003-Apr 23, 2025: Mission Anveshan: Mapping India’s Hidden Energies
Hero Post 003 | April 23, 2025
Mission Anveshan: Mapping India’s Hidden Energies
📅 Context
The Central Government is considering extending Mission Anveshan beyond its original end date. Launched in fiscal year 2025, the initiative aims to incentivize seismic surveys for discovering new oil and gas reserves, bolstering India’s energy security.
🔍 Focus
The programme encourages state-owned companies like ONGC and Oil India Ltd to undertake seismic data acquisition, processing, and interpretation in major sedimentary basins.
📊 Key Themes
- Enhancing India’s energy security
- Seismic surveys (2D and evolving 3D techniques)
- Hydrocarbon reserve mapping
📊 Budget and Duration
- Total allocation: ₹720 crore
- Duration: FY 2025–2026 (with potential extension to FY 2027)
- Target: 20,275 line-kilometres of 2D seismic surveys
🌍 Key Basins Covered
- Ganga-Punjab
- Rajasthan
- Saurashtra
- Deccan Syncline
- Cuddapah
- Krishna-Godavari
- Chhattisgarh
⚡ Technological Advancements
While initial surveys rely on 2D seismic techniques, the government is pushing for more sophisticated 3D seismic surveys to achieve greater accuracy in exploration.
📈 Current Progress and Challenges
- Oil India: Significant progress in Rajasthan and Ganga-Punjab basins (1,683 line-kilometres completed)
- ONGC: Delays due to legal hurdles; experimental surveys ongoing in Cuddapah
🌐 Strategic Significance
India imports around 85% of its energy requirements. Mission Anveshan plays a crucial role in reducing external dependency by expanding domestic production capabilities.
📚 Future Outlook
India is expected to account for 25% of the world’s incremental energy demand growth. Unlocking an estimated 42 billion tonnes of oil and gas equivalent is key to securing India’s future energy needs.
🧭 GS Paper Mapping
| Paper | Area |
|---|---|
| GS Paper 3 | Energy Resources, Energy Security, Hydrocarbon Exploration, Infrastructure |
🌟 Reflection
Mapping unseen energies is not merely a technical endeavor—it is a quiet revolution that seeks to illuminate the unseen reservoirs sustaining tomorrow’s India.
