Govt withholds Russian oil import data under RTI, cites confidentiality

Data on oil imports from Russia to India cannot be provided as it is exempted under the RTI Act due to its "commercial and confidential" nature, according to the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) under the Oil Ministry, with the Central Information Commission too backing it, citing strategic and economic interests of the country. The case relates to an RTI plea seeking details of crude oil imported from Russia to India between June 2022 and June 2025, including a company-wise breakup for firms such as IOCL, BPCL, HPCL, ONGC Videsh, Reliance Industries and Nayara Energy. The Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) had denied the information, stating: "The information pertaining to country-wise and company-wise details of crude oil import is of commercial and confidential nature and is exempted from disclosure under section 8(1) (d&e) of the RTI Act 2005. However, the total quantity and value of crude oil import (both current and historical) can be downloaded from the ..

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