Russia continued to be the India’s largest crude supplier between April and November 2025. (AI image)

US President Donald Trump on Monday warned India of higher tariffs if it doesn’t cooperate with America on the issue of Russian crude oil imports. The warning comes at a time when Indian exports already face heavy trade penalties in the US market. At present, shipments from India are subject to a 50% tariff, with half of that burden directly tied to India’s ongoing purchases of Russian crude oil.Trump said M Narendra Modi was aware of his dissatisfaction over India’s continued purchases of Russian oil, adding that Washington has the ability to swiftly increase tariffs on Indian goods.Trump made the comments while speaking to reporters on Sunday aboard Air Force One as he travelled from Florida to Washington DC.“They wanted to make me happy, basically. Modi is a very good man; he is a good guy. He knew I was not happy, and it was important to make me happy. They do trade and we can raise tariffs on them very quickly. It would be very bad for them,” Trump said.Trump’s comments have also been by senator Lindsey Graham who is advancing a legislation that would impose stringent secondary tariffs on countries that import Russian oil and gas if Moscow does not agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine within a 50 day timeframe.

India’s crude oil imports from Russia & US

India’s crude oil imports from the United States surged by over 92% year-on-year during the first eight months of the current financial year, even as Russia continued to be the country’s largest crude supplier between April and November 2025.Data from the ministry of commerce and industry show that India imported a total of 178.1 million tonnes of crude oil during April to November 2025. Of this, around 60 million tonnes were sourced from Russia and about 13 million tonnes from the US. In the corresponding period a year earlier, total crude imports stood at 165 million tonnes, including 62.4 million tonnes from Russia and only 7.1 million tonnes from the US.As a result, the US share in India’s crude basket rose to 7.6 percent in the current fiscal period from 4.3 percent a year earlier. Russia’s share, meanwhile, declined to 33.7 percent from 37.9 percent over the same comparison period.The full effect of recent US sanctions on Russian oil companies Rosneft and Lukoil, both key suppliers to India, is yet to be reflected in official figures. Following Trump sanctions imposed in October on Russian oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil, large refiners such as Reliance Industries, along with several state owned companies, announced plans to stop buying Russian crude to avoid exposure to secondary sanctions.

Why India Needs To Make Its Stand Clear

According to Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) founder Ajay Srivastava imports of Russian crude have not stopped entirely, with lower volumes continuing – leaving India in a strategic grey zone. “This approach may be weakening India’s position. If New Delhi plans to stop Russian oil imports, it should do so clearly and decisively. If it intends to continue buying from non-sanctioned Russian suppliers, it must say so openly and support the stance with data. And if it plans to buy even from sanctioned entities, that choice too must be stated plainly. What no longer works is ambiguity,” he says.India’s decision making is further complicated by the absence of any assurance that stopping Russian oil imports would ease pressure from the Trump administration. “Complicating India’s calculus, there is no guarantee that cutting Russian oil will end US pressure. Even a full stop could shift the US demands to agriculture, dairy, digital trade, and data governance,” GTRI says.India must also factor in that the current use of tariffs as leverage is linked to a particular political phase in the United States and may not persist indefinitely, the think tank says. The European Union, Japan and South Korea opted to ease tensions with Washington by sharply reducing their intake of Russian crude.India’s position differs from China’s, which enjoys greater strategic leverage with the US. Despite being the largest buyer of Russian oil, China has largely been spared American pressure, as Washington is wary of the potential fallout.Although India has significantly increased imports of crude oil and petroleum products from the US, this has not translated into any visible softening of Washington’s stance.“Indian exports to the US have already fallen 20.7% between May and November 2025, and further tariff escalation could trigger a steeper decline. As the tariff threat hardens, India must take a clean call on Russian oil—own that decision, and communicate it unambiguously to Washington,” GTRI concludes.

49 Crypto Exchanges, majority based in India, registered with financial intelligence unit (FIU) which works under ministry of finance, in fiscal year 2024-2025. Such a move comes as part of the country’s efforts to combat money laundering and prevent terrorist financing risks in the digital currency sector. It comes as a strategic analysis of suspicious transaction reports (STRs), submitted by crypto exchanges to a federal agency found “exploitation” of crypto funds for “serious” criminal activities, including hawala-unaccounted transactions, gambling, scams, fraud, and even an instance involving an illegal adult content website.Cryptocurrency is legally termed a Virtual Digital Asset, and the exchanges are referred to as VDA Service Providers. These exchanges were brought under India’s anti-money laundering framework, the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, through a linked reporting system in 2023. As reporting entities under the PMLA, VDA SPs are required to submit STRs to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), the federal agency tasked with preventing, deterring and detecting misuse of India’s financial system.The exchanges must also identify and report beneficial ownership of wallets, monitor crowdfunding activities by blockchain projects, similar to IPOs and referred to as initial coin offerings or initial token offerings, and track transfers between hosted and un-hosted wallets.According to the FIU report for the 2024–25 financial year accessed by PTI, the cryptocurrency ecosystem in India has been “rapidly” evolving and attracting “significant” attention in recent years due to its potential to “transform” the financial sector and create opportunities for wealth generation.“However, VDAs, VDA SPs have certain potential money laundering and terror financing risks, owing to their global reach, capacity for rapid settlement, ability to enable peer-to-peer transactions, and potential for increased anonymity and obfuscation of transaction flows and counterparties,” the report said.Unlike several countries where multiple agencies oversee crypto exchanges, India has designated the FIU under the Union finance ministry as the single-point authority responsible for registering and monitoring VDA SPs for money laundering and terrorist financing risks.As of March 2025, the report said, 49 VDA SPs were registered with the FIU as reporting entities. Of these, 45 exchanges were based in India, while four operated offshore.STRs filed by these exchanges during the last fiscal were selected for strategic analysis and categorised under “well defined” and “high-risk” segments such as scam and fraud, gambling, and peer-to-peer scams.Some STRs also carried red flags linked to child sexual abuse material (CSAM), terror financing, dark net services and proceeds of crime, highlighting the “growing exploitation” of crypto assets for “serious criminal activity,” the report said.The geographic analysis of these reports revealed a “significant regional concentration of suspicious activities” and also identified the “commonly used digital asset for these illegal activities.”During FY 2024–25, the FIU imposed penalties totalling Rs 28 crore on certain “non-compliant” crypto exchanges, the report added.Post-registration, exchanges are required to disclose bank and financial institution accounts, appoint a designated director and principal officer, and provide complete platform contact details to the FIU.They must also conduct internal audits, adopt risk-based customer due diligence and enhanced due diligence (CDD/EDD), carry out sanctions screening, and undertake periodic risk assessments to be shared with the federal agency.As per the FIU report, India has addressed risks arising from cryptocurrencies and exchanges through legislative measures, including the introduction of taxation on crypto income and withholding taxes under the Income-Tax Act.

India has urged the US to roll back the additional 25% tariffs, senator Lindsey Graham claimed on Sunday. Graham said that Vinay Mohan Kwatra, the Indian Ambassador to the United States, met him last month to discuss New Delhi’s reduced purchases of Russian oil and asked him to convey the same to the US President Donald Trump, seeking the removal of the additional duties.Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, alongside Trump, the senator said, “I was at the Indian Ambassador’s house a month ago, and all he wanted to talk about was how India is buying less Russian oil. And he asked me to tell the President to relieve the 25% tariff.” These additional duties were imposed by Trump in August last year, alleging that India’s purchase of Russian oil was supporting Moscow’s war machine in Ukraine. With these in effect, the overall duties came to 50%.

Remarks from the US senator came amid renewed trade tensions between the two countries, as Trump has once again threatened India over the continued imports of Russian oil. “PM Modi’s a very good man. He’s a good guy. He knew I was not happy. It was important to make me happy. They do trade, and we can raise tariffs on them very quickly,” the US president told reporters. Meanwhile, India has maintained a firm stance, defending its energy purchases from Russia, highlighting the need to secure domestic energy supplies.The issue came to light after the recent US strike on Venezuela, the South American oil-producing nation. Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves, estimated at over 303 billion barrels, around 17% of global reserves. The production has, however, fallen to about 1 million barrels per day due to sanctions and underinvestment, according to OPEC.Back in December, Trump and PM Modi held a telephonic conversation, which coincided with the fresh round of negotiations between the two nations. During the call, both leaders highlighted the importance of maintaining momentum in bilateral trade despite ongoing tariff tensions. Just days before the call, Trump had threatened new tariffs on Indian rice imports after a US farmer representative at a White House roundtable raised concerns about alleged dumping by India, China and Thailand

You simply have to ask a few consistent questions about any stock you’re considering. (AI image)

The word “quality” gets thrown around a lot in investing. Everyone claims to buy “quality stocks”, and every other fund calls itself a “quality fund”. But when you dig a little deeper and ask, “What exactly do you mean by quality?”, the answers often become vague. People point to well-known brand names, or to high share prices, or to whatever did well in the last bull market.For us, a quality company is not one that simply sounds impressive. It is one that consistently turns its business advantages into real cash, earns good returns on the money it invests, and treats minority shareholders fairly. That’s not a slogan; it’s a set of very specific behaviours.Start with the basics. A quality business is one that can grow its sales and profits steadily over long periods without relying on constant doses of fresh debt or equity. If you look at its track record over, say, the last 10-15 years, you should see revenues and earnings climbing at a healthy pace, not lurching from boom to bust. There will be bad years and good years, of course, but the direction over time should be unmistakably upwards.Take a company like Berger Paints. Between 2015 and 2025, its revenues have grown from around Rs 4,000 crore to nearly Rs 12,000 crore, while profits rose from roughly Rs 250 crore to almost Rs 1,200 crore. Across that period, its return on capital employed stayed broadly in the 25-30 per cent range. Meanwhile, its debt remained low or even declined as a share of the balance sheet. That’s what quality looks like in numbers: the business keeps growing, and each rupee invested continues to earn attractive returns.Then there is cash flow. It’s surprisingly easy for a company to show accounting profits while actual cash is stuck in receivables, inventory or dubious “other assets”. A quality company tends to convert a large part of its profits into cash from operations over time. If you see a pattern where the reported profit over, say, five years totals Rs 3,000 crore, but cumulative operating cash flow is only say Rs 1,500 crore, you have to ask why. In the best businesses, those two numbers are not worlds apart.The balance sheet tells its own story. Quality companies don’t habitually stretch themselves with dangerous levels of leverage. That doesn’t mean all debt is bad; in some industries, a reasonable amount is normal. But if borrowings surge every few years just to keep the lights on, or if interest costs eat up a growing share of profits, that’s a sign of weakness, not quality.And then there is behaviour, which often matters even more than numbers. How do promoters treat minority shareholders? Do they regularly pledge their shares to borrow money? Do they keep issuing new shares and diluting existing investors? Do they engage in related-party transactions that seem to benefit their private interests more than the company’s? Are auditors stable and independent, or do you see resignations, qualifications and frequent changes?Many of the worst blow-ups in Indian markets looked fine on a simple price chart until very late in the story. The early warning signs were usually in governance and capital allocation. At Value Research Stock Advisor, we place a lot of weight on these softer factors. Sometimes, we pass on a company even if the financials look attractive, simply because we don’t like what we see in the way management conducts itself. We’ve learned that it’s better to be roughly right about a slightly less exciting company than disastrously wrong about a glamorous name with poor governance.It’s also important to remember that a strong brand or a dominant market share does not automatically equal quality if it comes with sloppy capital allocation. A company that earns a high return on capital but keeps reinvesting in low-return projects will actually dilute its quality over time. In contrast, a management team that is disciplined about where it invests, and is willing to return excess cash to shareholders when it can’t deploy it sensibly, enhances quality.None of this requires you to become a forensic accountant. You don’t have to build complex models. You simply have to ask a few consistent questions about any stock you’re considering: does this business make good money, does it turn that money into cash, does it reinvest wisely, and does it treat me, the minority shareholder, with respect? If the answer to all of these is “yes”, you’re probably looking at a quality company.In our work at VRSA, we try to pass the listed universe through exactly this kind of lens before anything even reaches the stage of a formal recommendation. That’s why you’ll often see a bias in our ideas towards companies with clean balance sheets, decent history and reasonable governance track records, even if they are not the hottest names of the moment. We would rather miss a spectacular but fragile story than compromise on quality.Over long periods, quality tends to show up in the share price as well, despite all the noise along the way. In the example of Berger Paints, an investor who held from around Rs 124 in 2015 to approximately Rs 500 in 2025 would have earned roughly 15 per cent annualised, even though there were plenty of ups and downs in between. That return didn’t come from magic. It came from a business that kept doing the boring, difficult things right.When you hear the word “quality” next time, don’t think of it as a label someone slaps on a stock. Think of it as a habit pattern in a company’s life: steady growth, strong returns on capital, real cash generation, sensible leverage, and honest, competent stewardship. If you tilt your portfolio towards such companies and avoid the ones that only look impressive, you give yourself a much better chance of sleeping well while your wealth grows slowly in the background.(Ashish Menon is a Chartered Accountant and a senior equity analyst in Value Research’s Stock Advisor service.)(Disclaimer: Recommendations and views on the stock market, other asset classes or personal finance management tips given by experts are their own. These opinions do not represent the views of The Times of India)

Gold prices climbed strongly on Monday after last week’s pullback, with futures gaining momentum amid fresh geopolitical concerns surrounding South American oil producing nation, Venezuela, and growing focus on upcoming US macroeconomic indicators. In the domestic market, February gold futures on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) rose by Rs 1,509, or 1.11%, to Rs 1,37,270 per 10 grams. Trading activity remained active, with a turnover of 15,226 lots recorded during the session. The rise marks a recovery after a weak previous week, when the yellow metal slipped by Rs 4,112, or 2.94%, following record highs seen in late December. Global markets also reflected the improved sentiment. Comex gold futures for February delivery gained $86.4, or 2%, to $4,416 per ounce. This followed a decline of $223.1, or 4.9%, during the holiday-shortened week, when prices ended Friday at $4,329.6 per ounce.Here’s how much gold costs in your city today, per 10 grams:

Gold price in Ahmedabad today

The price of 24-carat gold in Ahmedabad is Rs 12,600, while 22-carat gold is tagged Rs 13,745.

Gold price in Bangalore today

In Bangalore, 24-carat gold is priced at Rs 12,595, and 22-carat gold costs Rs 13,740

Gold price in Bhubaneswar today

Bhubaneswar sees 24-carat gold at Rs 12,595, with 22-carat gold standing at Rs 13,740.

Gold price in Chennai today

Chennai’s 24-carat gold is Rs 12,680 per and 22-carat gold is priced Rs 13,833.

Gold price in Delhi today

In Delhi, 24-carat gold costs Rs 12,610, while 22-carat gold is Rs 13,755.

Gold price in Hyderabad today

Hyderabad has 24-carat gold at Rs 12,595 and 22-carat gold at Rs 13,740.

Gold price in Jaipur today

Jaipur sees 24-carat gold priced at Rs 12,610, with 22-carat gold at Rs 13,755.

Gold price in Kanpur today

In Kanpur, 24-carat gold is standing at Rs 12,610, and 22-carat gold costs Rs 13,755.

Gold price in Kolkata today

Kolkata’s 24-carat gold costs Rs 12,595, and 22-carat gold is Rs 13,740.

Gold price in Mumbai today

Mumbai sees 24-carat gold at Rs 12,595, with 22-carat gold priced at Rs 13,740.

US President Donald Trump has issued a series of blunt warnings to multiple countries over the past few hours, signalling an increasingly confrontational posture across regions.The remarks came a day after an audacious US military operation in Venezuela that led to the capture of President Nicolás Maduro and his transfer to New York to face federal drug trafficking and weapons charges. Since then, Trump has spoken out against at least five countries.Here’s a breakdown of what Trump said, country by country.On ColombiaFacing questions about Venezuela aboard Air Force One on Sunday, Trump broadened his remarks to other Latin American countries, singling out Colombia and its president, Gustavo Petro.Trump accused Colombia of being “run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States.”“He’s not going to be doing it for very long,” Trump said of Petro, who has frequently criticised him. “He has cocaine mills and cocaine factories.”The remarks come amid an escalating dispute between Washington and Bogotá over US boat strikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, operations that have increased pressure on Colombia, a key node in the region’s drug trade.Asked whether his administration could carry out an operation targeting Colombia, Trump replied, “It sounds good to me.”On GreenlandTrump also revived his long-standing push for the United States to take control of Greenland, the semi-autonomous Danish territory, claiming that it was essential for American security.“We need Greenland. … It’s so strategic right now. Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place,” Trump said. “We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it.”He went on to claim that Europe supports the idea.“The European Union needs us to have it, and they know that,” he said.Denmark pushed back sharply. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen dismissed Trump’s remarks, saying, “It makes absolutely no sense to talk about the need for the United States to take over Greenland.”On VenezuelaTrump left the door open to further action in Venezuela even after Maduro’s capture, warning interim president Delcy Rodríguez of severe consequences if she does not cooperate.According to The Atlantic magazine, Trump said Rodríguez could “pay a very big price, probably bigger than” Maduro’s if she continued to resist US demands.Later, when reporters asked who was now in charge of Venezuela, Trump replied: “Don’t ask me who’s in charge, because I’ll give you an answer, and it’ll be very controversial.”Pressed further, he said bluntly: “We’re in charge.”On CubaTrump suggested that military action against Cuba may not be necessary, claiming the country is already on the verge of collapse.“I don’t think we need any action,” Trump said. “It looks like it’s going down.”“I don’t know if they’re going to hold out, but Cuba now has no income,” he added. “They got all their income from Venezuela, from the Venezuelan oil.”Earlier in the day, Secretary of State Marco Rubio had struck a tougher note. Asked on NBC’s Meet the Press whether Cuba was the administration’s “next target,” Rubio said, “The Cuban government is a huge problem.”Pressed again, he added: “They are in a lot of trouble, yes.”Rubio accused Cuba of “propping up” Maduro’s government and supporting its internal security apparatus, including personal bodyguards.On IndiaTrump also issued a fresh warning to India over its purchases of Russian oil.Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One while travelling from Florida to Washington, Trump said Prime Minister Narendra Modi “knew he was not happy” and suggested action could follow.“They wanted to make me happy, basically. Modi is a very good man; he is a good guy. He knew I was not happy, and it was important to make me happy. They do trade and we can raise tariffs on them very quickly. It would be very bad for them,” Trump said.His remarks came after US Senator Lindsey Graham, who was travelling with him, said the tariffs imposed by Trump were the “chief reason” India has begun buying substantially less Russian oil.On IranTrump also warned Iran amid protests over the country’s economy, drawing a red line around the use of lethal force by authorities.“If they start killing people like they have in the past, I think they’re going to get hit very hard by the United States,” he said.Asked aboard Air Force One about reports of protesters being killed and his earlier “locked and loaded” remark, Trump said: “We’ll take a look. We’re watching it very closely.”He did not spell out what a US response would involve, nor announce any immediate military or economic measures, even as Washington maintains a significant military presence in the region.