India news: US grants 30-day waiver for Russian oil imports

The Indian workday is nearly over so we will be closing our updates for now. 

But DW's Delhi team will be up bright and early as always to take you through tomorrow morning's big stories. We hope to see you then.

Meanwhile, enjoy your Friday evening!

India's Foreign Ministry congratulated neighboring Nepal for successfully exercising its democratic mandate and holding ahigh-stakes parliamentary election this week.

"We congratulate Prime Minister Sushila Karki, the Government and the people of Nepal as well as various stakeholders for successfully holding these polls which took place against the backdrop of exceptional circumstances last year," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement.

Early trends showed rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah's centrist party was poised to win.

Shah, better known as "Balen," is normally seen snappily dressed in a black suit and sunglasses and has cast himself as a symbol of youth-driven political change.

Nepal saw massive anti-corruption youth protests last year which toppled the previous government.

Watch DW's explainer on why the Nepal election is important for India.

 

The US on Wednesday morning sunk an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean as it was making its way back home after participating in naval exercises hosted by India.

But the Indian government has refused to comment on the attack — and this has invited a storm of criticism domestically.

DW's Special Correspondent Nimisha Jaiswal reports from New Delhi. 

 

It's well into the afternoon here in India, and the news cycle has momentarily slowed down, giving us an opportunity to recap the day's events. 

The biggest news of the day remains the US having granted India a 30-day waiver to purchase Russian oil at a time when the war in Iran threatens global crude supply.

Indian media, citing unnamed government sources, are reporting that India has enough crude stockpiled for the short term.

Meanwhile, the southern state of Karnataka has announced its plan to ban social media for those under the age of 16 — the first Indian state to do so. 

For Meta, India is its biggest market globally with ​the highest number of users on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp users in the world.

If you'd like to read about topics other than conflicts and government policy, here's your reminder that in just two days, India will face New Zealand for the final of the T20 World Cup. 

The Indian Air Force has confirmed the deaths of Squadron Leader Anuj and Flight Lieutenant Purvesh Duragkar after a Sukhoi-30 fighter jet crashed during a training exercise.

"All personnel of the IAF express sincere condolences," the force said on X.

Both pilots died from injuries sustained in the crash, which occured in the eastern state of Assam.

On Thursday, the IAF had reported the jet "overdue," saying they had lost contact with it during a training mission. This prompted the launch of a search and rescue operation.

Karnataka plans to ban social media for children and teens under 16, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said while presenting the state's budget for the year. 

Karnataka, in southern India, is home to the startup capital of the country, Bengaluru. 

"Social media will be banned for children under the age of 16 to prevent the adverse affects of increasing mobile usage," he said.

It is not immediately clear how the state plans on implementing such a ban. 

The India-based Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) said the budget speech raised more questions than it answered. 

"Will this require state legislation? Will it mandate age-verification systems that create fresh privacy risks for all users, including adults? Will it apply to educational and informational uses of the internet? None of this is clear at present," it said in a statement. 

Recognizing the safety concerns for children, the advocacy group warned that blanket bans could do more harm than good.

While Karnataka has made a decision, other Indian states like Goa and Andhra Pradesh are thinking about similar measures too.

Sri Lanka on Friday started offloading over 200 crew members from a second Iranian vessel off its coast in the Indian Ocean. It comes just days after the Iranian warship IRIS Dena was sunk in the region by a US torepedo. 

Navy spokesman Commander Buddhika Sampath said that sailors of the IRIS Bushehr were being taken to the port of Colombo. The ship will later be moved to an eastern port on the island.

The Bushehr had requested entry to Sri Lankan waters on Thursday following an engine failure.

The Indian navy said Thursday it launched search‑and‑rescue operations after receiving Dena’s distress signal — but by then, Sri Lanka’s navy had already moved in.

India has asked all its refiners to maximize the production of liquified petroleum gas (LPG) and to make the fuel available exclusively to state-run companies, Reuters news agency reported, citing a government order.

The order, issued under emergency powers, says that all LPG will be directed to Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL).

These companies have now been directed to sell LPG to domestic customers only.

About 70-80% of Indian households use LPG for cooking, according to various estimates.

The government has also asked refiners to not use propane and butane, which are key ingredients for LPG, for petrochemical production.

India is one of the biggest refiners and exporters of petroleum products and the world's second-biggest importer of LPG last year.

Imports account for about ​two-thirds of India's LPG consumption, with the Middle East making ​up ‌about 85–90% of that supply.
 

Iran's ​Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh has accused the US of attacking Iran based on lies and disinformation. 

He was speaking at the Raisina Dialogue 2026 conference in New Delhi this morning on an Iran-focused panel that was added to the agenda last minute.

"This was an 'existential war' for Iran, leaving us with no choice but to respond wherever American attacks originate from," he told an audience of diplomats.

"They are carpet bombing Iran out of frustration because they would like to see a new middle east. They would like to put an end to the existance of Iran," he said.

Khatibzadeh likened the US-Israel war on Iran to a "TV reality show" and said it was a "war of choice" for the US, which he said launched attacks despite progress in negotiations over Iran's nuclear program.

The deputy foreign minister further said that Iran had not closed the Strait of Hormuz. "It has not been closed by us, if we close it we will announce it. We have said that tankers with US and Isareli flag or those helping them cannot pass," he said.

Maritime traffic through the strait has dropped 90% since the conflict began.

Responding to a question about attacks on other countries in the Middle East, Khatibzadeh said Iran was trying to prevent the conflict from spilling over into the region but did not have an option but to bomb US bases, wherever they may be.

Addressing claims about an attempted regime change, Khatibzadeh said: "President Trump is asking for a leadership change in Iran, while he can't even appoint the mayor of New York... Can you imagine this colonial approach? While he would like to see democracy at home, he would like to topple the democratically elected president of Iran." 

The diplomat also met India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on the sidelines of the conference. 

The US has granted India a 30-day waiver to purchase Russian oil, as maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz comes to a near-halt.

The waterway is vital for exports of oil, gas and other commodities from the Persian Gulf.

The US waiver will "enable oil to keep flowing into the global market," US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a social media post on X. 

"This deliberately short-term measure will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government as it only authorizes transactions involving oil already stranded at sea," he said.

India began importing a lot of Russian crude oil at discounted rates after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

But US President Donald Trump has pressured India, including by slapping punishing tariffs on Indian imports, to limit its purchases of Russian oil.

US tariffs on India were eased under a trade deal agreed last month. 

Good morning! Welcome back to DW's India News blog. 

From internal politics and foreign policy to markets and sports highlights, we'll bring you all the top headlines from India.

Thursday evening saw a dazzling win by India's cricket team over England in the T20 World Cup, paving the way for the reigning champions to face New Zealand for the 2026 trophy.

Today is day two of the Raisina Dialogue 2026, India's foremost geopolitical conference with hundreds of diplomats participating from countries across the world.

The gathering comes amid an ongoing war in Iran, which has affected much of the Middle East and has economic ramifications for the rest of the world.

The Iranian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs spoke at the conference, saying the conflict with US and Isarel "is a war of choice by the US despite negotiations making progress."