India's geology best in the world, Indian entrepreneurship second to none, mining mogul Agarwal said

New Delhi: India is bestowed with the best geology for natural resources, and trusting the ability of the country's entrepreneurs in unlocking value from India’s vast resources below the ground is the key to Viksit Bharat, mining mogul Anil Agarwal said.

"This is our moment to unleash a new generation of entrepreneurs—bold visionaries who will responsibly explore and extract resources, honouring Mother Earth while fueling India's growth. If we don't act now, we risk losing this golden opportunity to secure our future and cement India's position as a resource leader in the world," the Vedanta Group Chairman said.

Explaining the huge potential in natural resources, Agarwal said, "There is immense wealth below the earth. India has the best geology in the world, but 60 per cent of our imports are on account of natural resources like oil and gas, gold, copper, diamonds among others."

All nations which have become prosperous have done so because of harnessing their natural resources, whether the US, UK, Europe, Canada, Australia or the Middle East, he said.

"All India needs to do is to explore.” India has rich reserves in oil and gas and in minerals like bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper and rare earths, he added.

Agarwal expressed optimism about India’s prospects even amid the global uncertainty.

"This is the era of entrepreneurs, and Indians are born risk takers. We need to leverage our ability to take risks and create large-scale manufacturing and big industries in India because agriculture alone cannot ensure growth and job creation."

He added, "65 per cent of Indians are just below the middle class and will enter the middle class soon. Demand will grow exponentially. The opportunities for business are huge.” Agarwal called for greater trust in entrepreneurs.

“Deregulation and self-certification are the way forward. I congratulate the government for thinking in that direction.”

India has achieved a 100 per cent growth in its GDP in the last ten years, the highest among major economies. "300-400 years ago, India had 25 per cent of the world’s GDP. We will reclaim our position as the leading economy of the world," asserted Agarwal.