New Delhi: The Union Cabinet Friday approved a Rs 84,084 crore outlay for Samudra Manthan, the Centre’s flagship offshore oil and gas exploration programme, giving financial backing to a project Prime Minister Narendra Modi first announced during his Independence Day address on 15 August 2025.
The scheme, which will be implemented till FY2030-31, is among the government’s biggest investments in India’s upstream petroleum sector. It aims to accelerate exploration in India’s offshore waters, increase domestic production of oil and gas, and strengthen the country’s long-term energy security by reducing dependence on imports.Addressing reporters after the Cabinet meeting, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw described Samudra Manthan as “a very ambitious programme” for oil and gas exploration and production, saying India has “significant reserves of hydrocarbons, including oil and natural gas” within its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
He said the programme has been designed to systematically explore these resources and subsequently bring them into production so that India can substantially increase its domestic output.What is Samudra Manthan?
Samudra Manthan is a central sector scheme of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas aimed at unlocking India’s offshore hydrocarbon resources through large-scale public investment.The programme not only focuses on drilling but covers the entire offshore exploration value chain. It includes fresh seismic surveys to map potential oil and gas reserves beneath the seabed, accelerated drilling in deepwater and ultra-deepwater regions, scientific drilling in frontier basins, and the development of common offshore infrastructure needed to produce and transport hydrocarbons.It also provides for the creation of an integrated oil and gas manufacturing and services zone, besides investments in technology adoption, digital programme management, skill development and international collaboration to strengthen India’s offshore exploration ecosystem.Offshore exploration, particularly in deepwater and ultra-deepwater areas, is expensive and technologically challenging, with no guarantee of commercial discoveries. The government hopes that through this funding, it can reduce exploration risks and encourage faster development of offshore resources.According to the government, the programme is expected to help add more than 600 million metric tonnes of oil equivalent (MMTOE) to India’s hydrocarbon reserves over time. It also aims to increase domestic oil and gas production, create employment, strengthen indigenous manufacturing and attract investments across the exploration and production value chain.“The approval of Samudra Manthan is a positive step for India’s upstream sector as it addresses some of the biggest hurdles in offshore exploration, particularly the lack of high-quality seismic data and the high cost of drilling deepwater and ultra-deepwater wells,” Prashant Vasisht, senior vice president and co-group head at ICRA told ThePrint.
