Key Facts

The Union Petroleum Ministry has issued detailed guidelines for the National Deep Water Exploration Mission, called Samudra Manthan, India's largest offshore oil and gas exploration programme. The Union Cabinet has approved an outlay of about ₹84,000 crore for the mission, which will run till 2030-31 and aims to explore deepwater and ultra-deepwater areas, including basins off the Godavari, Cauvery and Mahanadi, using AI-based 2D and 3D seismic surveys. It plans four stratigraphic wells and 56 exploration wells, and support for production and service zones and indigenous deep-sea equipment under Make in India. India spends about ₹14 lakh crore a year on hydrocarbon imports and is the world's third-largest crude oil consumer; the mission hopes to cut import bills by up to about ₹1 lakh crore a year. The article warns of fisheries and ecological concerns, citing Brazil and Norway, and of public resistance in southern India.

GK Context

Offshore blocks are classed as shallow water (up to 400 m depth), deepwater (400 to 1,500 m) and ultra-deepwater (beyond 1,500 m). Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the National Deepwater Exploration Mission in his Independence Day speech in 2025. India imports the bulk of its crude oil, and ONGC, Vedanta, Reliance and BP are among companies active in its offshore basins. Major sedimentary basins include Krishna-Godavari, Cauvery, Mahanadi and Mumbai Offshore.