India can meet 80% of energy needs domestically over next decade: Mukesh Ambani

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• India could meet 80 percent of energy needs domestically in next decade
• Heavy investment and tech breakthroughs to drive energy self-sufficiency
• Ambani urges scaling tech infrastructure and embracing AI for growth

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India could meet nearly 80 per cent of its energy requirements domestically over the next decade, driven by heavy investment in the energy sector and physical infrastructure using “today’s technology", Reliance Industries chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani said on February 4 at a JioBlackRock event in Mumbai.

India stands as the third-largest consumer of crude oil after the United States and China and currently meets over 80 percent of its energy needs through imports, which makes it vulnerable to global uncertainties as has been seen in recent times. The government has been pushing for renewable energy, with a target to reach 500 giga watt of clean power by 2030,  to reduce the import bill, emissions and also make India self-reliant.

In a fireside chat, alongside BlackRock Chairman and CEO Larry Fink, Ambani said India has already emerged as one of the world’s leading renewable power producers and that further investments in physical infrastructure would be critical. “In the next decade, India will not import 80 per cent of its energy, we have a path  and with technological breakthroughs, we will be reasonably self sufficient in energy,” he said.

"Investments in the physical infrastructure, that we still need, have the opportunity to build with today's technology.  The physical infrastructure for 1.4 billion... we've  done a lot, but there's a lot more to do," Ambani added.

He also stressed on scaling the technological infrastructure.

"We are not going to be behind the world in terms of building country scale intelligence infrastructure, so that every village has intelligence available to them," Ambani said.

Ambani said India’s economy is entering a phase of visible, sustainable growth, driven by policy continuity and fiscal conservatism, and added that a booming startup ecosystem could give rise to “100 new Reliances” in the coming years.

Ambani also highlighted the need to channel India’s household savings more productively. He pointed out that India imported $60 billion worth of gold and $10–15 billion of silver in the past year, largely as a store of savings.  He also touched on technology adoption, including artificial intelligence, saying India must embrace emerging technologies across education, healthcare and digital infrastructure to sustain long-term growth.