The oil production from India’s North East region (NER) is expected to grow by 67 per cent to 6.85 million tonnes (MT) and will play a crucial role in the industrial development in the mountainous region, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoPNG) Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Monday. He was speaking at the North-East Zonal Conference for PM GatiShakti (PMGS) in Guwahati. Besides MoPNG’s Minister of State Rameswar Teli and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the event was attended by ministers and top officials from the north eastern states. “Puri said that the petroleum sector will play a crucial role in the North East region’s industrial growth. He said that oil production from NER is expected to increase by 67% from 4.11 MT in 2020-21 to 6.85 MT in the next 4 years. Puri added that area under exploration in the region is going to double in near future, with crude production expected to go up by 45 per cent in 4 years, and gas production by about 90 per cent in the same period,” MoPNG said in a statement.

GatiShakti’s vision

Earlier, the dignitaries attended a webinar on GatiShakti’s vision and its convergence with Union Budget 2022, addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Emphasising on the robust and efficient logistics infrastructure, the Prime Minister said, “Even today, the logistic cost in India is considered to be 13 to 14 per cent of GDP. This is more than other countries. PM Gati-Shakti has a huge role in improving infrastructure efficiency”. 

Unified Logistic Interface Platform

Modi talked about Unified Logistic Interface Platform (ULIP) provided in the budget, being adapted by various government departments, leading to reduced logistics cost. “24 Digital Systems of 6 Ministries are being integrated through ULIP. This will create a National Single Window Logistics Portal which will help in reducing the logistics cost”, he added. Puri said PM Gati Shakti is a remarkable initiative, as it aims to drive down logistics costs by streamlining and integrating infrastructure projects of various Central and State governments. Through this, major projects across sectors like petroleum, railways, highways, utilities etc will share a unified vision for accelerated and efficient execution. “We will be able to bring synergies between multi-modal transportation, logistics & supply chain, urban development, ports and utilities & services to bring about a transformation in both Ease of Living and Ease of Doing Business. Indian goods and services will move on an express lane and Indian industry will be able to match the export capabilities of manufacturing hubs like China, Taiwan and South Korea,” he noted.  PM GatiShakti will ensure multimodal connectivity. For instance, fresh fruits grown in North East will swiftly cater to consuming markets in the Gulf, the minister said.

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