Reports indicate that India's import of crude oil may rise just 0.5 percent to 3.73 million barrels a day in 2013-14 as compared to 3.71 million barrels a day in the previous year. This means, the country may import 186.06 million metric ton of crude oil in 2013-14.

The expected muted growth in oil import is attributed to the fact that the country has not added any refining capacity for more than a year.

Since March 2012, the country has not commissioned any refining capacity owing to low demand from industrial and retail consumers amid a slowdown in the domestic and global economy. The country imports more than four-fifths of the crude oil it requires.

The Indian economy grew 5 percent in the last fiscal year, its slowest pace in a decade. The government said the economy would expand 5.5 percent to 6.0 percent this fiscal year, but most economists expect the growth to be closer to 5 percent.

In 2013-14, refineries in India may process 222.97 million ton, or 4.47 million barrels a day of crude oil and this represents a 1.2 percent growth from last year, reports indicate. India's demand for petroleum products is projected to be 162.03 million ton in the current financial year, compared to 155.42 million ton last year.

Local crude oil output is estimated to rise 3.43 percent to 39.2 million ton, or 787,220 barrels a day, this fiscal year.