New Delhi, Oct. 28 -- After a gap of about three years, Russia is back among India's top five sources of steel, as Western sanctions force Moscow to reroute exports to Asia. The discounted shipments underscore the stress on Russian exports and India's rising demand for electrical steel used in transformers and electric motors.

India imported the highest quantum of electrical sheets-a kind of speciality steel-from China, followed by Russia, for the six months ended September, steel ministry data shows. India made most of the payment for these imports through the dollar mechanism, but market participants told Mint that some rupee-rouble trade was also taking place.

India bought around 50,300 tonnes of speciality steel, or 40% of its total...