New Delhi | The Congress on Monday alleged that the Modi government's 'Samudra Manthan' has been launched to benefit the Adani Group, and demanded that it be scrapped or the entire amount of its outlay be diverted to the public-sector energy giant ONGC to create jobs.
There was no immediate response from the government or the Adani Group on the Congress's allegations.
Congress spokesperson Shaktisinh Gohil said the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the Samudra Manthan scheme last month and approved a "massive" outlay of Rs 84,084 crore in its very first phase.
"The Narendra Modi government has designed a framework in which Adani will be doled out support under the Samudra Manthan Scheme," he alleged at a press conference here.
The 'Samudra Manthan' scheme is to facilitate Gautam Adani's Well Spun Exploration Limited, he alleged, without further elaborating.
Under the scheme, the government will provide up to 50 per cent financial support, he said.
The government admitted that it has launched this scheme to reduce exploration risk and encourage investment in the hydrocarbon sector, Gohil pointed out, and added: "What it has not clarified is that this scheme has been carved to profit Gautam Adani." Gohil claimed that the scheme was devised to singularly benefit the conglomerate.
Adani holds a 65 per cent stake in AWEL which he purchased in 2005 and the remaining 35 per cent stake is owned by Well Spun Group, he said.
"The Samudra Manthan will spell 'Amrit Kaal' for the Adani group. Under Samudra Manthan scheme, Government of India will bear 50 per cent of cost for every deep sea well drilling, 2D and 3D seismic surveys, artificial intelligence-led reprocessing of existing geological data, development of offshore infrastructure and all related business activities that Adani-led AWEL will do," he said.
The Congress leader said that oil exploration is an extremely expensive business and on an average, one deep sea well exploration alone costs more than Rs 1,100 crore.
Adani's AWEL has exploration rights in B 9 cluster, MB-OSN-2005/2 block of Mumbai Offshore Basin, Tapi Daman and Kutch. AWEL has announced that it will begin major oil and gas exploration in the next few months, Gohil said.
AWEL can now begin its business activities with funds from the Centre, and access to all government resources, including a pipeline, he said.
"Why isn't ONGC being given the primary role in this national mission? Why is Modi government damaging the interests of their own ONGC which already possesses decades of exploration expertise to benefit one private company?" the opposition party leader asked.
"We demand that the Samudra Manthan scheme should be scrapped or the entire amount of Rs 84,084 crores should be diverted to the government's own public-sector energy giant ONGC to create jobs and facilitate exploration," Gohil said.
The Union Cabinet has approved 'Samudra Manthan' – the National Offshore Exploration Scheme, a Central Sector Scheme of the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas with an approved outlay of Rs 84,084 crore for implementation up to FY 2030–31.
"The Scheme translates the Prime Minister's vision, articulated from the Red Fort on Independence Day 2025, of a modern-day Samudra Manthan to unlock India's vast offshore energy potential," an official statement said.
The government said the scheme marks a "landmark step" towards strengthening India's energy security, accelerating domestic exploration and production, promoting technological leadership, and advancing the vision of Viksit Bharat.
