Rupee-Ruble Trade Under Consideration, Says Head of Indian Export Group

A man fills a car at a gasoline station in Gauhati, India, on Sept. 22, 2019. The state-run Indian Oil Corp. bought 3 million barrels of crude oil from Russia earlier this month to secure its energy needs, resisting Western pressure to avoid such purchases, an Indian government official said March 18, 2022. AP Photo/Anupam Nath

India may announce a payment arrangement that would allow it to trade with Russia using local currencies—the rupee and the ruble—according to A. Sakthivel, the president of the Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO).

Such a proposed rupee-ruble method would allow India to continue trade with Russia even as Western sanctions have disrupted international payment mechanisms.