THEBUSINESSBYTES BUREAU

NEW DELHI, AUGUST 17, 2026

Vedanta Group Chairman Anil Agarwal on Saturday pledged to help India achieve greater freedom from import dependence in minerals, metals and hydrocarbons, saying the conglomerate is ready to pursue the goal with “greater focus, agility and speed” following its landmark demerger.

 “On Bharat's 80th Independence Day, we reiterate our pledge to help our country achieve freedom from import dependence in minerals, metals and hydrocarbons. After our recent demerger, I believe we are ready to pursue this goal with greater focus, agility and speed,” Agarwal said.

The commitment came as Vedanta’s six independently listed companies came together on the occasion of India’s 80th Independence Day to reaffirm their vision of producing for ‘Desh ki Zarooraton ke Liye’ (for the needs of the country), with a focus on strengthening domestic production of natural resources, energy, metals and critical minerals.

The pledge, aligned with this year’s Independence Day theme of “Honouring Freedom, Inspiring the Future”, marks Vedanta’s first Independence Day following its demerger and brings Vedanta Limited, Vedanta Aluminium Metal Limited, Vedanta Oil & Gas Limited, Vedanta Iron & Steel Limited, Vedanta Power and Hindustan Zinc around a common nation-building ambition.

Agarwal has consistently emphasised the need for a “green revolution below the ground” to unlock India’s mineral and hydrocarbon potential, boost domestic production and reduce the country’s reliance on imports. With India’s rapid economic expansion driving demand for energy, metals, minerals and industrial materials, greater domestic resource availability assumes increasing importance amid global price volatility and potential supply-chain disruptions.

Vedanta said its Independence Day pledge is centred on strengthening domestic production and converting India’s natural-resource potential into greater economic and strategic resilience.

Under the pledge, the group has outlined three broad priorities — ‘Vikas’ or Transform, ‘Vishwas’ or Trust, and ‘Vijay’ or Triumph. It seeks to transform India’s abundant natural resources into opportunity, innovation and progress by producing the metals, minerals and energy needed to power the country’s growth.

The group also pledged to uphold the trust of its people, communities, customers and the nation by growing responsibly and creating shared value, while adopting an ambition to “Think bigger. Build bigger. Compete with the world.”

The demerger has given the six businesses a sharper sectoral focus, with each company pursuing growth plans in areas considered central to India’s resource security and industrial development.

Vedanta Aluminium, described as India’s largest aluminium producer and the world’s third-largest excluding China, plans to double its capacity to 60 lakh tonnes per annum as it seeks to become the world’s largest and lowest-cost fully integrated aluminium producer.

Vedanta Oil & Gas has set a long-term ambition of scaling production to 500,000 barrels per day and unlocking India’s hydrocarbon potential, while Vedanta Iron & Steel, backed by nearly 4 billion tonnes of iron ore resources and approximately 800 KTPA of metallurgical coke capacity, has a roadmap to scale up to 15 MTPA.

Vedanta Power, with 4.2 GW of operational capacity, has a long-term vision to scale towards 20 GW to support India’s industrial and digital growth. It is also evaluating opportunities in nuclear energy, recognising its potential as a clean and reliable 24x7 power source.

Vedanta Limited, anchored by Hindustan Zinc and with a portfolio spanning zinc, silver, copper, nickel, ferroalloys and other strategic minerals, is focused on strengthening India’s domestic mineral and critical-resource ecosystem.

Together, the six companies are seeking to expand domestic capacity, encourage exploration, strengthen value chains and create greater economic value from resources available within India.

As India moves from 80 years of freedom towards the centenary of Independence in 2047, Vedanta said greater resource self-reliance would be an important pillar of the country’s economic independence.