Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday warned that the weaponisation of resources and strategic sea routes by some countries posed risks to India’s economic security, calling for greater self-reliance in energy to reduce the country’s vulnerability to overseas supplies.
Track Independence Day celebrations live updates here The narrow waterway between Iran and Oman handled about 20 million barrels per day of oil and petroleum products in 2025, equivalent to roughly a quarter of global seaborne oil trade, according to the International Energy Agency. It also carried almost 20 per cent of global LNG trade, leaving major Asian importers particularly exposed to any prolonged disruption.
Addressing the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on India’s 80th Independence Day , Modi said India needed to strengthen domestic capacity in critical areas, including energy and minerals, as geopolitical tensions increasingly exposed the risks of dependence on external sources. Without naming any country, Modi said resources ranging from fuel and medicines to technology were increasingly being used as instruments of geopolitical pressure, while strategic geographical routes were also being weaponised. Modi said the geopolitical conflicts have underscored the importance of becoming self-reliant in energy.
The programme will support seismic surveys, exploratory drilling and shared offshore infrastructure, with the government seeking to attract greater investment and technology into India’s offshore basins. The move is intended to unlock domestic hydrocarbon resources and reduce India’s exposure to global energy-price and supply shocks. He said the government has also opened up 99 per cent of India’s sedimentary basins for oil and gas exploration and production, expanding access to areas that were previously largely off-limits to commercial exploration. The Prime Minister went on to list achievements of his government in the last 12 years – expansion of piped cooking gas coverage from 70 cities to 700 cities, with the fuel – an alternate to LPG which is largely imported from the Middle East – now being supplied to 1.75 crore households as against 22 lakh in 2014.
Earlier reporting noted: Spatadhara – Seven streams of India’s ” shakti ” (energy). He termed them ” Saptadhara “. Earlier reporting noted: Calling on Indians to work to leverage these seven streams, Prime Minister said that these streams will make India Aatmanirbhar (self reliant) and developed. Earlier reporting noted: Listing out the seven streams, PM Modi said manufacturing, farmers, technology, gati shakti, raksha shakti, green energy, and soft power are India’s Saptadhara .
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his Independence Day speech on Saturday defined seven streams that are India’s stength and will power India’s next level of growth. “Today, from the ramparts of the Red Fort, I call upon the nation to embrace ‘ Shakti Ki Saptadhara ‘.
