Govt in talks with Russia over a deal to buy oil at discounted rates: HPCL

India is in talks with Russia over a deal to buy oil at discounted rates, the chairman of India's state-run Hindustan Petroleum Corp. said on Thursday, at a time when much of the West is shunning Russian crude over the conflict in Ukraine.

India, the world's third biggest oil importer and consumer, is struggling like much of the rest of the world with inflation at multi-year highs, and is keen to cut its import bill and protect consumers from soaring fuel prices.

The country has already bought more than twice as much crude from Russia since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine on Feb.