New Delhi: A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to the people of India to conserve fuel amid the continuing West Asia crisis, the Central government said there is no shortage of petrol, diesel, LPG or crude oil, and urged citizens not to panic.
The assurance came from a government official during an inter-ministerial briefing on the situation in West Asia.
“There is no shortage. The government has taken adequate steps to ensure minimum impact on supplies,” said Sujata Sharma, joint secretary (marketing & oil refinery), Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas.
Acco
rding to Sujata, around 90% of India’s energy imports were coming from the affected region, but measures were taken promptly to minimise disruption due to the conflict in the Gulf region triggered by the war between US-Israel and Iran.
She stressed on the point that there is no need for panic buying as the country has enough fuel supplies of all kinds.
On Modi’s advice to reduce unnecessary travel and conserve fuel, Sujata said it should be seen as an effort towards energy conservation and reducing economic burden on the country at a time of global uncertainty.
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India is trying to buy energy from a number of countries as part of its energy conservation and supply efforts.
10 India-flagged ships cross Strait of Hormuz
Opesh Sharma, the Ministry of Ports & Shipping spokesperson, informed that 10 India-flagged vessels have safely crossed the Strait of Hormuz without paying any additional charges.
Efforts are underway to safely bring back 13 other India-flagged ships which are still in the region.