India’s Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, has highlighted the emergence of many unicorn start-ups that are reshaping the country’s economy and markets. India ranks 3rd globally in terms of unicorn count and has over 100 unicorns with a combined valuation of approximately $347 billion USD.
Puri spoke at ENRich 2023, the 14th edition of the KPMG’s Innovation and Energy Conclave. Under the “Start-up India” initiative launched by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas has directed the Oil and Gas PSUs to facilitate an innovative ecosystem and promote startups in fields such as IoT in Upstream/Midstream/Downstream operations, digitalization of business processes, Green Fuels, and alternative energy.
The PSUs of Oil and Gas Sector have created startup funds aggregating to Rs.405 crore, with 232 startups funded by Oil and Gas PSUs with a disbursed value of Rs.208 crore. Successful startups include Bandicoot, a robotic scavenger developed by Genrobotic Innovations, who received grants, mentor support, and specific technical assistance from BPCL under Project Ankur. Vasitars Private Limited, a technology-based company funded by IOCL, provides complete in-situ Composite Repair Solutions to repair corroded pipelines using Patent Registered innovation Nano Filler Reinforced Polymer Composite Wrap.
The theme of the KPMG’s conclave, ‘Growing with Less’, perfectly synergizes with India’s ethos of living in harmony with its surrounding ecosystem. Puri noted that India’s energy demand will continue to provide fuel for future economic growth, as it is the world’s third largest consumer of oil, third largest LPG consumer, fourth largest LNG importer, fourth largest refiner, and fourth largest automobile market.
Puri also highlighted India’s rapid strides in biofuels, stating that India is now the 3rd largest producer and user of ethanol, with ethanol blending in petrol increasing from 1.5% in 2014 to approximately 11.70%. The country has advanced the 20% ethanol blending target to 2025-26, ahead by 5 years, and approximately 5000 fuel stations are already dispensing E20 fuel.
Puri also discussed the Global Biofuel Alliance (GBA), launched by India along with the USA and Brazil, which presents a $500 billion opportunity to expedite the uptake of biofuels globally by facilitating technology transfer. He also highlighted the importance of green hydrogen as a sustainable fuel growth opportunity, with the government’s Green Hydrogen Mission aiming to produce 5 MMTPA of green hydrogen by 2030.
