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🇮🇳 HOW EXPOSED IS INDIA IF HORMUZ STAYS BLOCKED? With tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz collapsing, a lot of people are asking where India stands. Here’s the real picture. Normally 20-21 million barrels of oil per day move through Hormuz, about 20% of global petroleum supply. For India, roughly 40-50% of crude imports pass through this route, mainly from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Kuwait. So yes, disruptions matter. But India isn’t starting from zero. Right now the country holds 100 million barrels across strategic reserves, commercial stocks and cargoes in transit, enough for roughly 40-45 days of demand. Refiners alone reportedly hold about 25 days of crude and another 25 days of fuel products like petrol, diesel and LPG. That buys time. And here’s where recent strategy helps. India dramatically increased purchases of Russian crude after 2022, and that oil does not move through the Strait of Hormuz. Even after reducing Russian imports earlier this year, around 9-10 million barrels are currently in Asian waters and Russia has signaled it can ramp up shipments again if Gulf flows remain disrupted. So while oil prices are already climbing, and a prolonged disruption would definitely raise India’s import bill and inflation risks, the supply picture isn’t as fragile as it would have been a few years ago. Refiners today can pivot to cargoes from Russia, the US, West Africa, and Latin America. The bigger lesson? Energy security isn’t about one supplier. It’s about diversification, reserves, and flexibility when chokepoints like Hormuz get unstable. If the disruption drags on, the real question becomes: How long can global shipping stay frozen before markets price in a full energy shock? 👀