Explained: Why 'atmanirbharta' flows against oil security for India

Instead of relying on negligible domestic deposits, India should be securing steady supplies from abroad

Last week, Indian Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan ticked off Saudi Arabian energy minister Abdulaziz Bin Salman for an “undiplomatic” comment on oil prices. Pradhan had said last month that international crude oil prices were running too high to which the Saudi minister had tartly advised him to dip into the strategic oil reserves India had bought at about $19 a barrel last year.

It was a barb no doubt. India’s strategic reserves, run by Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserve Limited, have a combined capacity to meet just about 21 days of requirement for the economy. But it was a wakeup call