The war in Iran is reportedly forcing New Delhi to scramble for contingency plans   

India is looking at once again increasing its purchases of Russian crude as the war in the Middle East threatens to hit supplies in the world's third-largest oil importer, Bloomberg reported on Monday. 

State refiners in the South Asian nation held talks with government officials over the weekend in New Delhi to work on contingency plans to meet requirements since the supplies through the Strait of Hormuz have almost stopped, according to the report.

India is now considering buying Russian cargoes that are loitering near its waters, the news outlet said, citing people familiar with the matter. There are believed to be about 9.5 million barrels of Russian oil in tankers in Asian waters, according to the report.

Facing pressure from Washington, New Delhi reported buying only one million barrels per day of Russian oil in February, its lowest level since September 2022, according to the report. 

Last month, India and the US said they were putting the finishing touches to an interim trade agreement that reduced New Delhi's tariff burden to 18% from the earlier 50%, of which half consisted of a punitive levy for buying Russian oil. 

US President Donald Trump then signed an executive order eliminating the 25% tariff imposed on India for buying crude from Russia.

Trump has claimed that the tariffs were reduced after India "agreed to stop buying Russian oil." New Delhi has not acknowledged any such commitment. Moscow has said it has no reason to believe India has revised its approach on the issue.

Last month the US Supreme Court struck down Donald Trump's tariffs on imports from various countries ruling that they were "unconstitutional."

The US president then decided to impose a 15% tariff on imports to the US, the maximum allowed by law.

Officials from India's Oil Ministry are pushing the country's Foreign Ministry to seek some room for maneuver from the US, so that New Delhi doesn't face a reimposition of a punitive tariff by Washington, according to the Bloomberg report.