Cabinet Approves ₹84,084 Crore Samudra Manthan Offshore Energy Scheme

The Union Cabinet approved the ₹84,084-crore Samudra Manthan scheme to fund deepsea oil and gas exploration, covering up to 50% of drilling costs or ₹650 crore per well.

The five-year plan aims to fund 60 deepwater and ultra-deepwater exploration wells by 2031 to reduce India's dependence on imported crude and gas by 3-5%.

Allocations include ₹43,200 crore for deepsea drilling, ₹28,534 crore for seismic data acquisition, and ₹10,000 crore for common infrastructure like subsea pipelines.