The Union Cabinet’s approval of the National Offshore Exploration Scheme, “Samudra Manthan”, with an unprecedented outlay of ₹84,084 crore, is far more than another government infrastructure programme. It represents one of India’s most significant strategic investments in energy security, industrial competitiveness, technological capability, and economic resilience.
While public discourse often focuses on renewable energy, an important reality remains: India’s economic growth over the next two decades will still require substantial quantities of oil and natural gas. Every developed economy has ensured energy security before achieving sustained industrial growth.
As India aims to become a Viksit Bharat by 2047, energy availability, not merely energy transition, will determine the pace of manufacturing expansion, logistics, digital infrastructure, defence preparedness, and urbanisation. Samudra Manthan seeks to address precisely this challenge. Rather than merely increasing hydrocarbon production, the scheme aims to create an integrated offshore ecosystem involving exploration, data analytics, AI, infrastructure, manufacturing, and technological innovation.
India’s Energy Challenge: A Structural Vulnerability
India today is simultaneously:
- World’s 5th largest economy
- World’s 3rd largest energy consumer
- World’s 3rd largest crude oil importer
- One of the fastest growing major economies
This combination creates a strategic paradox. According to government estimates,
- India imports nearly 88% of its crude oil requirement
- Around 50% of natural gas demand is met through imports.
- Annual crude oil imports cost nearly USD 144 billion (around ₹13 lakh crore).
This import dependence exposes India to multiple external shocks:
- geopolitical conflicts
- supply chain disruptions
- sanctions
- shipping bottlenecks
- exchange rate fluctuations
- global crude price volatility
Events such as the Russia–Ukraine conflict, Red Sea shipping disruptions, and instability in West Asia have demonstrated that energy security has become a national security issue.
Why Exploration Has Become a Strategic Imperative
India’s mature onshore oil and gas fields are experiencing a natural production decline of nearly 6–7% every year, making sustained exploration essential to maintain domestic hydrocarbon output. In the absence of new discoveries, domestic production will continue to fall, forcing the country to increase its dependence on imported crude oil and natural gas. This would not only widen India’s import bill but also exert pressure on the current account deficit, increase fiscal vulnerabilities, and expose the economy to global energy price volatility. For a country aspiring to become a developed economy by 2047, ensuring a secure and diversified energy supply is therefore not merely an economic objective but a strategic necessity.
While India’s conventional onshore reserves have matured, the country’s future hydrocarbon potential lies predominantly offshore. Frontier basins such as the Krishna-Godavari, Cauvery, Mahanadi, Andaman Offshore, and the Western Offshore Deepwater are believed to contain substantial untapped reserves of oil and natural gas. However, these basins remain significantly underexplored when compared with leading offshore producing regions across the world. The principal reasons are economic and technological. Offshore exploration, particularly in deepwater and ultra-deepwater environments, requires highly sophisticated technologies, specialised drilling equipment, and substantial upfront capital investment, while commercial success remains inherently uncertain. A single deepwater exploratory well can cost USD 125–150 million, and there is no assurance that such an investment will lead to commercially viable discoveries. Consequently, private operators have often been reluctant to invest aggressively in frontier exploration. It is this market failure—where high exploration risk discourages private investment despite significant national benefits—that the Samudra Manthan initiative seeks to address through strategic government intervention and risk-sharing mechanisms.
Evolution of India’s Exploration Policy
The approval of Samudra Manthan should not be viewed as an isolated policy announcement but as the culmination of a decade-long process of structural reforms aimed at revitalising India’s hydrocarbon exploration and production (E&P) sector. Over the past several years, the Government has undertaken a series of legislative, regulatory, and institutional reforms designed to improve investor confidence, expand exploration opportunities, and modernise the governance framework of the petroleum sector. The National Offshore Exploration Scheme represents the operational extension of these reforms, translating policy changes into mission-mode implementation.
Opening India’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)
One of the most significant reforms has been the opening up of India’s offshore exploration acreage. Historically, large portions of India’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) remained designated as “No-Go” areas, limiting exploration activities and restricting access to potentially resource-rich offshore basins. This policy has undergone a fundamental transformation. Today, more than 99% of India’s Exclusive Economic Zone, covering nearly one million square kilometres, is available for hydrocarbon exploration, dramatically expanding the country’s exploration frontier. By unlocking previously inaccessible offshore regions, India has created new opportunities for both domestic and international exploration companies to undertake systematic geological surveys and exploration activities.
Transition to Revenue Sharing Contracts
Another major policy shift has been the transition from the earlier Production Sharing Contract (PSC) regime to a Revenue Sharing Contract (RSC) framework. The previous PSC model often resulted in prolonged disputes relating to cost recovery, regulatory oversight, and administrative complexities, leading to delays in project implementation and investor uncertainty. The Revenue Sharing Model simplifies the fiscal framework by reducing administrative intervention, enhancing transparency, and providing greater predictability in contractual arrangements. By offering a clearer and more investor-friendly regulatory environment, the new framework is expected to improve the ease of doing business and encourage greater participation in India’s upstream petroleum sector.
Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Amendment Act, 2025
The enactment of the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Amendment Act, 2025 represents another important milestone in India’s exploration policy. The legislation modernises the legal architecture governing the sector by strengthening contractual stability, recognising integrated petroleum operations, improving dispute resolution mechanisms, and establishing a contemporary regulatory framework aligned with global industry practices. Together with the Petroleum and Natural Gas Rules, 2025, these reforms provide greater legal certainty, streamline regulatory procedures, and reinforce India’s credibility as an attractive destination for long-term investment in offshore exploration and production.
Understanding Samudra Manthan: An Integrated Strategy for Offshore Energy Development
Unlike conventional exploration programmes that focus primarily on drilling, Samudra Manthan adopts a comprehensive ecosystem approach to offshore hydrocarbon development. The scheme is structured around four interrelated pillars that address the entire exploration and production value chain—from geological data acquisition and risk-sharing in exploration to infrastructure development and domestic manufacturing. This integrated design reflects a shift from project-based interventions to a mission-mode strategy aimed at strengthening India’s long-term energy security and reducing dependence on imported hydrocarbons.
Advanced Seismic Mapping (₹28,534 crore)
The first pillar of the scheme focuses on building a robust geological knowledge base through modern offshore seismic surveys. High-quality subsurface data is the cornerstone of successful hydrocarbon exploration, as it enables more accurate identification of prospective reserves while reducing geological uncertainty. Under Samudra Manthan, investments will be made in basin-wide 2D seismic surveys, advanced 3D seismic acquisition, modern imaging technologies, and the enhancement of the National Data Repository (NDR). The programme also envisages the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and advanced data analytics for processing and interpreting seismic data. By improving the quality, accessibility, and analytical capability of geological information, the scheme is expected to increase exploration success rates, optimise drilling decisions, and significantly reduce exploration risks for operators.
Deepwater Exploration (₹43,200 crore)
The second pillar addresses one of the biggest challenges in offshore exploration—the high financial risk associated with deepwater drilling. Recognising that exploration in frontier offshore basins involves substantial upfront investment with uncertain commercial outcomes, the Government has adopted a risk-sharing model to encourage greater participation by exploration companies. Under the scheme, financial support of up to 50% of the eligible drilling cost, subject to a maximum assistance of ₹675 crore per exploration well, will be provided for deepwater exploration. During the first phase, approximately 60 deepwater exploration wells are proposed, making it India’s most ambitious offshore drilling programme to date. By reducing the financial burden on operators, the initiative aims to accelerate exploration activities in deepwater and ultra-deepwater basins that have remained underexplored despite their significant hydrocarbon potential.
Shared Offshore Infrastructure (₹10,000 crore)
A major impediment to offshore hydrocarbon development in India has been the delay between the discovery of commercially viable reserves and the commencement of production, often due to the absence of supporting infrastructure. To address this challenge, Samudra Manthan provides for the development of common offshore infrastructure, including production platforms, subsea pipelines, evacuation systems, and processing facilities. Rather than requiring each operator to create independent infrastructure, the shared infrastructure model seeks to optimise capital expenditure, improve operational efficiency, and accelerate the commercialisation of new discoveries. This approach is expected to enhance project viability, reduce development costs, and shorten the time required to bring offshore resources into production.
Manufacturing and Services Zones (₹2,000 crore)
The fourth pillar extends beyond exploration by seeking to develop a domestic industrial ecosystem that supports offshore exploration and production. The scheme proposes the establishment of dedicated Oil and Gas Manufacturing and Services Zones to promote indigenous capabilities in offshore engineering, subsea equipment, drilling technologies, fabrication, maintenance services, and other specialised industrial activities. By encouraging localisation of critical technologies and equipment, the initiative complements the broader objectives of Atmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India. In addition to reducing dependence on imported equipment and specialised services, these manufacturing and services clusters have the potential to generate high-skilled employment, foster technology transfer, strengthen domestic supply chains, and position India as a competitive hub for offshore engineering and energy services in the Indo-Pacific region.
Economic Significance
The economic rationale underpinning Samudra Manthan extends well beyond increasing domestic oil and gas production. If exploration efforts translate into commercially viable discoveries, the scheme has the potential to significantly strengthen India’s long-term energy security while improving key macroeconomic indicators. According to government projections, successful implementation could increase India’s domestic hydrocarbon production from the current level of approximately 62 million metric tonnes of oil equivalent (MMTOE) to around 80 MMTOE annually by the end of the programme period—representing an increase of nearly 29%. At the same time, India’s estimated hydrocarbon resource base is expected to expand from 1.6 billion tonnes of oil equivalent (TOE) to approximately 2.2 billion TOE, reflecting an increase of almost 38%. Although these outcomes remain contingent upon exploration success and subsequent commercial development, they indicate the significant untapped potential that India’s offshore basins hold. A larger domestic resource base would not only enhance long-term production capacity but also improve the country’s ability to meet its growing energy demand through indigenous resources.
Reducing the Import Bill
One of the most significant macroeconomic benefits of the scheme lies in its potential to reduce India’s dependence on imported crude oil. As the world’s third-largest importer of crude oil, India remains highly exposed to fluctuations in international energy prices and geopolitical disruptions affecting global supply chains. The Government estimates that additional domestic production resulting from Samudra Manthan could reduce crude oil imports by nearly ₹1 lakh crore annually. Such savings would have implications far beyond the energy sector. Lower import dependence would help narrow the current account deficit, reduce pressure on foreign exchange reserves, improve fiscal stability by lowering the economy’s exposure to volatile global oil prices, and contribute to greater exchange rate resilience. Over the long term, reducing the structural burden of energy imports would strengthen India’s macroeconomic fundamentals, enhance investor confidence, and provide greater fiscal space for investments in infrastructure, social development, and the clean energy transition. In this sense, Samudra Manthan should be viewed not merely as an exploration initiative but as a strategic economic investment capable of reinforcing India’s long-term growth trajectory.
Contribution to Viksit Bharat
Energy Security: The Foundation of Sustainable Economic Growth
Energy security is one of the fundamental pillars of a developed economy and an indispensable prerequisite for achieving the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047. Sustained economic growth, industrial expansion, urbanisation, and technological advancement all depend on the availability of reliable, affordable, and uninterrupted energy supplies. Domestic production of oil and natural gas plays a critical role in supporting key sectors of the economy, including manufacturing, transportation, agriculture, defence, digital infrastructure, and large-scale public infrastructure projects. History demonstrates that every major industrial economy—from the United States and Norway to China and South Korea—prioritised energy security as an essential component of its development strategy. By strengthening domestic hydrocarbon production and reducing dependence on imported fuels, Samudra Manthan has the potential to enhance India’s energy resilience, improve strategic autonomy, and provide a stable energy foundation for sustained economic growth.
Industrial Growth and Economic Multipliers
The significance of Samudra Manthan extends well beyond hydrocarbon production. Offshore exploration and production have strong backward and forward linkages with a wide range of industries, creating multiplier effects across the broader economy. Increased investment in offshore exploration is expected to stimulate demand for steel, heavy engineering, shipbuilding, fabrication, offshore construction, subsea engineering, robotics, geoscience, logistics, and digital technologies. These industries, in turn, support a vast network of suppliers, service providers, and technology companies, generating value addition throughout the industrial ecosystem. Studies by the International Energy Agency indicate that investments in upstream oil and gas projects generate significant spillover demand across manufacturing, engineering, transport, and business services, amplifying economic activity well beyond the energy sector. In this context, Samudra Manthan can serve as a catalyst for industrial diversification and strengthen India’s ambitions of becoming a globally competitive manufacturing economy.
Strengthening High-Technology Capabilities
Deepwater and ultra-deepwater hydrocarbon exploration represent some of the most technologically sophisticated industrial activities in the world. Successful exploration requires advanced geophysical surveys, AI-enabled reservoir modelling, underwater robotics, autonomous inspection systems, digital twin technologies, remote sensing, high-performance computing, and sophisticated data analytics. Developing indigenous capabilities in these technologies would not only strengthen India’s offshore exploration ecosystem but also create technological spillovers into other strategic sectors such as defence, space, maritime engineering, artificial intelligence, and advanced manufacturing. By promoting research, innovation, and technology adoption, Samudra Manthan can contribute to building a knowledge-driven industrial ecosystem aligned with India’s long-term objective of becoming a global technology leader.
Employment Generation and Skill Development
Although offshore exploration is not as labor-intensive as sectors such as construction or traditional manufacturing, it generates substantial demand for highly skilled professionals across multiple disciplines. The expansion of offshore exploration activities is expected to create employment opportunities in petroleum engineering, marine engineering, geology, geophysics, artificial intelligence, offshore logistics, environmental sciences, fabrication, digital technologies, and specialised technical services. More importantly, the indirect employment generated through ancillary industries, including equipment manufacturing, marine services, engineering consultancies, logistics, research institutions, and technology providers, is likely to be significantly larger than direct employment at exploration sites. Consequently, the scheme has the potential to foster a highly skilled workforce capable of supporting India’s growing offshore energy and maritime industries.
Driving Regional Development and the Blue Economy
The development of offshore hydrocarbon resources has the potential to transform India’s coastal economy by creating new centres of industrial and maritime activity. States such as Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Gujarat, and Maharashtra, along with the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, are well positioned to benefit from increased exploration and production activities. The establishment of offshore infrastructure, fabrication yards, logistics hubs, research institutions, specialised service clusters, and port-based industrial ecosystems can stimulate regional economic development, attract private investment, and generate new employment opportunities. These developments would also complement India’s broader Blue Economy strategy by strengthening maritime infrastructure, enhancing coastal industrialisation, and integrating offshore energy development with port-led economic growth under initiatives such as Maritime India Vision 2030 and PM Gati Shakti. In this manner, Samudra Manthan has the potential to contribute not only to national energy security but also to more balanced regional development and the emergence of globally competitive coastal economic corridors.
Strategic and National Security Dimensions
Energy security has increasingly become a critical component of national security and strategic autonomy. For a country like India, which imports nearly 88% of its crude oil requirements, excessive dependence on overseas energy supplies can constrain foreign policy choices and expose the economy to geopolitical uncertainties. Recent global developments—including the Russia–Ukraine conflict, instability in West Asia, and disruptions to key maritime trade routes such as the Red Sea—have underscored the vulnerability of import-dependent economies to external shocks. In this context, increasing domestic hydrocarbon production is not merely an economic objective but a strategic imperative. Greater indigenous production would reduce India’s exposure to supply disruptions, lessen dependence on politically volatile regions, strengthen energy resilience, and provide greater flexibility in responding to international crises. Furthermore, expanding offshore exploration and production will reinforce India’s maritime presence in the Indian Ocean Region by enhancing offshore infrastructure, surveillance capabilities, and maritime logistics, all of which have important implications for national security. A stronger offshore energy ecosystem also supports defence preparedness by ensuring more secure and reliable fuel supplies for military operations and strategic infrastructure. In this regard, Samudra Manthan aligns closely with India’s maritime vision under the SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) doctrine, which seeks to strengthen India’s role as a responsible maritime power while promoting regional security, stability, and economic cooperation across the Indian Ocean.
Alignment with the Modi Government’s Vision for Viksit Bharat
Samudra Manthan is not a standalone exploration programme; rather, it complements several flagship initiatives that collectively underpin the Government’s vision of Viksit Bharat 2047. The scheme reinforces the objectives of Atmanirbhar Bharat by reducing dependence on imported hydrocarbons while simultaneously strengthening domestic technological capabilities, industrial capacity, and energy resilience. It also advances the goals of Make in India by promoting indigenous manufacturing of offshore equipment, subsea technologies, fabrication facilities, engineering services, and specialised industrial supply chains that are essential for deepwater exploration and production.
The initiative further aligns with the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) by supporting the development of integrated offshore infrastructure, including platforms, pipelines, processing facilities, and evacuation systems that complement India’s expanding energy and logistics networks. At the same time, it contributes to India’s broader Blue Economy Vision, which seeks to harness ocean resources sustainably for economic growth while strengthening maritime infrastructure, coastal industrialisation, and India’s strategic presence across the Indian Ocean Region.
Samudra Manthan also complements the objectives of PM Gati Shakti, which emphasises integrated infrastructure planning through seamless connectivity between ports, industrial corridors, logistics networks, and energy infrastructure. By integrating offshore production facilities with multimodal transport systems, the scheme has the potential to improve operational efficiency, reduce logistics costs, and accelerate the commercialisation of offshore discoveries. Equally important is its alignment with the Digital India initiative through the adoption of artificial intelligence, digital subsurface modelling, advanced seismic analytics, and data-driven decision-making. These technologies will modernise exploration processes, improve operational efficiency, and support the development of a digitally enabled upstream energy sector. Taken together, these synergies position Samudra Manthan as a strategic enabler that not only strengthens India’s energy security but also advances the broader objectives of industrial competitiveness, technological self-reliance, infrastructure development, and sustainable economic growth envisioned under Viksit Bharat.
The Bigger Picture
India’s aspiration to become a USD 30 trillion economy by 2047, a target often discussed in long-term policy analyses, will require vast amounts of reliable energy even as renewable capacity expands. Oil and natural gas are expected to remain integral to sectors such as aviation, shipping, heavy industry, petrochemicals, and fertilisers for decades. At the same time, India has committed to ambitious climate goals, including achieving net-zero emissions by 2070, which means hydrocarbons must be developed alongside accelerated deployment of renewables, energy efficiency, and low-carbon technologies.
In this context, Samudra Manthan is not a departure from the energy transition but a strategy to ensure that the transition is economically secure, reducing exposure to external supply shocks while domestic clean-energy systems continue to scale.
The approval of Samudra Manthan marks a decisive shift from incremental exploration to a mission-mode approach that integrates policy reform, public investment, advanced technology, and industrial development. With an investment of ₹84,084 crore, the programme has the potential to expand India’s hydrocarbon resource base, raise domestic production, reduce import dependence by an estimated ₹1 lakh crore annually, and catalyse a domestic ecosystem spanning offshore engineering, AI, manufacturing, and maritime infrastructure.
For Viksit Bharat 2047, the scheme’s significance extends beyond oil and gas. It strengthens macroeconomic stability, supports industrial competitiveness, enhances strategic autonomy, and fosters technological capability, all essential pillars of a developed nation. If implemented effectively, Samudra Manthan could become one of the foundational energy initiatives that enables India to sustain high economic growth while advancing toward a more secure, self-reliant, and resilient future.
