The Impressive TimesHardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, today participated in a high-level roundtable with prominent Japanese industry leaders in Tokyo to explore opportunities for collaboration across the entire energy value chain. The meeting focused on how India and Japan—two leading economies of the Indo-Pacific—can jointly shape a secure, sustainable, and future-oriented energy ecosystem.
Minister Puri noted that India’s rapid economic expansion, rising energy demand, and record infrastructure growth under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, coupled with Japan’s technological expertise and innovation capability, create a natural and powerful synergy. He emphasised that this partnership is central to strengthening long-term energy security in the region.
The Minister recalled that during Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Japan earlier this year, both nations adopted the India-Japan Joint Vision for the Next Decade. Building on the significant progress toward the 2022–2026 target of JPY 5 trillion in public and private investments from Japan to India, the two countries have now set an ambitious new goal of JPY 10 trillion (~USD 68 billion) in private investment. This, he said, reflects growing strategic alignment—especially in clean energy, advanced technologies, and resilient supply chains.
Puri highlighted that India is unlocking over USD 500 billion in investment opportunities across exploration and production, LNG, city gas distribution, hydrogen, shipping, petrochemicals, and emerging fuels. With a young workforce, stable policy environment, and the momentum of Make in India for the World, the country offers compelling prospects for Japanese investors. Japan, he noted, brings world-class technology, engineering excellence, and leadership in green innovation, making the partnership inherently complementary.
He underscored that India’s policy reforms—including 100% FDI in key energy sectors, transparent bidding mechanisms, and year-round exploration licensing—have created a predictable and investor-friendly environment. India’s six major oil and gas PSUs generated USD 315 billion in revenues in FY 2024–25, accounting for nearly 8% of national GDP—positioning India as a global anchor in the energy marketplace.
India, already the world’s third-largest oil consumer, is projected to contribute nearly 30% of incremental global energy demand over the next two decades. The Minister also pointed to India’s rapidly expanding natural gas infrastructure, with an investment outlay of approximately USD 72 billion, as a major area of convergence with Japan’s technological strength—particularly in integrating natural gas with future-ready solutions such as hydrogen.
Citing the transformative Maruti-Suzuki partnership as an example of long-standing India-Japan trust, Puri said both nations are once again at a decisive moment—this time in the energy sector. Together, he said, India and Japan can co-create resilient supply chains, develop skilled talent, design world-class energy systems, and strengthen energy security for the entire Indo-Pacific.
The Minister concluded by inviting Japanese companies to take an active role in India’s evolving energy landscape and reaffirmed the Government of India’s commitment to facilitating deeper cooperation across the full energy value chain.
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