Letter from India: Cost of import dependence grows

Surging demand, declining domestic output, high prices and a weakening rupee are all pushing up the country’s import bills

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi convened a meeting of oil industry stakeholders back in March 2015, nine months into his first term in office, to discuss increasing domestic hydrocarbons production and reducing import dependence from what was then 77pc to 67pc by 2022, and further to 50pc by 2030. But as we reach the first checkpoint on that journey, hitting targets on reducing his country’s reliance on non-domestic energy looks increasingly unlikely. In fact, the country’s oil imports have risen by 8.6pc since 2015, with imports accounting for 85.6pc of India’s crude demand in the April 2021-March 2022 financial year. India’s dependence on gas imports is less pronounced. But, of a consu