NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday reviewed with senior ministers the situation related to crude, gas and other petroleum products, and power and fertiliser sectors in view of the evolving West Asia situation.
Government sources said the focus of the meeting was on ensuring uninterrupted supply, stable logistics and efficient distribution across the country.
Union Ministers Rajnath Singh (Defence), Amit Shah (Home), Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Agriculture), S Jaishankar (External Affairs), Nirmala Sitharaman (Finance), J P Nadda (Health), Piyush Goyal (Commerce and Industry) and Ashwini Vaishnaw (Railways) were among those who attended the high-level meeting, sources said.
Union ministers Sarbananda Sonowal (Ports and Shipping), Manohar Lal Khattar (Power), Pralhad Joshi (Food and Consumer Affairs), Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu (Civil Aviation) and Hardeep Singh Puri (Petroleum), NSA Ajit Doval and the prime minister’s two principal secretaries, P K Mishra and Shaktikanta Das, were also present.
The situation related to crude, gas, petroleum products, and power and fertiliser sectors was reviewed in view of the evolving West Asia situation, the sources said.
The government is taking proactive steps to ensure an uninterrupted supply of all essential goods, including petroleum products, they said.
The meeting took stock of the current global situation in the wake of the West Asia conflict and the measures taken to protect consumer and industry interests, which is the key focus of the government, the sources said.
On March 12, PM Modi had said that the war in West Asia has triggered a worldwide energy crisis, posing a critical test of national character that requires dealing with circumstances through peace, patience and increased public awareness.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) today reviewed the situation arising out of the conflict in West Asia and a detailed assessment was made on the availability of critical needs of the common people, including food, energy and fuel security, an official statement said here.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who chaired the meeting, directed that a group of ministers and secretaries be created to work dedicatedly in a whole-of-government approach to deal with the effects of the West Asia conflict.
Medium and long-term measures to ensure the continued availability of essential needs were discussed in detail at the meeting.
“The ongoing conflict in West Asia will have significant short, medium and long-term impact on the global economy and its effect on India were assessed and counter-measures, both immediate and long-term, were discussed,” the statement said after the CCS meeting.
The CCS, which is the highest decision-making body on security and strategic matters of the country, carried out a detailed assessment of the availability of critical needs of the common man, including food, energy and fuel security.
The expected impact and measures taken to address it across sectors like agriculture, fertilisers, food security, petroleum, power, MSMEs, exporters, shipping, trade, finance, supply chains and all affected sectors were discussed, the statement said.
The overall macro-economic scenario in the country and further measures to be taken were also discussed.
The impact on farmers and their requirement for fertiliser for the Kharif season was assessed.
The measures taken in the last few years to maintain adequate stocks of fertilisers will ensure timely availability and food security, it said.
Alternative sources of fertilizers were also discussed to ensure continued availability in the future.
It was also determined that an adequate supply of coal stocks at all power plants will ensure no shortage of electricity in India.
Several measures were discussed to diversify the sources of imports required by chemicals, pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals and other industrial sectors.
Similarly new export destinations to promote Indian goods will be developed in the near future, the statement said.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar are members of the CCS, which is headed by the Prime Minister.
India receives LPG shipment from US
MANGALURU: An LPG cargo ship from the US arrived at the New Mangalore Port on Sunday, amid the supply constraints due to the ongoing war in the Middle East.
The vessel “Pyxis Pioneer”, which left Port of Nederland in Texas on February 14, brought 16,714 metric tonnes of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) for discharge to Aegis Logistics, officials said.
The vessel follows the Russian “Aqua Titan” ship in reaching the port within the span of a day.
The development is considered significant as Mangaluru is home to India’s largest underground LPG storage facility, which became operational in September 2025. The storage facility, located 225 metres below sea level, has a capacity of 80,000 metric tonnes.
In an earlier development, a Russian crude oil tanker named “Aqua Titan”, originally headed to China, was diverted to India a few days ago. The ship arrived off the Mangaluru coast on Saturday evening carrying 7.7 lakh barrels of crude oil.
The crude is reportedly being unloaded via an offshore pipeline connected to a jetty 12 nautical miles from the shore to the Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL).
