India to Drive 35 Percent of Global Energy Demand Growth Over Next Two Decades: Puri at IEW 2026
India will account for up to 35 percent of global energy demand growth over the next two decades, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said during his keynote address at the India Energy Week 2026 in Goa. He also outlined India’s push across biofuels, green hydrogen, CBG, CNG and LNG, while stressing the continued role of oil and gas.
January 28, 2026. By Mrinmoy Dey
Puri noted that the energy sector sits “at the crux” of ongoing global turmoil but continues to demonstrate the ability of producers, consumers and technology providers to “come together and in a reasonable, predictable way chart their ways through the challenges that we are facing.”
He said that the global energy transition must be anchored in realism, sustained investment and cooperation, stressing that the history of energy has “never been about replacement alone, it has been about addition.”
Puri highlighted the growing scale and global relevance of the event. “We are hosting over 75,000 energy professionals in this edition. This is a 35 percent growth over the 2024 edition,” he said, adding that IEW 2026 features more than 700 exhibiting companies, 10 country pavilions, 11 thematic zones and delegates from over 120 countries. The event will also host over 550 global speakers across more than 110 strategic and technical sessions.
He further added that the strategic conference is supported by a range of side events, including the India–Arab Energy Dialogue, the Conference on Compressed Biogas, startup challenges such as Avinya 3.0 and Vasudha 3.0, and dedicated hackathons, expanding engagement across innovation, collaboration and knowledge sharing.
Puri asserted that the theme of IEW 2026 – Energising Growth, Securing Economies and Enriching Lives – was “both appropriate and timely,” particularly as pressures on the global energy system have intensified due to geopolitical shifts and structural changes.
“Nearly 80 percent of incremental global energy demand comes from emerging and developing economies, with close to 60 percent originating in developing Asia,” he said, noting that rising access to mobility, cooling and digital services would further increase demand “both in scale and complexity.” At the same time, he pointed to persistent energy access challenges, with around 730 million people globally still without electricity and nearly two billion relying on harmful cooking methods.
Puri outlined India’s diversification across biofuels, green hydrogen, compressed biogas, CNG and LNG, while underscoring the continued importance of oil and gas.
“If investment in existing oil and gas production were to stop today, global oil output would decline by around 8 percent annually over the next decade,” he warned, calling this “the defining reality of the global energy transition.”
Puri reiterated India’s long-standing energy trilemma of availability, affordability and sustainability, asserting that energy availability has remained uninterrupted across the country. “Nowhere in the last five years… has any part of India ever felt that there has been a lack of availability of energy,” he said.
On affordability, he pointed to India’s LPG expansion, with household connections rising from 14 crore in 2014 to 33 crore today. Under the Ujjwala scheme, clean cooking gas costs beneficiaries “barely INR 5- 6 a day,” while non-beneficiaries pay “only INR 12- 13 a day.” “We are very much within the affordable band of every household,” he said.
The minister also highlighted policy reforms to boost domestic exploration and investment, including the opening up of one million square kilometres of previously restricted sedimentary basin area and the launch of the 10th Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) bidding round, alongside coal-bed methane and discovered small field rounds.
“I can assure you that as we move ahead, we will continue to reform,” Puri said, adding that India remains open for global investment and participation in energy activities “to scale, and make for the world.”
Beyond energy, Puri noted India’s emergence as a hub for global capability centres, with over 1,700 GCCs currently operating and sector revenues projected to reach USD 105 billion by 2030.
Concluding his address, Puri said that India stands ready to work with global partners to build an energy future that is “secure, resilient, and inclusive.” He described India Energy Week as a platform that brings together “ideas, expertise, and leadership needed to convert dialogue into direction and direction into delivery.”
“Let us approach this week with a shared focus on cooperation and outcomes,” he said, adding that IEW should serve as “a catalyst for collective progress” in shaping global energy solutions.
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