Mumbai: Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, said on Wednesday that India’s rapid economic growth is closely connected to the progress of its energy and shipping sectors, which together serve as strong pillars of national development.

Addressing a conference at the ‘India Maritime Week 2025’ here, the minister said that India’s economy is growing fast, with the GDP now around $4.3 trillion. Nearly half of this comes from the external sector, which includes exports, imports, and remittances. This shows how important trade — and therefore shipping — is for India’s economic progress.

Speaking about the energy sector, Puri said India currently consumes about 5.6 million barrels of crude oil per day, compared to 5 million barrels four and a half years ago. At the present

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