India just greenlit an ₹84,084 crore bet on its own ocean floor.
The Union Cabinet approved Samudra Manthan — the National Offshore Exploration Scheme — to hunt for oil and gas buried deep under India's seas, all the way through FY2031.
The name isn't random.
Samudra Manthan is the ancient tale of gods and demons churning the ocean for nectar.
This time, the prize isn't immortality.
It's crude.
India imports roughly 85% of the crude oil it consumes.
That's a massive vulnerability every time global oil prices spike.
Deepwater drilling could change that — but it's brutally expensive:
So companies have historically shied away.
Samudra Manthan is India's way of saying: we'll share the risk.
The scheme is expected to reimburse a big chunk of exploration costs — earlier drafts floated up to 50% of exploratory well costs, plus support for 3D seismic surveys.
The target?
👉 Add over 600 million metric tons of oil equivalent to India's reserves.
👉 Cut import dependence.
👉 Create industrial jobs onshore and offshore.
Work has already started — ONGC spudded its first deepwater well under this umbrella in the Mahanadi basin just weeks ago.
Meanwhile, 18 deepwater and ultra-deepwater blocks are up for auction under the Open Acreage Licensing Programme, with bids due September 17.
This wasn't the only big move Friday.
The same Cabinet meeting also extended PM-KISAN, launched the PM Surya Sarovar Yojana for floating solar, and revamped Khelo India.
But Samudra Manthan stands out for its ambition.
It's India betting big money upfront, hoping the ocean gives up its oil the way mythology promised nectar.
This time, though, it's global energy majors doing the churning — and India is footing half the bill to make sure they show up.
That's all for now!
