Vedanta Chairman Anil Agarwal has urged the government to designate natural resources as a national priority, warning that geopolitical volatility in regions such as Iran exposes India to substantial economic risks. In a social media post, he highlighted India’s dependence on imported hydrocarbons and precious metals and called for policy changes to strengthen domestic production.
Agarwal said India’s reliance on imported oil, LPG and LNG leaves the economy exposed to global price shocks.
“Today, 90 per cent of our oil is imported. This fuels our transport. 66 per cent of our LPG is imported. We use it in our homes to cook. Around 50 per cent of LNG is also imported,” he said. Oil and gas imports alone amount to about $130 billion annually, while gold adds another $65 billion.
Together, he said, oil, gas and gold account for nearly 30 per cent of India’s total imports, with implications for the current account deficit, the rupee and inflation.
Policy changes proposed
Agarwal called for reforms to accelerate domestic production, including exemptions from what he described as time-consuming regulatory processes, such as public hearings. He noted that similar relaxations exist for critical minerals and said they should be extended across the wider sector.
He also suggested that environmental clearances shift to a self-certification model. “Once a company commits to the Government’s rulebook, there should be no further process—only audit at a later stage,” he said. According to him, this would enable faster project execution while retaining accountability.
On state-owned natural resource assets, Agarwal proposed divesting up to 50 per cent stake to experienced private operators to improve output. He also recommended employee shareholding and said such measures should not involve retrenchment.
Employment and talent considerations
Agarwal said a stronger domestic natural resources sector would support job creation. He pointed to increasing participation of young women in the industry and suggested that experienced Indian professionals working abroad could be encouraged to return.
He argued that global geopolitical shifts make resource self-reliance essential. “The world is more unsettled and uncertain than it has been at any time in my memory. There are no permanent friends or partners in today’s geopolitics,” he said. “Self-reliance is more than a desirable aspiration. It is an immediate economic and strategic imperative.”
