India's total refining capacity is targeted to increase to 450mn t/yr (9.04 mn b/d) by 2030 from around 254mn t/yr (5.1mn b/d) presently, the country's prime minister Narendra Modi said at the India Energy Week (IEW) today.
Total refining capacity will rise as energy demand is likely to increase, and a large share of the April 2024-March 2025 fiscal year's infrastructure budget is set for the energy sector, Modi said.
Modi noted that India's primary energy demand is likely to double by 2045 and the country's GDP growth rate was more than 7.5pc in the first six months of the current fiscal year to March 2024, "much higher than what has been estimated regarding global growth".
A large portion of the 11 trillion rupees ($132.5bn) allocated as infrastructure budget for the upcoming fiscal year to March 2025 will go to the energy sector in order to meet growing energy needs, Modi said without elaborating on the actual share.
He also said that the country is targeting to increase the share of natural gas in the primary energy mix to 15pc from the current 6pc, with an investment of $67bn in the next 5-6 years.
Meanwhile, ethanol blending in petrol has increased to 12pc in 2023 and has reduced carbon emissions by about 42mn t, he said. The country targets 20pc ethanol blending in petrol by 2025 and net zero emissions by 2070.
India is also eyeing to move to alternate fuels so that energy transition is done in an orderly manner, the country's oil minister Hardeep Singh Puri said, stressing upon cleaner fuels such as green hydrogen and renewables.
Meanwhile, IEW host state Goa's chief minister Pramod Sawant called upon domestic and international investors "to explore partnerships and ventures in renewable energy, green hydrogen, offshore wind and emerging technologies".
He said that the state is aiming at 100pc electric vehicle (EV) penetration by 2027 and has ambitions to achieve 60pc solar and wind energy in the overall energy mix by 2035.
