India needs to reduce dependence on oil import: World Bank

NEW DELHI: World Bank on Thursday said India and other oil importing developing countries should reduce dependence on petroleum products since high oil prices are a major concern in these nations.

"When oil prices move from 60 to 80 dollar per barrel, it causes great difficulty in terms of economic management for all developing countries," World Bank Vice President Danny Leipzier told newspersons on the sidelines of an Assocham function.

“It can also lead to economic shock which can be damaging for the developing countries,” he said.

Volatility is again a problem for developing countries and it should be avoided he said, adding that these countries needs to reduce dependence on petroleum product by incorporating in clean technology and fuel-efficient technology.

He said that there is a need to increase refinery capacity so that volatility can be averted.

“On the growth prospect of Indian economy,” he said “upside potential is huge, every body recognises this aspect.”

He, however, said that there are number of challenges in its way like infrastructure bottlenecks, labour reforms and regional imbalances apart from inadequate service delivery mechanism.

“All these problems become more manageable if economic growth is put on higher trajectory,” he said.
 
On the suspension of Doha round of talks, he said that trade liberalization process has been struck and it is not something that the World Bank welcomes.