Sushant
The Pandavas were in their 12th year of exile in Kamyaka Forest when Rishi Durvasa, known for his volatile temper and tendency to curse, along with his thousands of disciples visited their cottage for bhojan. Pandavas had Akshaya Patra (a magical poot) and Lord Krishna himself, who, appeared there to help Draupadi out of that dilemma. He ate the last grain of rice which made Rishi Durvasa and his disciples feel as they have had a massive feast. But it was Dvapara yuga, the time of divine intervention. But the present era is Kal yuga where God helps those who help themselves.
Kal Yog or present time has its own beauty and practices. Humans developed technology and science to a great extent so that we can help ourselves and our fellow beings. Nation and its citizens are working to attain glories for their motherland. Every country is in the continuous race of development where they want to achieve highest status. But this point is undeniable that just like all fingers of a hand are not alike, similarly, not every nation is equal in terms of resources, geographical location, skillful population and other assets which makes the conditions of development for every nation different with no uniform steps, which in turn increases the interdependence of nations on each other and this is what we call Globalisation. All through history, human societies have steadily become more interlinked. From ancient times, travellers, traders, priests and pilgrims travelled vast distances for knowledge, opportunity and spiritual fulfillment, or to escape persecution. They carried goods, money, values, skills, ideas, inventions. As early as 3000 BCE an active coastal trade linked the Indus Valley civilizations with present day West Asia. Earlier these goods were different from present. One of such important global market product is Crude Oil which later helps in formation of petrol, plastic, synthetic fertilizers and many more daily essential items.
Today, we cannot imagine our lives without motor vehicles which run on petrol which is again extracted from crude oil. It is noteworthy to mention that India is a massive country with 150 crores heads amounting to 18 to 20% of the global population to which a blind eye cannot be turned. Nevertheless, Indian topography does not support oil production on a large scale like West Asian countries which leaves import the only option from India. India is the third largest consumer of crude oil and we as a nation import 80 to 85% of our need in which more than 40% of the crude oil is imported from the Gulf countries and West Asian Countries via Strait of Hormuz which has been a burning topic from last couple of months. The led to abrupt rise in prices of crude oil. As of late March 2026, Brent crude oil prices have surged above $100 per barrel due to geopolitical tensions, trading around $103-$104 per barrel. This marks a significant increase from roughly $70-$73 a month ago, representing a roughly 40-60% rise over the past month. This is the global scenario which shows that not only India but more than half of the countries in world depend on gulf countries for crude oil which gives them a leverage over other countries. Similar advantage was used by gulf countries in 1793-74 where Arab countries used oil as a political weapon which created oil crisis in the world. The 1973-1974 oil crisis was a global economic shock triggered by an oil embargo and massive price hikes from Arab oil-producing nations. It ended the era of cheap energy and fundamentally reshaped global politics and economics. To tackle this problem and to safeguard themselves from sudden unforeseeable events which could arise in the future, International Energy Agency was formed by 16 founding member countries (plus Norway under a special agreement) that signed the Agreement on an International Energy Program (IEP) in 1974.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) was formed in November 1974 in response to the oil crisis. Established within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) framework, it was created to help industrialized countries coordinate a collective response to major oil supply disruptions and ensure future energy security. The agreement mandates specific emergency measures and cooperation frameworks for its participating countries such as maintaining Strategic Petroleum Reserves in which members are legally required to maintain oil stocks equivalent to at least 90 days of their net oil imports from the previous year. In case of severe oil supply disruption, IEA members may decide to release these stocks to the market as part of a collective action. In 2017, India attained the status of an associate member within the International Energy Agency. It is worthwhile noting that the idea first came under the leadership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee led government in 1998 when he felt such need because of lack of resources for oil production and over dependency on other nations for crude oil.
Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPRs) are government-controlled stockpiles of crude oil maintained to cushion an economy against sudden disruptions in supply or sharp price spikes. These reserves act as a critical safety net during geopolitical crises, wars, or natural disasters that affect oil production and transportation, particularly in volatile regions such as the Gulf region which are the largest exporter globally, as can be seen now.
Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd. (ISPRL) was created by the Government of India as a special purpose vehicle under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas in 2004. India’s existing underground SPR facilities have a combined capacity of 5.33 million metric tonnes (MMT) of crude oil. These storage sites are strategically positioned across two states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka which include 1.33 MMT capacity in Vishakhapatnam in former and 1.5 MMT and 2.5 MMT respectively in Mangaluru and Padur of the latter. These reserves can cover roughly 9-10 days of India’s crude oil demand. However, when compared globally, India’s reserves appear miniscule. The United States maintains the world’s largest SPR, with a capacity exceeding 600 million barrels, capable of covering over 90 days of imports. Similarly, China has aggressively expanded its reserves, estimated to cover around 80-90 days of consumption. Countries like Japan and South Korea also maintain robust reserves exceeding 100 days when combining public and private storage.
For this, in July 2021 Expansion plans and Commercial-cum-strategic facilities were sanctioned by the Indian Government where the government granted approval for the establishment of two additional SPR facilities which include a 4 MMT capacity facility in Chandikhol, Orissa and expansion of the Padur facility by 2.5 MMT totalling to additional storage of 6.5 MMT under PPP (Public Private Partnership) model. However, work for the same did not start till November of 2025 due to intervention of private entities. It will be a major question that when this work gets done and with how much efficiency. Although, there has not been acute shortage of petroleum in the nation as such but the recent address of Prime Minister has proved one thing that these SPRs are not a luxury for the country but a necessity which needs to be built and expanded on an urgent basis because in Kala Yuga, God help those who help themselves.
(The author is 5th year law student the Law School University of Jammu)
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