New Delhi, April 08: Welcoming the ceasefire announcement in West Asia, the central government on Wednesday said that it will bring lasting peace in the region. The government said that the supply of petrol and diesel in the country is stable. Oil refineries are running at full capacity with adequate crude oil, while about 8,90,000 5 kg cylinders have been sold since March 23. Coal-based power continues to meet about 70 percent of the country’s energy needs.
Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary (Marketing and Oil Refinery), Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, gave this information while addressing an inter-ministerial press conference. Sujata Sharma stated that oil marketing companies have organized approximately 1,600 awareness camps over the past five days, distributing approximately 14,000 cylinders. She added that approximately 1.1 lakh gas cylinders were supplied yesterday, bringing the total sales of five-kg cylinders since March 23rd to approximately 8.9 lakh.
She explained that domestic needs are being prioritized, with fertilizer plants receiving approximately 95% of the gas supply. Petrol and diesel supplies are stable and there are no shortages anywhere, as refineries are operating at full capacity with adequate crude oil. Sharma stated that the government has directed the diversion of C3 and C4 streams to the LPG pool to increase supply, while allowing limited use for petrochemicals.
Regarding natural gas, Sujata Sharma explained that domestic consumers have been prioritized and their supply has been secured. Additionally, natural gas supplies have been resumed to industries. A draft State CBG policy has been released. States that adopt this policy will receive priority allocation for additional commercial LPG. The Government of India has written to all state governments and union territories requesting them to implement reforms to facilitate the supply of priority commercial LPG. Approximately 18 states have taken action and received additional LPG allocations. The
Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas stated that approximately 387,000 PNG connections have been issued since March and approximately 421,000 new consumers have registered. Consumers with both LPG and PNG connections have been requested to surrender their LPG connections.
She stated that more than 17,000 consumers have surrendered their LPG connections so far. She also urged all citizens to ignore rumors and purchase fuel only as needed.
Sharma stated that surveillance has been increased to prevent irregularities. Nearly 4,000 raids were recently conducted, and approximately 56,000 cylinders were seized in the past few days. Oil marketing companies have issued 1,770 show-cause notices, suspended 51 distributors, and taken action against 175 others. Supplies of petrol, diesel, and LPG remain uninterrupted. Citizens are advised not to panic and rely only on official information.
Ministry of External Affairs Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal welcomed the ceasefire between Iran and the United States, expressing hope that it will lead to lasting peace in West Asia. He stated that de-escalation, dialogue, and diplomacy are essential to end the conflict as soon as possible. This conflict has already caused immense suffering to people and disrupted energy supplies and trade networks worldwide. Jaiswal said that it is hoped that complete freedom of movement of ships and flow of trade across the world will continue through the Strait of Hormuz. He said that India welcomes all steps that bring peace and stability. He expressed hope that this development in West Asia will also boost the peace efforts in Ukraine.
India has sufficient coal reserves in its mines and power plants.
Meanwhile, Sanjeev Kumar Kasi, Joint Secretary in the Coal Ministry, while addressing the reporters, said that there is sufficient stock of coal available in mines, power plants, ports and transit, which can be made available to the consumers at very short notice. He stated that we are not facing any shortages in power generation and are producing coal at the same pace as its consumption.
He claimed that India currently has sufficient coal reserves in mines and power plants, ensuring that supplies can be delivered to consumers even at short notice. There is no shortage of power generation capacity as coal production is keeping pace with consumption levels.
He added that coal-based power continues to meet approximately 70% of the country’s energy needs. Through coordinated efforts, India has maintained an affordable and adequate supply of coal and achieved the target of producing 1 billion tons of coal for the second consecutive year.