Modi invites Saudi investment, says India to spend $100 bn on energy infra

India will invest $100 billion in oil and gas infrastructure to meet energy needs of an economy that is being targeted to nearly double in five years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday as he sought investment from oil kingpin Saudi Arabia and other nations to boost supplies.

Speaking at Saudi Arabia’s annual investment forum, also known as “Davos in the desert”, Modi promised a stable, predictable and transparent policy regime to catalyse foreign investments.

“India is investing heavily in oil and gas infrastructure,” he said adding as much as $100 billion will be spent by 2024.

The world’s third-largest energy consumer is 83 per cent dependent on imports to meet its oil needs and about half its gas needs are shipped from abroad. Its per capita energy consumption is a fraction of the global average and it is now investing heavily in physical infrastructure as well as city distribution to boost availability in a growing economy.

Saudi Arabia is India's second-largest supplier of crude oil and New Delhi is keen to expand this partnership beyond the buyer-seller relationship into a strategic one with cross investments. Modi highlighted the recent opening of the fuel retailing sector for non-oil companies to lure investment in the world's fastest-growing consumption centre.