The Union Cabinet on Friday approved 'Samudra Manthan' — the National Offshore Exploration Scheme — with an outlay of ₹84,084 crore, earmarked for implementation through FY 2030–31. The Petroleum Ministry said the scheme will help India build deepwater exploration capability, strengthen energy-security resilience, and reduce the country's long-term dependence on crude oil and gas imports.

Why This Scheme Matters

India is the world's third-largest consumer of crude oil, carrying an annual import bill of nearly $144 billion (approximately ₹13 lakh crore). With domestic energy demand projected to rise steadily over the coming decades, the government argues that expanding offshore production is no longer optional — it is a strategic imperative. As recent geopolitical disruptions have underscored, uninterrupted access to energy resources is critical for a rapidly growing economy.

The ministry described 'Samudra Manthan' as India's most ambitious offshore exploration mission to date, designed to create a robust ecosystem through better data sharing, risk-sharing mechanisms, common infrastructure, and domestic manufacturing capabilities in the deepwater segment.

Key Reforms Underpinning the Scheme

The approval builds on a series of structural reforms initiated since 2014. More than 99 per cent of earlier 'No-Go' areas have been removed, opening over one million square kilometres of India's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) to exploration for the first time. India has also transitioned from Production Sharing Contracts to Revenue Sharing Contracts, simplifying the fiscal framework and reducing administrative intervention.

The Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Amendment Act, 2025 modernised the legal architecture governing the sector, providing contractual stability, recognising integrated petroleum operations, and strengthening dispute resolution mechanisms. The Petroleum and Natural Gas Rules, 2025 operationalised these reforms by streamlining the administration of petroleum leases and improving regulatory efficiency.

Institutional Changes and ONGC's Reoriented Mandate

The government has standardised the composition and mandate of the Empowered Committee of Secretaries across all contract regimes, ensuring consistency and a level playing field for all operators regardless of when their contracts were signed. Notably, the performance parameters of ONGC and Oil India have been reoriented to place greater emphasis on exploration activities — a signal that the Centre wants state-owned producers to prioritise finding new reserves, not just managing existing ones.

Atmanirbhar Bharat and Energy Security

The ministry positioned 'Samudra Manthan' as a direct expression of the Atmanirbhar Bharat vision, translating policy intent into on-ground action. By developing domestic manufacturing capabilities for deepwater equipment and technology, the scheme also aims to reduce India's dependence on imported exploration hardware — a second layer of import substitution beyond crude oil itself.

What Comes Next

With Cabinet approval secured, implementation timelines and block allocations under the scheme are expected to be detailed in the coming months. Industry observers will watch closely whether the opening of the EEZ and the revised fiscal framework attract meaningful private and foreign investment into India's historically underexplored deepwater basins. The scheme's success will ultimately be measured not by outlay alone, but by the barrels it brings to the surface.