As domestic output rises, LNG imports to drop 45%
Mumbai: With increasing local production, the import dependency of natural gas in general and LNG in particular, is likely to come down to 45 per cent by FY26, says a report. According to a Care Ratings analysis, with the rise in domestic natural gas production, the dependency on imported LNG (liquefied natural gas), which stood at 53 per cent in FY21.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked all the ministries under the 10 Sectoral Groups of Secretaries (SGoS) to create a postelection fiveyear plan as well as a 100day programme. He wants the first draft prepared and ready for approval by the Cabinet Secretary by May 1.
The PM is said to have asked the Finance Ministry to ensure a “paradigm shift” in Budget 202425 — to embed the first steps for achieving the vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has been asked to hold seminars with industry chambers like CII and FICCI, the sources said.
100-DAY PLAN
This assumes significance since a similar exercise was launched in 2019 in the third week of June, after the new government was formed, whereas this time the first 100day action plan is expected to kick in immediately and completed by around September 10.
According to the PM’s instructions, shared by NITI Aayog with different ministries, all departments must complete the roadmap preparation by March 25 and the convenor of each SGoS should complete the consolidation and integration of the departmental roadmaps into a thematic sectoral roadmap by April 5.
Further, the Cabinet Secretary has been asked to review the presentations of each of the 10 SGoS between April 8 and April 15. “Building Block Secretaries will complete the consolidation by April 25 and the first draft should be ready by June 1,” an official source said. NITI Aayog has also been asked to prepare for its governing council meeting in June itself, after the new government sworn in,” a source said.
The PM has asked the Education Ministry to include “questions on Viksit Bharat” in school and college examinations as well as to hold discussions by universities on all areas connected with Viksit Bharat.
IGOT
The Department of Personnel and Training, too, has been asked to add the Viksit Bharat theme to the syllabus and exams conducted by Integrated Government Online Training (iGOT).
The Department of Science and Technology has been asked to identify 510 priority areas for frontier technologies for the utilisation of the ₹1lakhcrore corpus fund announced in the interim Budget for 202425.
The fiveyear action plan must mention the challenges in all the schemes and incorporate the most challenging tasks rather than easytoachieve ones, the sources said. This is a departure from past schemes such as the irrigation projects or 100 per cent rural electrification, which were seen as lowhanging fruits.