New Delhi, Aug 1 — The Centre's newly approved 'Samudra Manthan' scheme will unlock India's vast offshore energy potential, accelerate domestic oil and gas exploration and strengthen the country's long-term energy security, Adani Enterprises Director Pranav Adani said on Saturday.
The initiative marks a landmark step towards expanding India's offshore exploration capabilities, according to him.
He further noted that the scheme will accelerate domestic exploration and production, foster greater collaboration across the industry and strengthen the foundations of an energy-secure Viksit Bharat.
"India's energy exploration landscape is entering an era of unprecedented scale. Guided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visionary leadership for India's energy security, the Union Cabinet's approval of the Samudra Manthan scheme marks a landmark step towards unlocking our vast offshore energy potential," he said in a post on social media platform X.
The Union Cabinet -- chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi -- has approved the 'Samudra Manthan' National Offshore Exploration Scheme with an outlay of Rs 84,084 crore for implementation through FY31 to accelerate offshore oil and gas exploration and strengthen the country's energy security.
Earlier in the day, the Petroleum Ministry also said the scheme is expected to help India reduce its long-term dependence on crude oil and natural gas imports by creating a robust offshore exploration ecosystem supported by better geological data, risk-sharing mechanisms, common infrastructure and stronger domestic manufacturing capabilities.
India is currently the world's third-largest consumer of crude oil and spends nearly $144 billion (around Rs 13 lakh crore) annually on oil imports.
The ministry said strengthening domestic exploration and production is critical to improving energy resilience and meeting the country's rising energy demand.
Moreover, the government has expected that the scheme to catalyse reserve accretion of over 600 million metric tonnes of oil equivalent (MMTOE), attract fresh investments across the exploration and production value chain, generate employment and promote indigenous manufacturing under the 'Make in India' and 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' initiatives.