Country profile: India

Location:

Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan

Climate:

varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north

Terrain:

upland plain (Deccan Plateau) in south, flat to rolling plain along the Ganges, deserts in west, Himalayas in north

Size:

3287590 sq. km total (Land area: 2973190 sq. km Water area: 314400 sq.km)

Population:

1,147,995,898 (July 2008 est.)

Languages:

English enjoys associate status but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication; Hindi is the national language and primary tongue of 30% of the people and there are 21 other official languages.

Government:

federal republic

Capital city:

New Delhi

Legal system:

based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; separate personal law codes apply to Muslims, Christians, and Hindus

Currency:

Indian rupee (INR)

Licensing:

Country profile

The Indian economy continues to show impressive economic growth. The country’s real gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an impressive rate of 9.1 percent during the first half of fiscal 2006 (April – September 2006), after growing by 8.7 percent in fiscal 2005. Together with the country’s impressive growth, India has also become a significant consumer of energy resources.

According to EIA estimates, India was the fifth largest consumer of oil in the world during 2006.

Aryan tribes from the northwest infiltrated onto the Indian subcontinent about 1500 B.C.; their merger with the earlier Dravidian inhabitants created the classical Indian culture. The Maurya Empire of the 4th and 3rd centuries B.C. - which reached its zenith under ASHOKA - united much of South Asia. The Golden Age ushered in by the Gupta dynasty (4th to 6th centuries A.D.) saw a flowering of Indian science, art, and culture. Arab incursions starting in the 8th century and Turkic in the 12th were followed by those of European traders, beginning in the late 15th century. By the 19th century, Britain had assumed political control of virtually all Indian lands. Indian armed forces in the British army played a vital role in both World Wars.

Nonviolent resistance to British colonialism led by Mohandas GANDHI and Jawaharlal NEHRU brought independence in 1947. The subcontinent was divided into the secular state of India and the smaller Muslim state of Pakistan. A third war between the two countries in 1971 resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh. India's nuclear weapons testing in 1998 caused Pakistan to conduct its own tests that same year.

The dispute between the countries over the state of Kashmir is ongoing, but discussions and confidence-building measures have led to decreased tensions since 2002. Despite impressive gains in economic investment and output, India faces pressing problems such as significant overpopulation, environmental degradation, extensive poverty, and ethnic and religious strife.

Energy production and consumption

Oil

Gas

Production:

834,600 bbl/day (2005 est.)

28 billion cu m (2005 est.)

Consumption:

2 million bbl/day (2005 est.)

34 billion cu m (2005 est.)

Exports:

350,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Imports:

2 million bbl/day (2005 est.)

5 billion cu m (2005 est.)

Reserves:

5 billion bbl (2007 est.)

1 trillion cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

Major fields:

India - recent news

24 Jun 24	India: ONGC and Indian Oil forge strategic partnership to establish LNG plant near Hatta gas field ONGC and IndianOil Corporation Limited (IOCL) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish a small-scale Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plant near the Hatta Gas Field in the Vindhyan Basin. The establishment of the Hatta LNG plant will significantly enhance the Vindhyan Basin's status, upgrading it from a Category II to a Category I Basin.
17 Jun 24	India: L&T wins 'large' offshore order from ONGC Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has secured an order from the Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) for Daman Upside Development Project-Wellhead Platforms & Pipelines (DUDP-WP), off India’s west coast.
21 May 24	Nel Hydrogen Electrolyser signs licensing agreement with Reliance Nel Hydrogen Electrolyser, a fully owned subsidiary of Nel ASA, has entered into a technology licensing agreement with Reliance Industries Limited (RIL). The agreement provides RIL with an exclusive license for Nel’s alkaline electrolysers in India and also allows RIL to manufacture Nel’s alkaline electrolysers for captive purposes globally.
20 May 24	India: CoolCo enters into a long-term charter with GAIL (India) for Newbuild LNG carrier Cool Company has entered into a 14-year Time Charter Party with GAIL (India) for one of the Company’s two newbuild LNG carriers currently under construction. CoolCo will deliver the Newbuild to GAIL in the Gulf of Mexico, with the 14-year time charter commencing in early 2025.
18 Mar 24	India: Blackford Dolphin secures drilling contract from Oil India Dolphin Drilling has announced the award of a USD 154 million drilling contract from Oil India. Dolphin Drilling will deploy the Blackford Dolphin semisub drilling rig to support Oil India's exploration and development activities, with operations planned to commence in the second half of 2024. The contract duration spans a firm three wells drilling campaign over 14 months.