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Raising some concerns, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has hinted that the current spike in international oil prices may upset provisions of her Union Budget for the fiscal year beginning April 1. Sitharaman added that it will certainly have an impact on the Indian economy.

Noting that India imports more than 85 per cent of its crude oil requirements, Sitharaman said ‘when oil prices go up, it is a matter of concern and now we will have to see how it pans out.’ The Minister said that oil marketing companies fix pump prices daily based on a 15-day rolling average.

Nirmala Sitharaman further said ‘but now averages and beyond averages are the numbers that we are talking about. She said the government is watching to see if there are alternative sources from where it can get crude, but hastened to add ‘obviously global markets are all equally unthinkable at various sources.’