Modi meets oil honchos, stresses on need for access to energy in eastern India

New Delhi, Oct 9 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said there is a need to develop energy infrastructure and provide access to energy in eastern India, a statement from the Prime Minister's Office said here.

Modi on Monday interacted with oil and gas CEOs and experts from across the world.

The CEOs and top officials from Rosneft, BP, Reliance, Saudi Aramco, Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, Vedanta, Wood MacKenzie, IHS Markit, Schlumberger, Halliburton, Xcoal, ONGC, IndianOil, GAIL, Petronet LNG, Oil India, HPCL, Delonex Energy, NIPFP, International Gas Union, World Bank, and International Energy Agency were present at the meeting.

According to the statement, the Prime Minister said that the status of the energy sector in India was highly uneven.

He welcomed the suggestion made for a comprehensive energy policy. He stressed on the need to develop energy infrastructure and access to energy in Eastern India.

Modi also flagged the potential of biomass energy and also invited participation and joint ventures in coal gasification. He welcomed all possibilities for innovation and research in the oil and gas sector.

The Prime Minister indicated that as India moves towards a cleaner and more fuel-efficient economy, he also wants its benefits to expand horizontally to all sections of the society, and in particular to the poorest.

Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Power Minister R.K. Singh, and senior officials from NITI Aayog, Prime Minister's Office, petroleum ministry and finance ministry were also present in the meeting.

The Prime Minister said that the suggestions made at the meeting covered policy, administrative as well as regulatory issues.

Modi thanked the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and Rosneft, for their commitments and support to the energy sector in India. He also appreciated the 2030 vision document of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.