The Petrotech meeting is a series of conferences and exhibitions, of a biennial platform for national and international experts in the oil & gas industry to exchange views and share knowledge. Energy ministers from Russia, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar met top government officials including Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan and several Union and state chief ministers during the 2016 conference in the National Capital.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley spoke at this meet on Wednesday. Speaking about India and its economic status he said our country was counted among the fragile five just two and a half years back. This fragility was mainly due to high inflation, fiscal deficit and lack of policy directive. Jaitley also said that clarity on economic reform was what put India on the map of the global economy. Now after the Asia-pacific analysis conducted by the UN, it is being considered as a bright spot in the global economy. He also added that the reason behind this progress is, “driving economy on twin engines of higher public investment and FDI.”
He said that most of the issues concerning GST have been sorted out and the only one major issue is pending and that too is expected to be resolved in the near future. He pointed at Indian economic legacy and said “economic changes don’t happen overnight, but the road map and agenda for them can always be laid.” He also added “earlier mindset of policymakers was that just be dishing out a few favors to the affluent you can bring changes in the country’s economy. So-called seven-decade normal had to be disrupted. The Prime Minister had the broad shoulders to face consequences of the decision. The decision of this kind has pain in transition, which is regrettable but had been factored in.”
In a statement about the meeting, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, said,“India has emerged as a new engine of global growth and it stands out among the emerging economies. The story of Indian oil and gas sector is a story of interdependence, with 81% of our oil requirement and about 37% of the gas requirement being imported. India has acquired hydrocarbon assets in 25 countries.”
