US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to India in May for talks centered on trade, critical minerals, defense cooperation and the Quad security grouping, US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor said on X after meeting India’s foreign secretary Vikram Misri in Washington. The trip comes as Washington and New Delhi aim to limit economic fallout from the recent US‑Israel conflict with Iran and to deepen cooperation on Indo‑Pacific security.
The Quad — the informal grouping of the US, India, Japan and Australia that seeks to preserve a “free and open Indo‑Pacific” — is expected to feature heavily during Rubio’s visit. Misri also met US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker on April 8 to review the bilateral agenda and developments in the Middle East.
Energy disruption stemming from the Middle East fighting has prompted an intense round of Indian diplomacy. India’s petroleum minister, Hardeep Singh Puri, is on a two‑day mission to Qatar to secure supplies of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), meeting QatarEnergy chief Saad Sherida Al‑Kaabi; Puri said Qatar reaffirmed its commitment to remain a reliable supplier. External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar is scheduled to visit the UAE on April 11–12.
Domestically, India is coping with shortages of cooking LPG. Arun Kumar Singh, chairman and CEO of state energy firm ONGC, has urged the government to reduce heavy reliance on Middle East crude and to create strategic reserves to cushion future shocks.
There are signs of partial normalization in shipping: reports say the first non‑Iranian oil tanker bound for India transited the Strait of Hormuz since a fragile ceasefire, the Gabon‑flagged MSG carrying Emirati fuel, while another vessel, the Marivex, reportedly transported Iranian crude to New Mangalore. Normally about a fifth of global crude and gas moves through the strait, and flows have been disrupted by the crisis.
New Delhi is also finalizing an agreement to supply oil and gas to Mauritius, highlighting India’s role as a regional refiner and exporter amid the turmoil. Over the past month India has supplied neighbors including Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Oil procurement has become a diplomatic flashpoint with Washington. The US has urged allies to cut purchases of Russian and Iranian oil, at times threatening tariffs under former President Donald Trump. After the Iran conflict began, Washington granted temporary waivers to allow purchases of Russian crude to help stabilize global prices; India has continued buying from multiple suppliers, including Russia and Venezuela, and media reports indicate it received its first Iranian shipment since 2019. Reuters has reported India expects the US to extend the waiver.
Other developments at home: India’s Supreme Court has sought responses to a petition alleging that some citizens were coerced into fighting in Ukraine after being recruited under the pretext of education or work; families of 26 people are seeking help to locate and repatriate them. Civil society has strongly criticized a recent amendment to transgender laws that removes the right of self‑identification, raising concern among activists and counsellors. Meanwhile, election season continues: two states and a union territory have voted, with campaigns and debates shaped in part by rising food and cooking gas prices.