New Delhi: Vedanta Chairman Anil Agarwal called
for a decisive push to unlock India’s vast natural resource potential,
emphasising that the country must accelerate domestic exploration and
production to strengthen energy security and reduce dependence on imports.
Speaking
at an industry conclave today, he highlighted the scale of the challenge and
noted that India imports over 90% of its oil, more than 95% of copper, and
almost 100% of gold, despite possessing significant untapped reserves. India
currently imports nearly 90% of its oil, about 95% of its copper and almost
99.5% of its gold. He stressed that the country’s geology is among the richest
in the world and has the potential to significantly strengthen India’s energy
and mineral security.
He
expressed the need to accelerate exploration and mining of natural resources.
He stated that India’s public sector enterprises and resource companies have
the capacity to increase production several times if supported by enabling
policies and faster approvals. He also noted that several underperforming
government assets have the potential to significantly increase production with
the right investment, management and policy support.
Drawing
from Vedanta’s experience of turning around previously state-owned companies,
Agarwal said that production in several assets including Hindustan Zinc and
Bharat Aluminium Company increased five to ten times after privatisation and
professional management, demonstrating the untapped potential within India’s
resource sector. In a recent post, Agarwal noted that Vedanta acquired
Hindustan Zinc and BALCO under a privatisation programme which was never fully
completed, and that the government still retains 26% and 49% stakes
respectively. Notably, Vedanta has contributed ₹4.5 lakh crore to the government
exchequer over the last ten years.
The
Vedanta Chairman emphasised the need to empower entrepreneurs and simplify
regulatory frameworks to unlock investments and innovation. He called for
greater reliance on self-certification and trust-based governance, arguing that
excessive regulatory intervention often delays projects and discourages
risk-taking. He added that India should move towards self-certification instead
of lengthy approvals and clearances, where the government sets the rulebook and
entrepreneurs comply strictly, subject to audit.
Against
the backdrop of the West Asia crisis and disruption risks around the Strait of
Hormuz, Agarwal highlighted the strategic importance of domestic production. He
suggested that India must rapidly scale up exploration of oil, gas, coal,
strategic metals and critical minerals to safeguard energy security and reduce
long-term vulnerability to global supply shocks.
He
added that India’s energy demand is expected to double in the coming years,
making it imperative for the country to diversify and strengthen its domestic
energy ecosystem.
Agarwal
stressed that opening up India’s resource sectors could significantly boost
economic growth. According to him, unlocking domestic reserves across sectors
such as oil, gas, copper, coal, gold and fertilisers would lead to large-scale
job creation, higher government revenues and reduced import dependence. He also
noted that the natural resources sector has historically contributed some of
the highest revenues to the government exchequer in India and globally, playing
a key role in nation-building.
He
also highlighted India’s potential to build globally competitive resource
companies.
Concluding
his remarks, Agarwal highlighted the importance of collaboration between
government, industry and global investors to mobilise large-scale capital for
the sector. He noted that India remains one of the most attractive destinations
globally for long-term investments in natural resources and energy
infrastructure.