India ranks as one of the countries most affected by the Russian-Ukrainian crisis. India’s oil reserve is 85% imported from other countries, so it comes at no surprise that the devastating plummet of supply that the Russia-Ukrainian crisis has caused has affected India very much. Even with government aid, the price per gallon in India is at a decade high of 5.1 US dollars per gallon, which compares to the United States 4.1 US dollars per gallon. India has also foregone a lot of setbacks with the major hit to the economy, including less funding for the Covid-19 relief. Economists say India could lose as much as 900 billion rupees in trying to lower pump prices.
This is obviously extremely problematic for the Indian government because it has made a huge dent on what international spending could rather be spent on. Decreasing the amount that is allowed to be spent internationally could have multiple serious consequences to their country. One of those consequences would be pandemic relief. India has been one of the hardest hit countries in the world by this pandemic and not being able to spend as much money on their pandemic relief could cause hundreds of thousands of civilians to die and the pandemic to continue to spread. It could also seriously affect the election that is currently happening, altering what the parties are campaigning for and could change who is elected. Therefore, this economic crisis means much more than higher oil prices.
This relates to class because it shows how a conflict between two different countries does not only have serious implications on the countries involved, but also affects the countries throughout the rest of the world. It also relates to class because it shows how reliant countries are on fuel and truly shows a perspective on why countries, like the United States, are so worried about having a steady fuel trade.