In the federal budget for 2023-24, the government had outlined a plan to purchase crude oil worth 50 billion rupees for caverns in the southern cities of Mangalore and Visakhapatnam.
India, the world's third-biggest oil importer and consumer, imports over 80% of its oil needs and has built strategic storage at three locations in southern India to store over 5 million tons of oil to protect against supply disruptions.
($1 = 83.0864 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Siddhi Nayak; Editing by Sonia Cheema)
