Prime Minister Modi, on Wednesday (1st April), chaired a special meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg today to review the steps taken by various Ministries and Departments in the context of the ongoing West Asia conflict.
This was the second special CCS meeting on the issue in the past 10 days.
Updates on energy and power supply
The Cabinet Secretary informed the Prime Minister about the action taken to ensure the supply of petroleum products, particularly LNG/LPG, and sufficient power availability. He said that sources were diversified for the procurement of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) with new inflows from different countries. He briefed PM Modi that LPG prices for domestic consumers have remained the same, and Anti-diversion enforcement to curb hoarding and black marketing of LPG is being conducted regularly.
In addition to that, steps have been taken to expand Piped Natural Gas connections. To ensure an uninterrupted supply of power during the summer months, measures had been taken to increase rake for positioning more coal at thermal power stations and exempt gas-based power plants with a capacity of 7-8 GW from the gas pooling mechanism.
Agriculture, fertilisers and food supplies
Discussions also covered the interventions proposed for emerging challenges in sectors like agriculture, civil aviation, shipping and logistics. The supply of fertilisers has been maintained through consistent urea production and coordination with overseas supplies for DAP/NPKS suppliers. States have been requested to curb black marketing, hoarding, and diversion of fertilisers through daily monitoring, raids, and strict action.
Food commodities retail prices have been stabilised over the past month by setting up control rooms for monitoring, interacting with States/UTs on prices and enforcement of the Essential Commodities Act. Besides, the prices of agricultural products, vegetables and fruits are also being monitored.
Other measures and PM Modi's directives
Diplomatic efforts have also been undertaken to diversify energy sources, fertilizers and other supply chains and to secure safe passage of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz. For effective information dissemination and public awareness, coordination, real-time communication, and proactive measures across the central, state, and district levels have been enhanced.
PM Modi assessed the availability of critical needs for common people, including the availability of fertilisers in the Kharif and Rabi seasons. He directed all concerned departments to take all possible measures to safeguard the citizens and sectors from the impact of the conflict. He also emphasised a smooth flow of authentic information to the public to prevent misinformation and rumour-mongering.