NEW DELHI, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Prime Minister Manmohan Singh marked the Tuesday inauguration of an interstate gas pipeline with an invitation to investors to join the Indian energy sector.
Singh dedicated the 620-mile Dabhol-Bangaluru pipeline, which connects southern India to the national natural gas grid for the first time. It took Gas Authority of India Ltd. nearly two years to complete construction on the pipeline, which has a design capacity of 560 million cubic feet of natural gas per day.
The prime minister said the dedication ceremony marked a sea change in the Indian energy sector. He said in a statement published by GAIL India needs to increase its energy supply by "three to four times within the next two decades." India itself, however, only accounts for 2.5 percent of the world's total energy production.
"To bridge this gap between supply and demand, we are encouraging domestic and global companies to explore our onshore and offshore regions," he said. "I take this opportunity to assure investors of our government's commitment to providing a stable and enabling policy environment for exploration of new sources of energy."
