Mangaluru: Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri on Saturday said India’s energy security will fuel the country’s bid to become a USD 4 trillion economy much earlier than the projected 2027.

Puri was addressing a session at the 7th Mangaluru Literary Festival on Saturday.

He said the International Monetary Fund has projected India to reach there by 2027. “But if the present trajectory continues, India will arrive there much before that,” Puri said.

The seventh edition of the festival was inaugurated by legendary Kannada writer S L Bhyrappa at the T M A Pai Auditorium.

Following the inauguration, Puri delivered his key note address on India’s energy security.

According to Puri, there is no shortage of fossil fuel in the world. He said a few oil-producing and exporting countries project the fossil fuels as “short-lived resources” for their own “cartelising motives”.

He also said India has ramped up its refinery capacity from 5 million barrels of crude to 5.4 million barrels per day with a scope for increasing the installed capacity to 6-7 million barrels per day shortly.

“Our oil diplomacy is also on a high note. Along with traditional markets in the Middle East, India now imports from the US and Surinam apart from Russia. Despite the OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) cutting down their production from 1.2 million barrels to 97 million, India’s oil imports have remained steady, which is a great achievement in the geopolitical positioning of India,” Puri added.

Substantiating the “fuel abundance scenario,” Puri said the US will pump 13 million barrels into the oil market.

“However, for Indian consumers, challenges like availability and affordability are the worrisome ones,” Puri added.

The Union Minister also said the green energy source development and usage has also begun fuelling growth in many sectors.

“The green hydrogen pump storage has been increased to 5 million metric tonnes, which is an underrated statement at this point as the installed capacity to produce and store green hydrogen was much more than that,” he added.

Earlier, during his inaugural address, writer Bhyrappa recalled his first participation in the Mangaluru Literary Festival in 2017 and lauded Dakshina Kannada’s role in setting an example for the nation, particularly in education.

He also commended the festival organisers for inviting achievers from across the country and fostering discussions on diverse topics.

The two-day festival features a series of panel discussions and interactions with eminent personalities, including writers.