Key Terms & Concepts — UPSC Mains
HELP (Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy)
"India's post-2016 hydrocarbon licensing regime offering a single uniform licence covering all hydrocarbons, with revenue-sharing contracts replacing the earlier profit-sharing model."
The Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP) is the overarching regime governing hydrocarbon exploration and production licensing in India since 2016, replacing the earlier New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP). Its key innovations are a Uniform Licence covering exploration and production of all forms of hydrocarbons (oil, gas, coal-bed methane and unconventional sources) under a single licence, rather than separate licences for each, and a shift from profit-sharing (where the government's share depended on a contractor's cost recovery, creating disputes over cost audits) to revenue-sharing contracts, where the government receives an agreed share of gross revenue regardless of the contractor's costs, simplifying administration and reducing litigation. HELP works alongside the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP), which lets companies themselves select and bid for exploration acreage of interest rather than waiting for the government to define bid rounds, together forming the core of India's post-2016 upstream hydrocarbon policy architecture. India's 2026 Samudra Manthan scheme, a dedicated Central Sector Scheme for offshore exploration, adds direct fiscal support to the offshore segment on top of this existing licensing architecture, rather than replacing it.
A recurring GS3 energy-policy term, tested for its specific innovations (Uniform Licence, revenue-sharing) relative to the pre-2016 regime, and frequently paired with OALP.
- 1 HELP replaced the earlier New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) from 2016.
- 2 Key feature 1: Uniform Licence for all hydrocarbon types under a single licence.
- 3 Key feature 2: revenue-sharing contracts, replacing the disputed profit-sharing/cost-recovery model.
- 4 Works alongside the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP).
- 5 Forms the core of India's post-2016 upstream hydrocarbon licensing architecture.
- 6 The 2026 Samudra Manthan scheme adds fiscal support to offshore exploration atop this existing architecture.
Samudra Manthan sits alongside HELP and OALP in India's upstream policy architecture, adding direct fiscal support to the offshore segment rather than replacing the existing uniform-licence, revenue-sharing framework.
