed an import reduction target for the first time, as the United States plans to impose financial sanctions on countries that do not significantly cut their Iranian oil imports, according to the (Times of India). India is the second biggest importer of Iranian oil after China. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met Indian Foreign Minister SM Krishna in New Delhi on May 8th and urged India to reduce its Iranian oil imports. In the past few months, New Delhi has come under enormous pressure from Washington to join international sanctions aimed at forcing Iran to stop its uranium-enrichment program. A US envoy is in India to discuss the matter. The import cut is likely to be taken up when Clinton and Krishna meet again in Washington next month. India imports 80 % of its oil, from more than 30 countries. Iran accounts for almost 12 % of its total imports.