The nation imported about 13.3 million tonnes of crude oil from Iran in 2012-13 fiscal, down from 18.1 million tonnes shipped in the previous financial year, official sources said.
The decline in shipments to the world’s fourth-largest oil importer was sharper than by Iran’s other two big buyers, China and South Korea, as New Delhi struggled with insurance and payment problems.
The US and EU have shut down the use of their financial systems for Iranian crude trade, and Washington recently imposed more treasury sanctions on trade with Iran — making imports from the Islamic nation even more difficult — in the hope of starving Tehran of cash that would force it to give up its nuclear programme.