"The country, in spite of having abundant reserves of oil & gas, bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper and gold is still spending billions of dollars on imports. In fact, our annual import bill today is close to USD 500 billion.
"Thus, it is time that we explore, produce and utilise our natural resources optimally in the most sustainable and environment-friendly manner," the Vedanta Group Chairman said.
"We expect the new Government to put clear reforms and forward-looking policies at the top of their agenda, to open up and harness this sector's potential to contribute and strongly impact the GDP growth of the country," he added.