Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pressed for a rationalised and stable crude oil price to allow developing countries to maximise benefits.

In his inaugural address at Petrotech 2016 — 12th edition International Oil & Gas conference — Modi said: “Oil ministers from developing countries know the sensitivity of energy pricing,” adding that there is a need for a sustainable, stable and reasonably priced energy for economic development to reach the bottom of the pyramid.

As per estimates, India is poised to account for one-fourth of the incremental global energy demand between 2013 and 2040. Modi said that India’s economy is expected to grow five-fold by 2040 and as per estimates “India is expected to consume more oil in 2040 than the whole of Europe”.

Transport infrastructure Commenting on the increasing demand for energy, Modi said that the country’s transport infrastructure is expected to increase manifold.

“The commercial vehicle population of 13 million is projected to reach 56 million by 2040. In civil aviation, India is currently the eighth largest market in the world and set to become the world’s third largest by 2034. Growth in the aviation sector is expected to raise demand for aviation fuel four times by 2040. All this will affect energy demand," he added.

Modi said that his vision for India’s energy future has four pillars — energy access, energy efficiency, energy sustainability and energy security. He said that the government aims to extend piped natural gas to 10 million houses over the next five years and to ensure that every village in India has access to electricity by March 2018.

Commenting on the initiative to boost public transport, he said that his government has upped public capital investment in railways by more than 100 per cent between 2014-15 and 2016-17.

He said, “We are completing dedicated freight corridors. We are constructing a high speed rail corridor between Mumbai and Ahmedabad which will be more energy-efficient than air travel. We have given a big thrust to waterways, both inland and coastal. Our Sagarmala project will connect the whole of India’s long coastline. We have also opened up new inland shipping routes on large rivers. These steps will improve energy efficiency.”

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