A true friend.

"The volume of India's petroleum exports to key European markets rose by a staggering 2,53,788 percent between 2018-19 and 2023-24, driven up first because of pandemic induced logistical factors, and then sustained at very high levels following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in early 2022." In value terms, "This translated to $5.9 billion worth of imports from India in 2018-19, which grew to $20.5 billion in 2023-24 - a nearly 250% increase." The discrepancy is because oil prices plummeted during the pandemic. The Print. "Russia's trade with India is booming and bilateral payments are proceeding smoothly...Anatoly Popov, deputy CEO of Russia's largest lender, Sberbank, told Reuters." "Sberbank handles payments for up to 70% of all Russian exports to India. Russia's trade to India nearly doubled to $65 billion in 2023." TBS. "India overtook China as the world's biggest importer of Russian oil in July," as, "Russian crude made up a record 44% of India's overall imports last month, rising to a record 2.07 million barrels per day (bpd), 4.2% higher than in June and 12% more than a year ago." Reuters. "India imported crude oil worth $132.40 billion in 2023-24 compared to $157.50 billion spent in 2022-23." Thus saving $25 billion of foreign exchange in FY 24. HT. India has been profiting hugely from Russia, even as "Independent Russian media outlet Mediazona said...according to its estimates more than 66,000 Russian military personnel have died during the war in Ukraine." NDTV. But, China has been profiting from India although Russia is our "all weather friend" (BS) and China is our greatest enemy (Rediff). "India was poised to take advantage of the China+1 strategy as global manufacturers looked to pivot from China after the pandemic." But, "India's dependence on Chinese imports - which has been growing twice as fast as overall imports - for components for smartphones, solar panels, and medicines is now a 'reality check for American policymakers." Because China is using Uyghurs as forced labor. The Print. "India is missing a crucial opportunity to take advantage of of the gap left by China's withdrawal from labor intensive manufacturing sectors such as textiles, apparel, leather, and footwear, according to a new report from the World Bank." In fact, "India's share of global apparel exports has decreased from 4% in 2018 to 3% in 2022," and overall merchandise exports "fell to $437.06 billion in the fiscal year ending March 2024, down from $451.07 in the previous year." BS. "India's trade in goods and services has been declining as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) over the past decade despite its economic heft," and "the country is losing out to rivals like Bangladesh and Vietnam as low-cost manufacturing hubs, the World Bank said." DH. India's overall exports (merchandise+services) in 2023-24 increased to $776.68 billion from $776.40 billion in 2022-23 but overall imports fell from $898.01 billion to $854.80 billion, so that overall trade deficit fell from -$121.62 billion to -$78.12 billion. pib.gov.in. Our deficit could have been really painful. If not for Russia. A friend in need etc. (dictionary).