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Anil Agarwal, Chairman, Vedanta, called for a national mission to unlock India’s below-the-ground potential through entrepreneurship, privatisation, exploration and trust-based governance. Speaking at an event, he highlighted India’s strong geology, entrepreneurial talent and advanced technology needed to achieve large-scale natural resource self-reliance.

Drawing parallels with India’s Green Revolution, Agarwal mentioned that the country must now create a similar movement around minerals, metals, oil and gas to reduce import dependence and generate employment. Calling it a “Green Revolution for below-the-ground”, he noted that nearly 50% of India’s imports are linked to below-the-ground resources, despite India possessing some of the world’s richest geological reserves. Also, policy support, faster approvals, exploration-led growth and greater trust in entrepreneurs can significantly increase domestic production across sectors such as oil & gas, copper, aluminium, gold, zinc, nickel and critical minerals. He stated that India has the capability to emerge as an energy-surplus and manufacturing-driven nation.

“India should not send its hard-earned money abroad to create jobs in other countries”

Highlighting Vedanta’s experience in transforming Hindustan Zinc and Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (BALCO), Agarwal said entrepreneurship, technology and operational freedom helped in unlocking the large-scale production while creating large employment and downstream industrial ecosystems. India’s zinc production increased from nearly 1.4 lakh tonnes to around 30 lakh tonnes, while aluminium production at BALCO scaled from 1 lakh tonne and is now targeted to reach 60 lakh tonnes. “Whenever the government has trusted entrepreneurs, they have delivered world-class outcomes”, he said. Further added that these transformations were achieved using the same assets and workforce, highlighting the impact of investment, innovation and trust in entrepreneurship.

“Today, if India earns 100 rupees, nearly 50 rupees go abroad to import resources. Trust entrepreneurs, whenever the government has trusted entrepreneurs, they have delivered world-class outcomes. Exploration, exploration, exploration is what India needs. We have the geology, young people, technology and capability to become an energy-surplus and manufacturing-driven nation.”, he mentioned while addressing the session.

He further highlighted the growing role of women in Vedanta’s workforce, noting that women today constitute nearly 30% of the company’s employee base across businesses. He mentioned that women professionals have consistently demonstrated strong leadership capabilities and emphasised that increasing participation of women in manufacturing and natural resources sectors will be critical to India’s long-term growth journey.