Build an Energy-Secure and Resilient India

India’s economy depends heavily on energy imported from other countries.

Crude-oil import dependence was about 88% in 2024-25, while natural-gas import dependence has also remained substantial.

This exposes India to risks it cannot control: wars, sanctions, shipping disruptions, political instability, sudden price increases and interruptions through critical maritime routes.

The vulnerability is also changing.

As India expands renewable energy, batteries, electric vehicles, electronics and advanced manufacturing, dependence can shift from imported oil toward imported lithium, cobalt, nickel, rare earths, battery components and other critical materials.

Energy security therefore cannot mean simply replacing one foreign dependency with another.

Nor does energy independence mean India must produce everything itself. International trade provides access to cheaper resources and diversified supplies.

The objective should be strategic resilience:

No Single Fuel → No Single Country → No Single Route → No Single Technology → No Single Point of Failure

India should build an energy system capable of continuing to operate through wars, supply disruptions, natural disasters, and international crises.

Diversify Every Major Energy Supply

India should avoid excessive dependence on any single country or region for crude oil, natural gas, nuclear fuel, or critical minerals.

India has already expanded its crude sourcing significantly—from 27 countries to about 40 by 2025.

That principle should become a permanent national strategy.

Multiple Suppliers → Multiple Routes → Multiple Fuels → Greater Resilience

Long-term contracts can provide stability, while flexible purchasing preserves the ability to respond when global conditions change.

Produce More Energy at Home—Where Economically Competitive

India should make it easier for private companies to explore, develop, and produce domestic oil, natural gas, and other energy resources where economically and environmentally viable.

But energy security should not become an excuse for producing expensive domestic energy regardless of cost.

Domestic solar, wind, hydro, nuclear, bioenergy, oil and gas should compete as part of a diversified energy system.

The government’s role should primarily be to establish predictable licensing, environmental and safety standards, and competitive markets.

Private capital should undertake commercially viable exploration, production and infrastructure investment.

Maintain Strategic Reserves

Some energy security cannot be left entirely to normal commercial inventories.

India currently has 5.33 million tonnes of dedicated strategic crude-oil storage, with additional commercial-cum-strategic capacity being developed at Padur and Chandikhol.

India should progressively build emergency reserves appropriate to the scale of its economy, covering critical fuels and other materials whose sudden interruption could seriously damage the country.

Strategic reserves should complement—not replace—commercial inventories maintained by energy companies.

Clear rules should determine when reserves can be released and how they are replenished.

Secure Critical Minerals and Nuclear Fuel

Energy security increasingly depends on materials as much as fuels.

India should diversify international sources of lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper, graphite, rare earths, uranium and other strategically important materials while expanding commercially viable domestic exploration, mining, processing and recycling.

India’s National Critical Mineral Mission already aims to expand exploration, mining, overseas sourcing, recycling and processing.

Private companies should be encouraged to build mines, processing facilities, recycling businesses and international supply partnerships rather than making government the default producer.

Nuclear fuel requires particular long-term planning. India has limited uranium resources but substantial thorium resources, which is one reason its three-stage nuclear programme is designed ultimately to make greater use of domestic resources.

Until then, uranium supplies should remain diversified and adequately secured.

Build Resilience into the Energy Network

Energy security also means surviving failures inside India.

Electricity grids, pipelines, fuel terminals, refineries and storage facilities should be designed so the failure of one facility or region does not interrupt large parts of the economy.

Critical infrastructure should have alternative routes, backup systems, cybersecurity protection and emergency operating plans.

Hospitals, communications networks, water systems, defence installations and other essential services should have resilient backup power.

Regular national stress tests should simulate:

War | Fuel Disruption | Cyberattack | Grid Failure | Natural Disaster | Major Supply-Route Closure

Identify weaknesses before an actual emergency exposes them.

Make Private Industry Part of National Energy Security

The government does not need to own every company to secure India’s energy supply.

Private companies can explore for resources, build storage, operate terminals, invest overseas, recycle critical minerals, and develop alternative technologies.

Government’s role should be:

Identify Strategic Risks → Establish Rules → Maintain Essential Reserves → Diversify International Relationships → Regulate Critical Infrastructure

Private industry should:

Invest → Produce → Import → Store → Innovate → Compete

Capital markets can finance commercially viable energy-security investments, reducing dependence on taxpayer funding.

The stronger India’s domestic energy companies, technology manufacturers and supply chains become, the more resilient the country becomes.

Japan provides an important example of energy security without energy self-sufficiency.

Japan has limited domestic fossil-fuel resources and remains heavily dependent on imported energy. Instead of assuming that security requires producing everything domestically, it has built resilience through diversified suppliers, strategic petroleum reserves, long-term supply relationships, energy efficiency, and multiple energy sources.

The broader international standard follows the same logic. IEA member countries must maintain emergency oil stocks equivalent to at least 90 days of net imports, providing a buffer against major international supply disruptions.

India’s experience during recent Middle East disruptions also demonstrates the value of diversification. In March 2026, the government reported that alternative crude sourcing, refinery inventories, and diversified procurement helped maintain domestic fuel supplies despite disruptions affecting the region.

India should build on that approach rather than pursue isolation from world energy markets.

The objective is not:

Import Nothing.

It is:

Never Depend Too Much on Anyone.

The long-term strategy should be:

Diversify Imports → Expand Competitive Domestic Production → Secure Critical Minerals → Maintain Strategic Reserves → Build Resilient Networks → Prepare for Disruption

A country as large as India will always participate in global energy markets.

True energy independence is not producing everything at home. It is having enough choices that no one else can determine whether India’s economy keeps running.