India to spend $100 billion on oil and gas infrastructure: Pradhan

New Delhi: Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan said that the BJP government is planning to spend $100 billion in creating oil and gas infrastructure, including $60 billion in the natural gas sector, by 2024.

Speaking at ENRich 2019, KPMG India's Annual Energy conclave here on Wednesday, the Petroleum Minister said India, too, is in the midst of a major transformative shift in its energy sector. "In India we are finding ways to achieve the twin objectives of more energy and less carbon through a healthy mix of all commercially-viable energy sources.

India will chart its own course of the energy transition in a responsible manner," the minister said.

'Energy growth in a sustainable manner is a high priority'

Commenting on sustainable growth, Pradhan said the centrality of energy growth in a sustainable manner is a high priority of the government. There is unprecedented advancement, on both the demand and supply sides of the equation, as the world and India seek out more benign methods to advance global growth and welfare. He further said the trajectory to end energy poverty in India, as compared to the rest of the world, would be based on special national circumstances. This is more so when the average Indian lives only on a third of the per capita consumption of energy that the United Nations believes is necessary for human well-being.

Talking about India's growing energy needs, the minister said India has a huge appetite for energy and will be a driver of global energy demand in the coming decades.

On PM Modi's $5-trillion Indian economy

Speaking about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a $ 5 trillion Indian economy, Pradhan emphasised on both ease of doing business as well as on ease of living. He said that the country's economic growth will be driven by heavy investment in infrastructure, digital economy and job creation in small and medium firms.

Talking about reform measures, the minister said, the government has undertaken several structural reforms in the last five years to create a business-friendly environment. These reforms include insolvency and bankruptcy code, tax reforms and intellectual property reforms. Hydrocarbon sector has also been overhauled through a series of business-friendly policy measures. Reiterating his government's commitment to building a gas-based economy, he further added that the government is making all efforts to move towards a gas-based economy. An estimated investment of 60 billion dollars is lined up in developing gas infrastructure, which includes pipelines, city gas distribution and LNG terminals.

Pradhan also talked about the National Biofuel policy which focuses on waste-to-wealth creation and targets to generate of various types of biofuels from agriculture residue and municipal waste. During the event, he released the thought leadership paper.

(PSU Watch– India's Business News centre that places the spotlight on PSUs, Bureaucracy, Defence and Public Policy is now on Google News. Click here to follow. Also, join PSU Watch Channel in your Telegram. You may also follow us on Twitter here and stay updated.)