ONGC Chief Calls for Energy Innovation to Reduce India's Oil Import Dependence

India's oil and gas production must increase to reduce its heavy dependence on imports, according to Arun Kumar Singh, Chairman and CEO of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). The country currently imports about 88% of its oil requirement and 50% of its gas requirement.

Singh emphasized the need for innovation in the energy sector to achieve self-reliance. He said that technological advances would be crucial for discovering large oil and gas reserves, which is essential for India's goal of becoming 'Atma Nirbhar Bharat' (self-reliant).

The ONGC chief also highlighted the relatively small presence of startups in the energy sector, with only about 0.2% of the startup ecosystem focused on oil and gas and around 2% on energy.